As I opened my closet door...

[rifatheroffour]

...It all started by spending today cleaning and clearing.  I have been having a deep seated need to purge and make real headway taking back control of something in my life.  We did some major remodeling in the last year which technically ended back in November.  Of course I still have trim and paint work to complete and then there was the putting everything in its place, after figuring out exactly where that should be.  Once the weather finally began to turn a few weeks ago I started with purging the garage of the core of boxes that have gathered there since we moved in 10 years ago.  Oh sure some had been emptied, moved and others had joined the party but the pile still mocked me year after year.  I finally installed the old kitchen cabinets in the garage and have now gone through every single box.  Then the following weekend I reviewed all the boxes of stuff in the storage container that has been in the driveway for 18 months to accommodate the remodeling, I am happy to say it is now emptied and gone and my driveway is my own again.  So today I decided to finish the botched attempts at clearing out the small attic space above my kitchen that has haunted me for the last 2 years.  I am thrilled to say it has been reclaimed and is now serving as useful and efficient storage space again.

 

So back to the closet door... In my zealous drive to clean today I stripped my bedding, which happens far too infrequently.  I took the winter duvet off and aired it out outside with the intent that today was the change to summer bedding.  Of course when you strip the bed you have to remember to remake it, usually I remember just as I am ready to get into said bed. Tonight was no different.  I knew exactly which sheets I wanted and got them on and the four pillows all set.  Next the summer comforter.  It's in the closet, you know the one that was quilted as a wedding gift by my grandmother and has been used for twenty years.  I opened the closet door to grab it and... well I just couldn't.  Its freaking 1am, I'm tired and I could not pull it down from the shelf.  I went downstairs to where I had another blanket that had just been washed today.

 

It's completely silly, I knew in my head that I could just throw the damn thing on the bed its just a quilt right?  Apparently not, and whatever snapped in me at that moment also made me look around my room and realize I WANT to change things. I'm tired of looking at all the same stuff and too much of it as well.  I hope I can keep this momentum that seems to have begun a few weeks ago. Chipping away at the stuff chunk by chunk until I feel in control of my surroundings.  With any luck this will spill over into other areas of my life and maybe even be an example for the kids who each have their own "stuff" issues.

 

Wish me luck...

[widowat33]

Good luck! It always feels so good to be organized and making efficient use of your space, well for me it does. My most calm and peaceful moments are those spent sitting after I have cleaned my house, I actually enjoy cleaning I think it's something about seeing the progress and results of my work I've also been told I have type a personality and my psychology teacher was concerned about me when I told her after painting I put all of the light switch and electrical outlet covers back on and the screws all had to be turned the same way,lol. Then as I proceeded to tell her that I actually measure my dining room table to make sure the lazy susan is centred properly she rolled her eyes at me,hahaha. I think she might have been tempted to come to my house and purposely mess it up!

But having said all that I do have some things that I find hard to go through or organize. I was to the point that my closet had no visible floor, I would open the doors and just toss the clean clothes into it, so a few days ago I finally went through it, and took his clothes out and hung mine up. It looks much better and it wasn't as hard as I thought it would be to take his stuff out of there...but it's the little things that bother me, his toothbrush still sits where he left it, his razor, etc.. Someday I will get rid of them...

Good for you, keep that momentum going! My way of looking at clutter and stuff sitting around is that I DO have control over it, whereas there are so many other things in my life that I can't control, so what I can control I do!

[SoVerySad]

Wow, RIFF, that is tremendous progress you've made. I'm inspired, but still can't seem to find the energy to do the things I want to do. Good for you! I've found anything related to our bed is a challenge. I thought buying new sheets might help. I bought a really nice thread count set as I thought just the feeling of the sheets might be a little soothing, since going to bed alone sucks so much. Not. Instead it made me cry thinking about how much he would have enjoyed them. But over time, I've come to appreciate their welcoming texture.

 

Hugs...

[Trying]

Bravo on all of the progress you have made!  I have a ton of purging still to do here and may be moving so I will be kicking it into high gear shortly.

 

I have been feeling stuck in this house with the feeling that everything has to be in the same place the same way as always.  I have not made any significant changes around the house as far as furniture or decor.  The idea of moving into a new house and having total control of my space is very appealing.

 

I hope you keep up the great momentumou have going!

[IfIonlycould]

RIFof4-You are an amazing inspiration!  You stated a few weeks ago in the goals section that you were ready to "go for it" and you have been on fire!  It is amazing though isn't it after doing these grand purges/organizing stints that one thing can bring us back to our knees?  It has happened to me as well,  I understand that the quilt was not just a quilt.  I too have been in the process of letting it all go...well on this board and the last one....I have moved many times since his death finding fixer uppers and remodeling them ( and yes in the process finally going through boxes)...I want to settle in this latest house for a little while (for me 5 years is long) and make it my serenity house.  Keep it up and when you hit a bump in the road sit back and be kind to yourself.

 

(And as a side note:

I've also been told I have type a personality and my psychology teacher was concerned about me when I told her after painting I put all of the light switch and electrical outlet covers back on and the screws all had to be turned the same way,lol. Then as I proceeded to tell her that I actually measure my dining room table to make sure the lazy susan is centred properly she rolled her eyes at me,hahaha.

Wat33-I'm not sure I see the problem in the screws lining up?  I must be crazy too!  And too, who the heck wouldn't make sure something was centered properly?  The little details make a difference...we should go to her house and have a field day!

[DonnaP]

haha - this sounds SO familiar. I have been dealing with my own clutter demons and taking baby steps to reclaim space in my house. I don't seem to have any large chunks of time, though. So my progress is very slow. I like your idea of doing one area at a time and "reclaiming" the useful space. I'm considering getting a dumpster, now that the blasted snow is finally gone. But to make it worthwhile, I've got to do some of the purging FIRST. Otherwise, I'll only put a small dent in stuff while the dumpster is here for a week. Ok. Time to get down to business. I WILL do this. I MUST do this. I CAN do this. ...

 

Now, if only I wasn't stuck at work for the entire day   Momentum is only good for a short while. We will see how I feel later in the day.

 

Good luck on your continued purging, riff. It sounds like it's been very good for you!

HUGS,

DonnaP

[hachi]

Yep. Amazing progress. You must be feeling pretty good about that.

 

As far as the quilt, maybe your daughter would like it someday? I know I had one that was my parents that came to me as an older teenager. My grandmother had made it for them and it reminded me more of her than of my parents.