Apologies for the silence- last week I was been bitten by the de-cluttering bug and subsequently launched a strategic attack on every cupboard, drawer, and vintage suitcase in the house to oust some of the general detritus we've apparently begun hoarding over the last few years.
When we were renting I had regular, ruthless clear-outs, to save us lugging armloads of unnecessary stuff from one place to the next, but since buying our house I've felt less compelled to de-clutter (aside from the occasional bag of odds and ends going to the charity shop). As a result, our loft is bursting with boxes of tat, nearly-empty tins of paint, Tom's old uni coursework, bags of my falling-apart shoes, and Playmobile pirate ships.
Obviously, one must keep one's energy levels up when heaving chests of drawers up and down stairs on their own (one could have waited 20 minutes for one's boyfriend to get home from work and help, but one is not known for one's patience). Thankfully, my Mother In Law came to the rescue on Sunday with some gorgeous Easter treats:
I took the photo above this afternoon. There were a lot more eggs in there on Sunday...
In addition to throwing out an entire binbag full of old birthday and Christmas cards (which I sorted on our bed, thereby covering it in loose glitter) I've decided to get rid of the denim chair in our dining room (because it turned out to be awfully uncomfortable) and turn our south-facing guest bed into a day bed for curling up on with a magazine. By "day bed" I basically mean, "add lots more blankets and cushions". Serendipitously, my MIL made me a beautiful patchwork cushion for my birthday! It goes perfectly with the others I've thrown on there already, and is a step closer to the number of cushions a good day bed needs (12, I reckon).
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| Panda cushion, new patchwork cushion, Sweet Dreams pillowcase, and cloud cushion. |
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| Reverse of lovely new cushion |
How do you feel about de-cluttering? A therapeutic pastime, or a boring, dusty, chore?
Katie xxx
I don't mind it when actually doing it but I find it realllllllly hard to chuck things out (especially clothes...) and especially when I think there's a chance it can't be recycled or nobody else would ever want it. I feel responsibility for ensuring it doesn't end up in landfill (since many drops make an ocean) and feel totally guilty if it does. xx
ReplyDeleteHi Kezzie, I work in a charity shop and we fill about 20 huge bags with torn, holey unsellable clothes a week. We get around £3 per bag from the rag man and all the textiles are sorted. Some goes to other countries where they are less fussy about what they wear and some is sanitised and shredded for mattress fillings etc. Don't feel bad about taking crappy stuff to charity shops! It won't end up in landfill!
DeleteReally good to know Emma!! I always wonder what to do with clothes with missing buttons, torn knees etc so great to know they can be recycled! Will definitely do that in future :)
DeleteDecluttering? Absolutely love it! I grew up in one those obsessive hoarder-type houses (my mum cannot chuck *anything* away), my bedroom was the one oasis of calm in a house full of crap. So nowdays, nothing gives me greater pleasure than sorting out a load of stuff and filling charity shop bags - if someone else can use something I can't, then that's excellent!
ReplyDelete(except for the cushions, I'm completely with you on that one - there is no such thing as "too many cushion") :-) xxx