It almost seems to early to be thinking of spring cleaning, but with cabin fever settling in I have found myself unable to relax. So for the majority of these first three weeks of 2016 we have been doing a MAJOR clean out. Not just tidying, but taking organization to a-whole-nother level for us. (Preparing ourselves for a successful, less stressful year ahead.) We have made two trips to the landfill already and a third one planned this weekend, bags and boxes full of trinkets, clothes, shoes and the "I'll get to that" projects have been carted down to our local thrift stores and the remaining items are being sorted, organized, cleaned and labeled and it feels so good.
When we moved into our home 3 years ago, we had successfully managed to accumulate around 15 plastic totes of "stuff", a combination of things we each had when we moved in together as well as things given to us after both C's parents and grandparents sold their homes. Just imagine the array of cra .... ahem .... "things" we had in our basement. So during our recent purge, we limited ourselves to one plastic tote each for keepsake items such as the Easter cookie jar I got when I was a child and C's junior ice hockey trophies. We sorted and condensed most of those boxes down into our one each and had 6 (!!!) empty totes left over. It was a great few hours spent in our basement, reminiscing over the things that had traveled around from apartment, to cottage, to apartment, to house with us over the last 7 years, and it was so great to see so much of what we didn't need be dropped off at the thrift shop to potentially be used by someone who really could use it.
One of my obsessions is old trunks. It's their history and the mystery (look at me rhyming) behind them that has me so intrigued with them. Needless to say I have quite a few, so the obvious thing to use trunks for is storage. Except they're also a place just to throw things you'd rather not find a home for right this minute. So I have sorted through all most all of the trunks we have and designated them as specific homes for certain things, particularly mementos or items that I want to keep but can't always have out on display. For instance I now have a wedding memories trunk, a book shelf trunk & a horse tack trunk.
I think that is an important note to take, if an item doesn't have a designated home, either find it one or get rid of it. Implementing this guideline into our home has really help me keep things organized. It doesn't necessarily mean that the item can't be moved around or kept somewhere else but when it comes time to tidy up and clear your space, does that vase have a cupboard to live in until it can be filled with flowers again? Does that blanket on the couch have a spot to go until its used for the next nap?
Keeping our home tidy & minimal doesn't mean we can't have "stuff", it just means that the things we do have might have more than one use, that its presence doesn't stress us out because its over bearing or in the way. An organized space creates a sense of calm, providing more energy to be spent on creativity, other daily chores and relaxation. I find that when my house is tidy, I am able to hit my "reset" button, ground myself and in general that sets me up for a successful day. These are all things that are so important in the strive to a simpler life.
When we moved into our home 3 years ago, we had successfully managed to accumulate around 15 plastic totes of "stuff", a combination of things we each had when we moved in together as well as things given to us after both C's parents and grandparents sold their homes. Just imagine the array of cra .... ahem .... "things" we had in our basement. So during our recent purge, we limited ourselves to one plastic tote each for keepsake items such as the Easter cookie jar I got when I was a child and C's junior ice hockey trophies. We sorted and condensed most of those boxes down into our one each and had 6 (!!!) empty totes left over. It was a great few hours spent in our basement, reminiscing over the things that had traveled around from apartment, to cottage, to apartment, to house with us over the last 7 years, and it was so great to see so much of what we didn't need be dropped off at the thrift shop to potentially be used by someone who really could use it.
One of my obsessions is old trunks. It's their history and the mystery (look at me rhyming) behind them that has me so intrigued with them. Needless to say I have quite a few, so the obvious thing to use trunks for is storage. Except they're also a place just to throw things you'd rather not find a home for right this minute. So I have sorted through all most all of the trunks we have and designated them as specific homes for certain things, particularly mementos or items that I want to keep but can't always have out on display. For instance I now have a wedding memories trunk, a book shelf trunk & a horse tack trunk.
I think that is an important note to take, if an item doesn't have a designated home, either find it one or get rid of it. Implementing this guideline into our home has really help me keep things organized. It doesn't necessarily mean that the item can't be moved around or kept somewhere else but when it comes time to tidy up and clear your space, does that vase have a cupboard to live in until it can be filled with flowers again? Does that blanket on the couch have a spot to go until its used for the next nap?
Keeping our home tidy & minimal doesn't mean we can't have "stuff", it just means that the things we do have might have more than one use, that its presence doesn't stress us out because its over bearing or in the way. An organized space creates a sense of calm, providing more energy to be spent on creativity, other daily chores and relaxation. I find that when my house is tidy, I am able to hit my "reset" button, ground myself and in general that sets me up for a successful day. These are all things that are so important in the strive to a simpler life.