Reducing Plan

I lost weight, a lot of weight, and now my home needs a reducing plan, too. I have a two-bedroom townhouse – with full basement – and it’s packed to the rafters (ok, not really, as I believe there is an attic, but I haven’t been up and don’t want to go – that’s all the clutterbug needs, is to find more space to fill). I refuse to grant myself permission to expand any further.

Oh, yes, I’m a devoted clutterbug. Over the years, following the voluntary simplicity philosophy I so admire, I’ve had short spells of trying to rid myself of much of my stuff. I’d make a bit of a dent, but that’s all – this decluttering is hard, and it goes against the grain of everything I’ve ever done, who I’ve ever been. Of course, I’m NOT my stuff – or am I? I’m a diehard collector. What have I collected? Hmm…?

1. Stuffed Teddy Bears (they are all boxed up)
2. Ceramic cat figurines (they are all boxed up)
3. Swanky Swigs (I use about 5 of these, but most of mine are boxed up)
4. Rose-strewn china/porcelain decorated pieces (hmm…most are boxed up)
5. Depression glass – no specific pattern and while most of it is unpacked in the pie safe that houses such things, I don’t use them…might as well be boxed up.
6. CDs, 33-rpm vinyl records, cassette tapes (at least there are no 8-tracks)
7. Magazines, books
8. Fabric, yarn (ok the fabric is for my business, but there is a lot that’s not)
9. My mother’s stuff (I didn’t collect it, she did, but when she died, I couldn’t face giving it all up – it was HERS and I’d lost her, so I could keep her stuff – I’m still working on that one)

This time, encouraged by having to open my closets and rid myself of all those FAT clothes (they’re gone, or rather, they’re waiting in a couple of places to be either sold or donated and at the rate I’m going I just had better donate them), I have begun to look at other things carefully. And I’ve discovered I have a long, long way to go.

There are methods to this, of course, and one of them is that you will never be "there," as in, there will always be purging to do. I love the "one-in, one-out" idea but I need to try to do the one-in, two-out, at least till things are under control).

One decision that I’ve reached is that I will not, under any circumstances, allow myself to think that this time of decluttering is in advance of redecorating. I will admit that I might well find things in my “stuff” that I could repurpose to "redo" my space, but at least that won’t be spendy…and I won’t let myself KEEP things just for that purpose (unless I truly love it). Minimalism for me will not necessarily be Spartan. I like "My Grandmother’s Parlor" look. However, since I admit that it’s a PITA to dust and clean in that environment, I’ll keep the style, just cut the clutter and reduce the amount of stuff...

I'm putting myself on a different sort of reducing plan...