January declutter...

 

 

...with January coming to an end, I thought I would share with you what I've been up to for a lot of this first month of the new year; it's something that I've been itching to do for a while now because I really felt the need for it... So, what is it that I've been doing?... Well, I've been slowly but surely decluttering my home, attempting to simplify my furnishings and toning things down a bit to try to create a more calming living space. Quite the mouthful and simpler said then done, especially for people like me, the "hunter-gatherer" type, who like to surround themselves with things, many of them found treasures, and many of them which tell a story that one grows attached to and does not want to part with... So, despite it going against my grain, I pushed myself to be merciless (as much as possible!) and persevered, and after many bags carted off to charity shops, finished the first space I tackled in our house, the second floor landing, which gives way to three bedrooms and a bathroom and which had become a veritable clutter fest of basket of yarns, vintage doodads and paintings, handmade stuffies, storage boxes of supplies, and so on... It pretty much got to the point that every time I would, say, walk up the stairs and go through this landing to get to our bedroom, my mood would sink and I would think: I really have to do something about this!...So, I finally did something about it, and you can see below what it looks like now as you look out from our bedroom door...

 

 

I sorted through a lot of my yarn and decided to only keep "the good stuff" as I call it... When I used to teach a lunchtime crochet class at my children's grade school during the time they attended it, a while back now, I use to buy a fair amount of cheap thrift shop yarn, often not the best of yarns, to use for these classes; I had still been holding onto it, mostly for nostalgic reasons, and I thought it was definitely time to pass it on to someone else... So, with my yarn stock appreciably reduced, I thought I could now tuck everything behind cabinet doors and get rid of the baskets of yarn which made everything seem more cluttered... To fit everything comfortably in the cabinets and the set of drawers, my dearest husband built up another row of the cabinetry that you see on the left (the top tier), painted it all the same colour to make it look very neat and... voilà, a new landing look has emerged!... I also got rid of a little shelving unit which also held yarn and used to be right next to that green apothecary-like cabinet and made everything seem very crammed; on its own in the corner now, my apothecary cabinet, which I really like and which holds all my blues and greens with some very neat vintage labels, cuts a much finer figure!... To tone things down a bit more and to make the space seem less fussy, I also got rid of all the framed artwork on the walls except for the two vintage needlework florals which you can see. Now, the sound of my footsteps as I walk up the stairs echoes in the landing which, I must admit, pleases me to no end!...

 

 

The next space I tackled was our bedroom, still a bit of work in progress as of now... Our bedroom is not only where my husband and I sleep, but also where I have a desk with my computer and therefore do most of my computer work, where I do some of my work sitting on the couch below and where, not only do we store our clothes, but also my stock of pillowcases and cushion covers, linen yarn and all my office and shipping supplies; I also have a couple of bookcases where I keep a lot of the books that inspire me on a daily basis... Given all the stuff in this room, it had become a real struggle to keep it uncluttered, neat and organized and, most importantly, an inviting space to either sleep in or work in... So, I dug in and got rid of a lot of stuff that I honestly forgot I even had, changed the curtains from bright vintage florals to calming neutrals, brought in some houseplants, got rid of a tower of drawers that used to sit between the couch and the armoire (which you can see below) and make everything look squished and cluttered -- honestly, I actually find it so soothing now to be able to see more of the floor! To make for a more calming space, not only did I tone down the curtains, but my husband also changed out the door of the armoire you see in the corner from one which had a painting of a castle on it to a simple plain wooden door which he then painted, along with the rest of the armoire, in the same shade as the two bookcases in the room. As I said, I'm not quite finished with this room but, oh, I must say, I am starting to enjoy hanging out in it again!...

 

 

I tend to do all my sorting and purging rather slowly, as I can't help myself from looking at every single thing and musing about whether to keep or not; along the way, I also seem to get distracted by books which I start browsing through which can then inspire me to, say, pick up some new-found-long-forgotten yarn and start hooking!... Despite my snail's pace and the fact that I still have a lot of the house left to refresh, I'm feeling good about what I've done so far and looking forward to doing more of it... As I declutter more of my house, I'll share more with you, maybe even do some before and afters!... Thanks so much for popping by and I hope you've had a lovely and restful January!...

 

 

 

Comments

[Holly McLean]

I think your decluttering is lovely. A calm de cluttered space is so soothing. Your space looks pretty and serene and I’m sure feels the same.

[Little Quiltsong]

It all looks lovely - and now you can breath :)! It is hard to declutter, but now you can enjoy these spacious corners so much more.

[Norma H Aguilar]

Love the feel of an open space so keep going. It's looking lovely!

[mrs robinson]

It all looks so lovely and gentle... I, too, need to take action on our house - a combination of living here now for seven years, and going back to work has meant piles are appearing all over!

[Vicki]

Your rooms look great; serene and ordered. I know too well, the snails pace of de-cluttering. I've boxes of decades old magazines that I have been trying to get rid of now for a couple of years. The trouble is, as soon as I open a box, I can't help looking through them,and invariably each one becomes a 'keeper'.