It's getting more difficult to know what else to get rid of.
Let's look in a cupboard so you can see what I mean - This cupboard is in the back porch-way over the washing machine.
Top shelf............. has got the District Council recycling/rubbish bags that I use instead of dragging heavy bins all down the lane.
Bottom shelf......... Container of washing soda, spare packs of the same and bottle of Ecover washing machine liquid. Shoe cleaning stuff and flower vases. Rubbish bags that I use for ash and in the swing-top kitchen bin - nothing surplus to requirements there.
Here's another cupboard, this is in the kitchen. There's the cat food that's in use with spare bags of dry food at the back behind the food in use (Spare boxes of wet food are out in the garage). Then on the left is the jelly straining bag and stand with the jam pan, funnel and spoon.
But nothing really to get rid of - maybe the chopper thing - haven't used it lately but it's a useful gadget sometimes and not electric.
I've been round the house looking in cupboards many times now and there are very few useless things, unless you count things merely decorative - like my mini jugs and other bits and bobs on the dresser,
which I discovered, after putting the photo on here, could do with a bit of dusting and tidying and re-organising.
I could get rid of all this lot, take the shelf top off the chest of drawers below and leave a bare wall, but that seems extreme.
Then Sue's (A smaller and Simpler Life) post about Tea Towels gave me a nudge, that's possibly something I could sort.
I'll show you my tea-towel "collection" another day!
Back Tomorrow
Sue
Tea towels. Must be something in the air. This week I've decided I am getting rid of all the shameful/stained/holey tea towels and replacing them. I'm so ashamed of the ones I have, no idea why I keep them for so long but it's time to admit they need to go.
ReplyDeleteIt's hard decluttering. I don't go along with holding things to decide if they bring me joy or not, but I do take time to decide if I actually like something and want it in the house. Too many times I've got rid of something only to regret it, so it does take time.
Looks like you are doing well to me.
Tea towels! How topical! My godmother, aged 91, died just before Christmas and I am slowly clearing her house (she had been 'clearing things out' for years which is making things easier for me. But I'm about to chuck the disgraceful rags in my tea towel basket and replace them with hers. They will be a good memento.
ReplyDeleteI love the jugs. I know the minimalist say "keep just one which sparks joy and ditch the rest" but ALL of mine have memories. With less than two years to go, my downsizing has had to be speeded up. I'm afraid that if I leave it, I'll make bad decisions because I'm rushed.
ReplyDeleteWhat is it about tea towels? I have so many of my own and inherited a mountain of them from my Mum, and got given two for Christmas {both of which are rather lovely ones} on top of which, I have seasonal ones that change with the time of year.
ReplyDeleteDownsizing can be so difficult. If we want to live a certain lifestyle there are certain things we need to support it, and I always feel that taking away all our decorative items would take the heart and personality away from our home. I could never be a minimalist!
ReplyDeleteWhat clean and tidy cupboards! I keep telling the kids, the sooner they take all their stuff the less they'll have to clear out later.
ReplyDeleteI haven't bought a tea towel for about 20 years. My Mum used to collect them and every time she went anywhere even abroad she would buy one. One day she presented me with over a dozen of them as she had so many, which was nice at the time as it has saved us money over the years, but I also had a lot of my own so I had quite a stack. We are still using them and some are still waiting to be used and are as pristine as the day she bought them. Memories of my Mum! (smile).
ReplyDeleteWhen we downsized from a big detached house to a small cottage in Devon (prior to our move to Wales) I was a bit too ruthless with decluttering and got rid of things I regret now. It was all to no avail though as our houses since have been bigger than the cottage. Never mind, it's only stuff!
I like the toweling tea towels but still have a lot that has pictures on that people have given me as presents when they come back from holiday. I must admit I am a horde, my daughter always says I can find anything she wants, also it you do lots of crafts etc these bits and bobs are so handy and save pennies. Why have I got hundreds of milk tops - what am I collecting them for ? I bet it you throw something away no doubt you will need it soon.
ReplyDeleteHazel c uk
Only you know what makes your life easier...or happier...don't be in too much of a rush to discard things...even if it does seem to be in fashion at the moment. x
ReplyDeleteI could have a field day in your cupboards … but you knew that didn't you ;-)
ReplyDeleteOne thing I would do is to find a nice tin or box for all the shoe cleaning paraphernalia, it would look neater straight away. We keep ours in an old compost caddy that became redundant when we bought a 'posh' tin one for a pittance when a DIY store closed down.
Yes, show us your tea towels, you've all seen my three. Oh and I have now decided that once we move house my two posh unused ones (yes, including the one with the Scottish piper on) will come into use and my three old timers will be relegated to cleaning cloths before we leave the house.
Ooh, I have one of those 'chopping things', which is now very old. Still really useful if you just want to chop e.g. a few nuts. A keeper!
ReplyDeleteand much easier to wash up than the food processor.
DeleteDoes not look too bad. I have a cupboard with Kenwood attachments that I should use more too! I have promised myself if I do not use them this year then I will sell them, as they have only been used once in 5 years so far?
ReplyDeleteI have downsized. Have moved 30 times in my lifetime and seems I have less than when started. Love it.
ReplyDelete30!! goodness me, beats my 9 by several
DeleteI laughed when you mentioned the tea towels. I have too many too. I'm going through much of what you are doing, partly because of having the kitchen done. I tossed a lot of stuff, took a bunch to goodwill and because I have a storage basement, took a lot down there to rotate by seasons or when I need it. (Now I have to go through that because I really don't have to have all of that.) I put things like my bags and cleaning things and such in baskets and they look better than before, which is a start. But I have to do so many areas... I admire what you've done already!
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to the tea towel post, Sue! I love my pile of ironed tea towels and always use them in rotation, as I do with most things (I blame this on my Saturday girl training in Boots, back in the Stone Age, lol!)
ReplyDeleteIf the little jugs give you pleasure at looking at them, then they deserve to be kept :)
Gosh, I have Eldest Daughter on my back at the moment as we have too much "stuff" - agreed, but we have lived here for 32 years this year, and "stuff" does accumulate, especially when you inherit "stuff" from parents who have passed. I have been going through things but it's the books she keeps on about. That is NOT a good subject to raise!!
ReplyDeleteYou seem to have been doing very well anyway, and are on top of things.
I once read an item should be useful or beautiful, so when I am sorting it has to fall into one of these groups for me to keep it.
ReplyDeleteI have regretted things I discarded [all my books!]; I do not regret the things I have collected or kept. Minimalism is a farce, so stupid. And really, how much angst can a few tea towels cause?
ReplyDeleteOther than a neater tin for the shoe stuff, close the cupboard doors and go on with your life, please.
If I put all the shoe cleaning stuff in a tin/box then it wouldn't fit in the cupboard unless I get rid of the big torch, which lives there for emergencies!
DeleteIt is hard to downsize, at least for some of us. There are always items we don't use every day but are extremely useful when we do need them. And then there are items with emotional/family attachments. My generation was raised by the generation that grew up during the depression and they learned to not throw anything away. I think many of us picked up that feeling. Despite the importance of reuse/recycle, today's younger people just are not so interested in many of the old things.
ReplyDeleteI'll look forward to your tea towel post!
I like William Morris' words... "Have nothing in your house, which you do not consider useful or beautiful." Seems they, cover everything.
ReplyDeleteYes...?
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Get rid, its just stuff. I have moved 13 times. Now I live in a 1bedroom retirement flat and I am still donating things to the charity shops every other week. The only ornaments I have are on display. Nothing spare in the cupboards. I find it liberating.
ReplyDeleteAgree.
Deletei recently downsized from a 3 bedroom house with a good size garden to a 1 bedroom flat with a patio. I got rid of loads of stuff the month before I moved and have still been clearing more stuff. The thing is lots of the stuff I did need before I moved and I just don't now.
ReplyDeleteWhen I cleared 70 years of my parents stuff, untouched, it focussed my mind on what to keep and what not to keep. During the 1940s and 1950s of course they kept everything, like Bonnie says, but then later it was never looked at. We finally got to look at it in 2012. This experience had a profound effect on me. It is very easy to keep things "just in case". Now for me, this is not so. For me also it will be me who goes through very personal things, not somebody else. I would rather I burned something that I may regret than leave it for somebody else to find (and read). But of course it all very personal and nobdoy can tell another what to do.
ReplyDeleteI think many of us are in the same boat, Sue. I have a lot of stuff--and oddly, much of it acquired in the past 8 years since I retired. I have been sorting and sending lots of bags and boxes out to the thrifts or the trash but still the cabinets and closets are full. Add to that, the fact that we have booths in antique malls where we sell, and I sell on ebay--all of the stock for that is guess where, in my house. It's a constant battle to keep all that under control as well as the things that are for our personal use or pleasure. I am still sorting and expect to continue at least through February. One trick I use is to find 10 things a day to remove. That breaks it down to doable even on days when I have little time. Doesn't matter how big or small, just 10 things. That I can do.
ReplyDeleteRepeat after me: "I will not buy any more jugs at boot sales!"
ReplyDeleteI know....I have the same love for jugs....memories of grandparents who actually put milk in them to put on the table....and so useful for flower arrangements, but.....
I like the idea of cooperatives where you share large and expensive equipment, rather than everyone having to buy and store things which might be used only once or twice a year.
ReplyDeleteAfter awhile it gets very hard to declutter. Instead right now I am using up more of my stashes, and trying not to purchase anything new unless it is really necessary.
ReplyDeleteGod bless.
I'm really bad at decluttering. I need to narrow down my to-keep lists a little better and start getting rid of more. I want space. It's just a little hard to let go of things.
ReplyDeleteI gave my teatowels a good, hot wash with the intention of chucking any that remained stained and manky (I have so many, I'd not miss them) but, annoyingly, they all came up pristine!
ReplyDeleteI'm like Sharon above - I want space but I don't want to get rid of anything. It's stupid really but . . .
xx
You know, I think you might be almost at zero unwanted items for now. Why not enjoy you pretty vases and Knick knacks and then when you see something that calls to you at a car boot employ the one in, one out principle so you keep on top of it.
ReplyDeleteDreamies... my cat loves them too and would open the cupboard himself if he could to get his paws on them!
ReplyDeleteI love the look of your dresser and I bet each of those little jugs holds a memory of where it came from.
Great and amazing post.Thanks for share.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.bloglovin.com/@maenababneh/where-can-i-buy-a-kitchen-tools-set