Despite our decluttering efforts of the last couple of months, sadly I find that we still possess an awful lot of junk! We have a couple of 1970s vintage kitchen item on eBay (some wedding presents!) and to date about 10 boxes of glass ware and china, as well as more books sitting on the front porch for a charity to collect.
I am down to my best books, the ones I thought I would never part with. We have 30 shelves of books and I need to weed them down to…dare I say it…10. The best way to achieve this is to start when I am tired. When I have been sorting and packing all day, I am much more cold hearted and it is easy to shove something in a box. In the mornings I will consider things more closely, so there is a hint to anyone going for minimalism, be physically exhausted and thoroughly tired of sorting and then you will be quite decisive.
However, the opposite is true for wrapping and packing. It needs to be done when you are fresh otherwise you get careless and not wrap things correctly – not a good form of risk management.
The kitchen is almost finished, except for the things I think we will need over the next three weeks. The pantry is yet to be done. A huge wall unit in the living room that yielded 10 medium sized boxes is also completed, and now I am onto the main book shelves.
We are holding a family farewell barbecue for Daughter2 on Sunday, as she flies out to Perth on Monday (the day I return to work). I have told everyone that they will get a sausage on a paper plate and they appear happy with that. They probably know better than to cross a tired and stressed Flamingo Dancer! I would have liked to have made her a dried fruit cake for the day, but even I draw the line at that level of dedication. I packed the baking tins to make sure guilt didn’t set in and find me adding brandy to fruit at 2am on night (though adding brandy to Flamingo Dancer might be a good thing)!
Tell me again, how I thought this was a good idea…
[Oh, and of course I am accomplishing all this wearing pearls and 5 inch heels, as well as a haute couture ensemble]
In our tiny cabin, we’ve got exactly 6 feet of bookshelf space between us. Fortunately, we’ve got Kindles now, and many older books are free. In this way, I was able to clear out a lot of books that I still want to keep. Other not available got to stay.
I think I will be borrowing more and going to my ipad in future, traditionalist as I am. I know longer feel the need to possess the words, I just want to read them!
A sausage on a paper plate … AND A BOOK! That solves part of your problem!
BRILLIANT!
I have my moments
Or a sausage ON a book for those books that failed to inspire?
As long as the book isn’t dusty! None of mine would qualify, unless they were brand new.
I am finding dust alas, just proof that they need to move on!
I find myself forced to clear out my closets (moths). My method is: take item from closet, THROW it, wait, jump on it, then separate offending items: to be thrown out or laundered.
I wish I could mimic the FD couture (who could), but am forced to wear Aubrey bug-fighting togs: leather, bullets and a tommy-gun.
One more thing: Brandy! Yes!
Even though Augie the Dog is not a St Bernard, I am think of hanging a keg of brandy under his chin! Medicinal needs of course.
Well, he won’t have to climb mountains, so that’s a good thing.
Perhaps a nice dry white wine instead?
You need to train him up the way you want him to continue.
True – an unwooded Chardonnay is my wine of choice!