going...going...gone

Empty hangers....

...that once held clothes I hadn't worn in years.


Empty shelves...

..that once held "stuff" that I couldn't find any other place for.

Empty cabinet...

...that once held books, piles of magazines, photos and knick-knacks.

De-cluttering is talked about on blogs all over the blogosphere every now and again. I leave comments here and there saying how I'm also thinking about de-cluttering, just haven't got around to it. Yet.

Well, here's the evidence that I have made a start.

A recent conversation with a very close friend brought home to me the fact that my home really does have way too much clutter. She'd spent the last few weeks clearing out the previous home of a family member, 40 years worth of "stuff". Telling me about it got me thinking about who was going to have to clear away my things once I "kick the bucket". (many years from now). I remembered clearing out my parent's homes. I don't want my kids to have to go through a lifetime's collection of junk. So I made a start.

Wardrobe; 6 jackets, yet I only ever wear two of them. Toss the four onto the bed. Shirts; never worn anymore because they need ironing, toss onto the bed. Dresses; well, there weren't any....

Everything cleaned, folded and taken to the nearest op shop.

Shelves; all that "stuff" got shoved in there when I moved in here and hasn't been touched since.

Gone. Ditto top of wardrobe stuff. The shelves, an old pantry unit, are being picked up by the Salvos.

The cabinet? Well, I weeded out the books that I didn't really like, so wouldn't be reading again, the ones I love and read over and over are now housed in the new shelves I put together last week. The magazines got tossed into the recycling. The cabinet is also going to the Salvos, just because I really don't like that particular unit.

Even my jewellery box got the treatment. It was mostly cheap stuff from the reject shop, or from stalls at the markets; I don't wear jewellery anymore, so why keep it?

Ornaments, knick-knacks, dustcatchers, (call them what you will), have been drastically reduced, many photos have been packed away.

I look around and see empty spaces where once were angels, paperweights, little vases that never held flowers, trinket boxes.

I don't miss any of it.

I thought I was doing it for my kids, but I realise I've also been doing it for myself. For years I hadn't been able to let go of stuff, now the time was right and my home is (almost) clutter free.