My house is all in one piece again. You can’t even tell where the hole was in Jones’ room and the floor only looks different from the rest of the house if you know to look for it. My dining room is a dining room again, with a slowly refilling china cabinet. (I’m getting a great workout carrying my china and glasses back up from the basement – you can only safely hold a few things at a time, so lots of trips.)
As part of moving Jones back into his bedroom, I’m requiring him to make a decision about every.single.thing before I put it away. The amazing part of this is that my hoarder has finally let go of some of the random art work and other stuff that had been in his room. I wouldn’t call him a minimalist just yet, but his room will definitely be easier to navigate.
I’m doing the same. We live in an average sized house, but it has miniscule amounts of storage. Apparently in the late 1930s, people did not have a lot of clothes. Or things. Seriously, my “master bedroom” (I use that term loosely) has a closet smaller than most guest bedrooms. (And let’s not talk about my kitchen pantry or my teeny tiny stove…) We have one non closet storage area and guess what? That’s where we are going to need to put the kitty litter. (Yes, they’ve won me over, no, we haven’t found our cats yet.)
Add in the fact that we’ve lived here for 16 years and let’s just say I’m pretty sure I’ll be busy all fall. I’d love to hear your tips for how you decide what’s worth keeping and what’s not!
The bright side to all of this? I go up and down my stairs a bajillion times every single day. That has to count for something, right?
Anyone need some lightly used running shoes? I have a number of size 9 and 9.5 non-minimalist shoes to dispose of: Wave Prophecies, Under Armour Spine, Newton Gravity… Hit me up in the comments if one of those interests you.
And, of course, I took advantage of the beautiful weather and went on a five mile run. Fall in Virginia makes up for living here the rest of the year. ;o)
Doesn’t de-cluttering make you feel good.? It’s almost as good as a runner’s high. My only tip is that if it hasn’t been used in a year and if it’s not a family heirloom it can go.
Part of what makes restoration work expensive is the time that workers spend moving people’s stuff. Good on you for moving your own stuff. We use the 6 month rule (save for heirlooms and holiday decorations).
One year for clothes, two years for stuff. If it hasn’t been used, it’s not going to be. It’s so harrrrrrrd! Good work so far. 🙂
And if I wore size 9 I’d be hitting you up! I’d love to try some newish shoes without buying them…you just never know until you go for a run how they are going to work out.
I love thinking of new ways to store things. I either need a second home, or I have to get to the Container Store! I think the latter is more reasonable! They have lots of great ideas!