de-cluttering

these are lew's trinkys, a childhood collection

Sorry for my sporadic attendance. (I have to say this to my childrens' teachers, too.)

I've been cleaning out and getting rid of. 

Oh, this feels good.

Before turning the garage into an art studio, it has required cleaning, and we did that in the form of a garage sale. 

It's easy for me to make a clean sweep, but kids are more attached to their stuff. I once read that you should never get rid of their things, as it is not unlike a 'trauma' for them, but I think this is complete bunk. Della and Lew did a great job. They even noted that the stuff they kept seemed 'more special'. 

Lewis has his 'trinkys' and Della, her 'stufties' and doll.

The main thing we did, that made a huge difference, was get rid of almost all of their containers. 

Eee gad. Lewis had seven random boxes with bizarre scattered contents. 

No more. One big and one small, and he knows where everything is.

Same for Della. 

They were both so pleased to go through and analyze, and their sensibilities were 'spot on'. They recognized that gifts from loved ones had the most intrinsic meaning to them, and expressed it so sweetly.

"I would never get rid of this, Kitty and Grandbear, gave it to me when I was born."

Whereas a thrift store stuffed animal in a carrying case....hasta la vista, baby.

They went through their books and I was very surprised. 

How do they know these things so young?

They said goodbye to the same ones that I would have chosen.

Berenstein Bears (a former favorite)

Critter books (which they have loved)

Pinkalicious and other canned concept books that Scholastic seems to push

Where The Wild Things Are...we all three admitted that we've never liked it!

and much more....

Clothes!

What do you wear most? How many shirts does one person need? Are you the type that hangs onto everything forever, or clears out seasonally? I am not a clothes horse. I find an outfit that I like and stick with it. I will wear the same pair of jeans, or sweater, or top,  constantly for a year then throw it out when it's done. I would say, that all total, I have thirty items of clothing. I have four pairs of shoes, not including ski boots. If I get a new pair of shoes, I get rid of the one's that they are replacing. An empty closet feels good to me. I don't do 'outfits'. I wear one dress a season. 

I am slowly trimming back my kid's clothes to make life easier for all of us. Was I born to fold laundry? It feels like it sometimes, and I don't like that feeling.

It is a vicious cycle, getting and spending, and we lose sight of what is dear in a cluttered life. 

Have you seen this site? It's called 'the zero waste home' and it is EXTREME. This family of four creates one small handful of trash per year. I don't want to go there all the way, as it seems consuming in and of itself, but we are all different, and it takes all kinds, and she is certainly shining a light on the waste that the world has come to see as a birthright. When I need inspiration I love to visit her site, and see how she has honed her home to a minimum, while maintaining a well-run, loving, family. Check out her tips for a low maintenance, zero waste home.

Refuse, refuse, refuse then reduce, re-use, and recycle. 

Wordsworth said it over a hundred years, on the brink of the first industrial revolution.... 'In getting and spending we lay waste our power.' He would just die today, wouldn't he?!

The world is too much with us; late and soon,
Getting and spending, we lay waste our powers;
Little we see in Nature that is ours;
We have given our hearts away, a sordid boon!

William Wordsworth

We remodel new homes, we throw out leftovers, we buy new clothes when we have a closet full, we replace cars that have years of life in them because we are driving a status symbol, we buy books that are waiting for us at the library, we horde and build storage for things we haven't used for twenty years, we outfit our kids for every event, we need to slow down, we need to think more, we need to cherish experiences over stuff, we need to take pride in less, we need to teach this to our children.

In getting and spending we lay waste our power.

Can you tell that I love this quote.