March 2013 Newsletter
As some of you know, one of my New Years resolutions is to downsize, which means I’m cleaning out cupboards and closets, going through my library (tons of books) and eliminating boxes of stuff from storage.
There are two questions I am asking myself?
1. How did I get so much stuff?
2. How do I make all of these decisions?
When I left home in 1973 I took just my clothes, my sewing machine and a wicker table with 4 chairs. Within a short time I had purchased a foam mattress to sleep on, some sheets and towels, an iron and ironing board, and a car.
When I got married in 1978 I finally got a dresser to put my clothing in, a dining room table, some living room furniture and a television. So sometime between 1978 and today we somehow acquired at least 2 households worth of stuff. Some of it we inherited and some of it we purchased.
The problem now is, how do I make decisions about what to keep, what to throw out, what to donate and what to sell? The process is tedious and sometimes pain full.
We have at least 7 boxes of family pictures to go through and make decisions on… besides the needle work projects, vintage glassware… even old milk bottles. And then there is the fabric I’ve collected and the tools my husband (a contractor) has purchased over the years.
During this process, our house looks like we just moved into it and haven’t put everything away. Sometimes things get worse before they get better.
If we hadn’t embarked on this downsizing project, we were in danger of being known as hoarders. For this reason, every box we’ve donated has been a small victory and we have donated at least 20 boxes in the last 3 days.
We have a lot more to do and it is a lot like eating an elephant – one bite at a time.