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Musings: to meditate, think, contemplate, deliberate, ponder, reflect, ruminate, reverie, daydream, introspection, dream, preoccupation, brood, cogitate.

Monday, March 7, 2016

More or Less - March

This month I'm glad to report I have LESS in my house.  I started  my decluttering project, finally, after Marie Kondo's book, "Spark Joy," became available at the library.  I posted this picture in last month's Out and About of all the things I'd collected for my kids to look through before I disposed of everything. . . .

I was going to take a picture of each room again after my kids came this past weekend to take what they wanted, but you probably wouldn't have been able to see any difference.  ☹️  I spent today sorting through what was left, deciding what would go to Goodwill and what I'd try to sell at either the upscale consignment shop or the "thrift" consignment shop.  This is what Ken just took to Goodwill.   The back seat is down so the space is twice as large as you can see. . . .

Several of you commented that you've read Marie Kondo's first book, "The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up" and found it inspiring.  I like to know if anyone has faithfully followed her method exactly.  I've finished reading both of her books, but have only just put my toe in the water as far as following her method.  I went through my Fall/Winter clothes, but not my Spring/Summer clothes yet.  Next came the books.  I did not pick up each book and "feel" if it brought me joy.  I know I've kept more than her method "allows," but then I consider my bookshelves akin to a library so it's only natural I'd keep books I no longer look at.  They're there for others to look at.  😊 I skipped "papers," which was next on the list, to go to what she calls komono--all the "stuff" that no longer brings me joy--things that I no longer use but was saving for my kids, or for just in case, or things I felt I should keep because it was a gift, etc.  As you can see I collected quite a lot to send on its way to someone else.  By the end of the month I hope to have everything that still in my basement gone.

Marie's method is designed to help you learn firsthand what brings you joy. That's why she starts with clothing.  It's the easiest to decide what brings you joy.  She begins by asking you what lifestyle you wish to live.  "What does it look like?" she asks.  She firmly believes a cluttered house represents a cluttered life which prevents you from living as you really wish to live.  I couldn't answer her question until I'd started going through my belongings.  When I found things I'd been looking for or had forgotten I had, I realized this is what my lifestyle would ideally look like:  My mind would be free to be more creative and spontaneous because my surroundings would be organized and free of unnecessary things.  I'd only have things around me that I loved which would spark joy--which is a type of energy that I could channel into the creative lifestyle I wish to live.

So my question for you this month is this:  If you could attain the lifestyle you really would like to be living, what would it be?  If you are already living it, how would you like to enhance it?


.•*¨`*•. ☆ .•*¨`*•
Take Joy!

20 comments:

  1. Isn't it the best feeling to get unwanted and/or unused stuff out of the house? Now that you've started I bet you find it's somewhat addictive and you'll keep going until you find the right balance between things and space. I am getting closer to living the lifestyle I want to be, but there's always room for improvement. Right now I'm focussing on my clothes. I've gotten rid of stuff that I never wore, and am planning to go through my closet again and remove the stuff I sometimes wear but isn't really the kind of thing I want to be wearing. And in the meantime I'm trying to build up a handmade wardrobe that better reflects my tastes. Since I've gotten into sewing I've realized that it's often easier to make the things that appeal to me than to find them in the stores. I'm not subject to the whims of the fashion world.

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    1. Kristie, I figure once I've finished doing "papers" I'll go back and start at the beginning and go through each category again. Memorabilia is last on Marie's list. I'm thinking I will save that one until NEXT year and start fresh at the beginning of the year. Meanwhile, I'll be more cognizant of what I save. I've already not bought a pair of sandals because I did not love them. They fit, they were a great price, and they'd go with anything, but they brought me no joy at all, so I did not bring them home. I love that you're making your own clothes to your own tastes.

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  2. I find it interesting that I have saved things for my children that they really have no interest in. What is important to me, is not to them. That was an eye opening fact to me and helped me to gift items to those who want them. Being sentimental has always held me back to some degree, but also is who I am and I try to honor that. A cluttered environment has always made me feel uncomfortable, so things I have saved was always tucked away in closets, etc. ♥

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    1. I only just came to this realization. My youngest only graduated college and moved out 5 years ago. As each son did this I had furniture and household items saved in the attic to give them. It was great! So now I realized it was time to get rid of whatever was left. I'm still saving the baby items, though, that the two who have started their families didn't want, "just in case" this youngest one will want them when his time comes. Of course, you always take the chance that his future wife won't want any of it. So I have a few years yet before my attic is devoted only to my Christmas decorations (and mementos, because I suspect I will not get rid of everything as the KonMari Method encourages). I'm like you in that I've never let my clutter out of the closet! But between the closets, drawers, basement and attic, I've accumulated so much I no longer can organize it properly and therefore was not always able to find something I thought I had. So this decluttering process is something I've been actually enjoying. I actually look forward to Spring cleaning this year because once I'm done I know I'll fall in love with my house once again. 😍

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  3. I am living the lifestyle that I love but would enhance it by moving house. You certainly have had a clearout, that is what I did last year and over time have organized my wardrobe and craft room.

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    1. I love where I live, but the house itself has never been the style I love. This is why I've decorated it to my style as much as the house will allow. I hope you will be able to move to the area you'd love to live. Do you regularly visit the area you'd like to live in? Check real estate websites for houses for sale in that area? You never know what might "materialize" for you, if it's meant to be!

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  4. Other than a total change of going off grid and living self sufficient in a log cabin in the woods I am content with my lifestyle. Just a few small tweaks and I could not ask for more. I would dearly love a dedicated library, and I wish there was more space for art and crafting, but I think that is something quite a few of us suffer from!
    Not a lifestyle choice but for a better life, I would rather my spine and shoulders not be so riddled with arthritis so that I could take better care of my garden than I am able.
    oh, and having Google allow us to post under my Wordpress account ~ lol!

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    1. Deborah, I know how difficult it is for you as a Gardener to have physical limitations. I was told last Autumn I have osteoarthritis beginning in my knees and shouldn't get down on them anymore. That was very disheartening to me. Sometimes it just can't be avoided! And to me, being in one's garden on one's knees, close to the earth, is what gardening is all about! So, I shall see how it goes this Spring. Marie Kondo suggests that if you have a walk-in closet (which apparently they have in Japan--and quite large) is that you put your bookshelf (she hasn't seen my book collection) there. My living room is large enough that about 16 years ago I bought five unfinished 7-foot-high bookcases that I finished and then arranged around the fireplace and bay window so that they look like they are built-in. This is my library. My TV is in the one finished-off room in the basement. Also in the basement is a laundry room that has shelving to hold my craft supplies. If I didn't have my basement, I'd have a totally different lifestyle, that's for sure. But if you use Marie's method of only keeping things that bring you joy, you will be able to get rid of the other things and dedicate the freed-up space to things you love. My problem has been there are too many things I love--but I realize that I have unfinished projects squirreled away that I'll never finish because I no longer am interested in them. That storage area will be next on my list to tackle.

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  5. I like living in Florida as the weather is more mild in temps. However, I do miss seeing the Fall colors & the Springs new growth. I too, have been decluttering. I took several HUGE bags of clothing to the Salvation Army as they do so much good in our community. I now have household items, home décor, purses, shoes, etc. to have a yard sale most likely in early April (before the Northern tourists head back). I still have much more to declutter, but feel as though I have made some progress. I did not know about her book, however, I gave great thought on if I "loved" the items or if the clothes were stylish.

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    1. Sandy, you can probably find her book, Spark Joy, (the second book) in the library. She shows you how to fold you clothes and linens and how to arrange things in drawers to give you more space and to allow you to see things at a glance. Everything is folded in a way that allows it to stand up--no stacking of anything.

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  6. You give me much to think about. I'm not sure I can define my lifestyle but know it must be what I'm happy with or I would have changed it. I do love our home and hate that someday we'll have to really downsize and move. Since I am sort of the archivist for both sides of my family, I ponder what to do with all the stuff that I find so interesting. The next generation at this point is not interested. I realize most of what I have my kids don't want, but I wonder about the grandchildren. My grands think that "grandma knows a lot about anything old" and are starting to ask about things, family photos, etc. One day my granddaughter (at the ripe old age of 7) pointed to the dishes in my china cabinet and said she wanted all of them someday. Meanwhile, thanks for your inspiring example!

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    1. Dotsie, this is what I'm hoping--that my grandchildren will be interested in all my memorabilia. Until I have to move, I can just leave it all in the attic and not "worry" about what to do with it. The photos, however, are all in scrapbook albums since 1979 and stored on shelves Ken built in his "study" in the basement. If I live another 30 years you can imagine what my kids will have to deal with! No one has a house large enough to take them all (plus my boxes of letters and diaries!!) That's why I was hoping one of the kids would want to move in here. I hope to be able to stay here until the end. That's great about your granddaughter admiring and wanting your dishes. I need to start putting labels under the things that have come down through the family so that they won't get disposed of willy nilly. As for defining my lifestyle--that was hard for me, too, until I gave my things a good hard look and realized much of it belongs to the past--and I'm ready to move forward--finally.

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  7. You are doing so well with your clear out! I strive for a simple and uncluttered life and have been on this road for many years and still have a way to go! We do have a huge clear out when we moved so changes made reading Marie Kondo's book weren't too drastic. I did copy the way she recommended to fold clothes and that has made a big difference to easily finding items. I did hold the books but probably wasn't as strict as I could have been! Books are my weak point! Sarah x

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    1. Thank you, Sarah! I spent part of this afternoon polishing the things I'm taking to the consignment shop--something I never did for myself! I'm considering keeping a few things now that they look so great! I really love her idea to have everything standing up instead of stacked. Moving is a great motivator to declutter. I've been in this house 34 years, so you can imagine what I've accumulated. About 10 years ago I got rid of most of the stuff I'd stored for 24 years, but still had a lot I brought down this time now that the boys have all gotten their own place.

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  8. Wow, a huge question. Do I live the lifestyle I want? I suppose so, especially since I'm now retired. Ideally I would add a summer cottage to the mix though, preferably somewhere along the coast of New England, with the outer arm of Cape Cod being first choice. That part President Kennedy dedicated as a National Seashore 50 years ago - Chatham, Nauset, Eastham, Wellfleet, Truro. I would really like a change-of-scene for the Summer, with lots of time to read, write, do creative things, mess around in the garden or just gaze at the water. There's something very recuperative, renewing, restful about being near a large body of water & I'm guessing it must be hard-wired into our DNA because most people seem to report this effect. Spending Summer in the city, or burbs, is definitely not as wonderful. I haven't read the "tidying-up" book myself, but have heard a LOT about it via Pinterest etc. But it seems to me that it says basically the same thing that virtually every get-organized book says: KEEP IT if you really love it and/or it truly makes you happy and/or you'd be heartbroken not having it around anymore. Otherwise toss it/sell it/donate it and free-up that space for something else, or nothing at all. Personally I've always lived where storage space was minimal/had to be shared etc [sibs, roommates etc] so I think I learned early on to really pare down my possessions, choose things judiciously etc. In my first year being retired, I worked on a room at a time at home and in the end I don't think I had as much as most people might have had after 35+ years of accumulating. Except in the kitchen, where I found I had a LOT of unneeded tools and way-too-many food storage containers etc. My goal became keeping items that could multi-task - and getting rid of all the plastic I could. I bought a half-dozen big glass cracker/biscotti jars, 2-3 dozen glass canning jars [quarts, pints] and a large supply of plastic screw-on jar lids to reorganize baking supplies, staples, beans, pastas etc. Had enough extras to help out with laundry room, bath & art/sewing supplies storage as well. And I love my pantry shelves now - all gleaming glass jars. I got rid of only a handful of books though. For some reason, even if I hadn't looked at a book for years, I still wanted it around, just in case.

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    1. I feel the same way about books as you do. A summer cottage at the beach would be wonderful, but then I couldn't garden here unless someone took care of everything for me. My dream used to be to have a cabin on the side of a mountain overlooking a beautiful valley less than 2 hours away that I could go to during the week. I'd come home Friday morning to take care of things here, then go back to the cabin Monday morning. But now that I have a grandchild, with 2 more on the way, I'm glad to stay here so I can see them more often. I love renting houses in vacation spots for the entire family, so that's what we do just about every year now at least once during the year.

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    2. Your family vacations always sound like so much fun. A roomy rented house, everyone helping with regular chores, cooking etc. Lots of time to relax etc. Every year my family TALKS about renting a big airy beach house on the Outer Banks in North Carolina for a couple of weeks in September - which would be pretty economical for us due to our size - but somehow we never actually manage to DO it. One of these years...

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    3. Janet! I think your family needs to rent a place on Cape Cod for a week! The Outer Banks is so far away for you all. That's probably why it never happened. You can check out the VRBO.com site to find a house large enough for your family. I hope you do it!

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  9. I do a solid Spring cleaning every year that is really an attempt to rid myself of all the unnecessary mishmash that surrounds me. It must astound the Goodwill go through it all. Poor them! The problem is, I end up the next year with a new mass of STUFF. How does this happen?! Your question is not easy to answer.... I am fairly living the life I wanted, but wish we could travel more for enjoyment rather than work. It really struck home to me today when my son emailed me from Spain, with accompanying photos. In 3 months he and wife are going to Scotland. It seems he has been everywhere and is living the life I used to envision for myself. But, then again, if I were to be a gadabout, I would not be a lady farmer.... and that is my favorite thing to be.

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    1. We don't travel much because of our dog! But I'd rather have him than travel, too. The method of tidying up that this book uses has already helped me not bring new stuff into the house....but then I'm still in the process of getting rid of stuff so that's where my head is right now. Once I'm done, we'll see how I am about adding back.

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