My parents moved into their current home in 1989. I was 5 years old. Slowly but surely they renovated and restored that shabby old farmhouse into something truly exceptional. However, their attic holds a couple dark secrets unfit for the pages of Country Living Magazine -- a handful of boxes that followed us from our old brick house in town and were never fully unpacked. The stroller that my mom used to push around my 36-year-old brother and almost-30-year-old me. That last cluster of old stuff they didn't need in their new home and wouldn't miss if it disappeared.
Currently, Ez and I occupy about 60% of our home's total square footage, and I'm proud to say the photo above captures all the extra "stuff" we still have packed away from our former lives, waiting for the remaining space to open up. It's about four boxes of miscellanea like board games and candlesticks, a vanity table, two dining chairs, an old computer that needs to be recycled and some old files destined for the shredder and the compost bin. (Some things bulking up this pile are building materials and supplies that will be used to finish this space. Woohoo!) Every time I revisit these boxes I end up donating or throwing away another armful. Give me two hours and that pile of stuff will be halved. This stuff, jammed into a corner of the master bathroom while the flooring gets installed, also occupies a corner of my mind that will feel much more at ease once it's unpacked, put away, tossed or otherwise gone.
My parents' old boxes are no big deal. Maybe one day they'll open them and discover a Renoir they forgot about. But our house doesn't have an attic. (We ripped it down so the 2nd floor ceilings could be higher than 6 feet!) Our basement has a dirt floor and snakes. Ours is a home fit for minimalists.
I'm happy with this. The less we have, the less I realize we need. Maybe I'm actually kind of addicted to getting rid of stuff. I've pared back my closet this year, keeping only what I actually wear, and it makes getting dressed in the morning a breeze. I feel like I have more clothes than ever, though I actually have less. One thing that's tough about this house is a lack of hidden space for seasonal things like Christmas decorations, which might be a deal breaker for some people. Fortunately, this is how I feel about elaborate seasonal decorating:
Granted, we'll have to make some purchases once these spaces are done. We'll need a new bed and a dining table. A proper filing cabinet. Toys and such for Johnnie, our resident stuff-magnet. But when it's time to let those things go, I hope I can just take 10 minutes and do it. I'm already trying hard to do that with the clothes and toys she outgrows -- packing away the favorite items we might use again one day, and giving away the rest. (Word to the wise: Buying used makes this whole process easier!)
Is anyone else out there addicted to getting rid of stuff? Or are you all savers and hoarders?
Living in an apartment, we have very limited space, and hardly any storage. Apartment life has made me better at getting rid of stuff. My parents are hoarders though. They keep EVERYTHING and it drives me bananas. When I visit I secretly throw stuff away! Growing up with them has probably also made me better at getting rid of stuff when necessary.
ReplyDeleteAnd as for seasonal decorating, I agree with you 100%.
Moving several times helped me pare down fo sho, especially during the Apartment Years.
DeleteNice hat.
ReplyDeleteI am definitely addicted to getting rid of stuff. In fact, the state of my attic right now is driving me crazy, but I'll wait for M to start daycare and the days to cool off before I tackle that project. Jon teases me that we often buy something twice because I will have thought we never used it and gotten rid of it. Generally I try to donate most of our giveaways to local charities or friends, or sell it on Craigslist. I buy most of our big items on CL anyway.
ReplyDeleteI know for a fact we currently have two of a couple things -- for example, one rolling pin in the kitchen, one in the "kitchen stuff" box upstairs I just saw the other day. Terrible. But so far there hasn't been anything I've regretted getting rid of and had to rebuy... famous last words!
DeleteMy policy is if I buy something new something must go ......It works for me.
ReplyDeleteThat being said I confess that I do have hoards of seasonal decor (from when we had children living at home).......I REALLY need to pare it down. I haven't done anything with them as I think that my daughter will be asking for something she remembers and wants. Sentimental I guess.
In recent years I place a single artificial bird in a nest on the tree and also use lots of fresh boxwood from the yard, pine cones and vintage glass bead garlands passed to me from my grandparents and mother. I like the simplicity.
If I had less space I would probably be forced to pare it down.
That's a good philosophy -- especially, for me, when it comes to clothes. And I appreciate everyone else's seasonal decorating, but I've never jumped on it myself.
DeleteInstead, I confess to having way too many tools/building materials/supplies. We are completely overrun and have rebought the same things multiple times due to lack of organization. Ugh! That's the next organization project over here. Wish us luck.
to clarify.... the greenery, cones and glass bead garlands are not on the tree.
ReplyDelete