Recently we were gifted some furniture and it has forced us to realise that, actually, our house is full of clutter and we've been masking the problem for a while.
It's not just the furniture, it's everything. For instance, here's a partial list of things of which we have too many:
- books. But what can you do, right?
- fabric. I am starting to see that yes, there may indeed be a fabric problem.
- coffee jars. I can't throw them out, they're so useful. Then I don't actually use them.
- clothes that need to be mended. And have done so for a long time.
- shoe boxes. Remember when you were a kid and you only got one pair of shoes every year but you really, really, really wanted a pile of shoe boxes? I do, apparently.
- magazines. I know I should throw out the 1992 issues of Vanity Fair but I don't want to.
- 'hobby equipment'. Actually, in many ways that's just a euphemism for 'fabric'.
And it's not just about the amount of stuff we have (which is lots) it's also about the storage of the stuff. Most things have a place to be put away, but most of them also have a place in which they are kept (a different place).
So now I get to go around the house and think about what needs to go where and what function it will serve and winnow out the clutter (I'm not throwing any books away! or fabric!) and make a start on this huge projects. Wow, I'm really over it just thinking about it.
And sadly some tough decisions may have to be made about the keeping of things. There's a pile of stuff I hang on to purely because I made/found/bought it when I was living in my wee flat in Pyrmont on my own. I was so proud of myself and my wee flat that I've hung onto some of that stuff just to remind me of those times. Times have changed, the ugly table in the attic has to go. [oh, panic! maybe not.]
Mr Puss loves the new sideboard:
It has a mirror at the back of the cupboard and he likes to scratch at it to find the 'other cat'.
I am going to start boxing books up this week to GIVE AWAY.
EEEEEEP/
Posted by: D | January 05, 2009 at 10:26 AM