Scribbles and Scrambles ~ Chapters Part 2, Flipping the Page

As shared in part one here we are downsizing big time around here. 

I thought I had unloaded a lot while purging over the past two years. Oh, no, that was the tip of the iceberg. I've read about the folks who get rid of up to 90% of their stuff. The downsizing, minimizing super stars who transfer a family of five from suburbia to a tiny house, for example. Rob and I are probably at 50% and counting. And I'm looking around as I type this and deciding there is still too much that I'm looking at. 

Instead of buying our little 700 square foot house, we have been talking with our daughter. She is able to and good at single parenting, but she has nothing to prove to anyone anymore, including herself. Single parenting is hard. We are involved but not daily. And we have empty rooms. So we've decided to leave our upstairs, hand it over to her and the kids and turn the three downstairs bedrooms into an apartment for Rob and me. 

We will share a downstairs living room and a kitchen/dining area with our daughter and grandkids. She will have an upstairs living area as well where she can have people over etc. We will build a small sitting area in our little apartment where we can go to escape if necessary and to chill when needed. Our personal space will be about 300 square feet. This is our bedroom, our private living area and a den that will be invitation only where kids are concerned. Now a tiny house is usually under 200 square feet and that includes a bathroom and kitchen so we definitely have a space luxury. Our bedroom will be big enough for my big dresser and our bed and a few odds and ends. It's 9 x 11. The sitting area is roughly 9 x 9. Rob has some space saving creative ideas so I'm real excited. 

We will have someone to share the cleaning and upkeep with. She likes to clean. I do not. We will have better meals because there is one more creative cook to add to the mix and a reason to actually do sit down dinners and go beyond quick and frozen meals most nights. We will have chatter and company whenever we want it. And the dogs will have company always. Our daughter can put the kids to bed and run to Target or meet a friend and not have to worry that the kids are up too late at our place or that I'm falling asleep on her couch, or paying a teenager to sit with sleeping kids. 

Last night our daughter and I went through several boxes I've been putting off. Some of it was hers, a lot of it was stuff we had purchased together or with an idea in mind. We poured through old pictures, cards, crafts odds and ends, things from our gift cupboard and drawer. We got rid of more than we kept. 

We have gotten rid of so much I'm honestly feeling very much like one big dresser and one bed, two closets and two bedside tables is going to be enough space. Right now my big walk-in closet is down 75% of what was in there. My big armoire (which is going to become a living area piece not a bedroom piece) is half empty. Rob smartly built drawers in the base of our bed when he made it years ago. Those drawers are empty. Two craft closets are down to 3/4 of one. The kids happily discovered and played Battleship while we cleaned out the game cupboard. What's the point of having too many games to go through so the choice is overwhelming? My three heavy duty bookshelves have become so decluttered I'm only using one and a half and when our den/office is finished most of those will fit there.

Our daughter has three kids and three years worth of accumulation. She is purging as much as we are to make this happen. 

I just can't even put into words how happy this solution makes me feel. And I'm feeling like with every item I put in a box for someone else who might need it, that I'm making room for the important things in life. 

Scribbles and Scrambles ~ Outta Here.

I got bit by a wild hair yesterday. I have some furniture I just want to get rid of. 

But before that I have to get rid of the stuff in and on it. First the DVD collection. We seriously had three storage pieces full of DVDs. Can you say excessive??? We went through a phase where we would buy any movie we liked if we discovered it at a decent price. The wicker drawer unit in photo one was crammed full of DVDs. The wooden unit in picture three was crammed full of them. And the two (there were three) baskets on the bottom shelf were actually loaded as well and slid into a wooden box. So we got rid of enough DVDs to downsize into one unit , with room. YAY!!! I'm going to try a new app I read about called decluttr. You apparently scan the scan code on the CDs or DVDs and they make an offer and you ship them to them at no cost. I'm okay selling some stuff. Oh yeah. Cuz as you imagine, I'm kicking myself for the $$$ invested in our library.

Then I decided, since I was on a roll, I'd move the 3 pictured units around to new locations that make sense. The wicker unit is near my coffee counter and holds extra coffee mugs now. The unit that held the coffee mugs before is now on the other kitchen wall and holds small appliances and other items I use. 

I was able to clear off a huge baker's rack that I don't love and place those items in new places. Sigh. Satisfied. Sleeping well, tonight. Those pieces were heavy. 

Scribbles and Scrambles ~ Decluttering Update

Since I've posted several times about my decluttering/purging goals I thought I'd give you an update. 

You know I met my goal of purging 1000 items from December 1 thru December 31 in the first quarter of 2015?

I haven't stopped. We had long term house guests in June and several boxes and bags found their way out of the house. After they returned home we unloaded some big items that we needed to unload. I now hate holding onto something that I don't use and someone else might not only use, but could be blessed by receiving it.  We have a ministry thrift shop down the road plus a homeless shelter in a neighboring city that need and want our stuff and they use it to help. So it's a win. Win. 

My closet population continues to diminish. I haven't followed the ruthless advice of those who say pull every item out and make three piles. I have too many things I wear infrequently, or need to keep on hand. NEED is a word that I have to consider and act on, ehhh? 

I have taken to looking at an item I pull out of the hanging rack, try on, or put back and ruthlessly decide right then and there if this item does anything for my life. If it doesn't, it goes right into the bag in my closet. Right now I have two of them that are half full. Here's the kicker. When that item goes, so does the hanger. If something comes into my house that needs a hanger, something already living here goes so I don't have to put out any new hangers. 

While Rob was hospitalized and I was visiting I also did something I've been thinking about doing for months. I have too many scarves. Yes. (I also love purses, note the one, the RED and ADORABLE one in the giveaway bag...it doesn't work anymore for my life. So it has to go.) I decided I'd wear them if they were infinity scarves. 

So I shoved them in a big bag with two colors of thread, needles a thimble and scissors and simply stitched the two ends together in a blanket or hem or hidden stitch. I got most of them done in the first two days and they are all infinity scarves now. If you think that's useful, make sure they are long enough or you'll just be annoyed. Compare them to the favorite infinity scarf length to be sure. Now, if I don't wear them I either donate as is, or I snip the simple stitches, pull them out and give them away for someone else to wear. Win. 

Again. I have to say I have very few items I even remember to miss. Purging has been excellent for soul and house. Cleaning is easier because I have space to put things away where they belong. I do kind of want to get rid of kitchen bowls and pans and crockpots because I have multiples of each. But just when I get brave something big comes up and I'm glad I have all those duplicates. Darn. And I keep looking at Tiny House stuff on the computer. I'd love a 700 sq foot or slightly less house with 2-3 bedrooms. Oddly, our first purchased house was a duplex and we lived in 900-1000 sq ft and were very comfortable even with 2 kids. And our current house started out at about 1100 sq ft when we moved in and we were cramped but comfortable with 5 of us under one roof. The second story was a great thing. But two of us do not need that much room. Hmmm we'll just have to see what happens with that. 

Scribbles and Scrambles ~ Numbers and Nuggets

 My getting rid of project is clicking right along. My count is at 534. I love the fact that I've got space in most of my drawers and closets. Don't worry. I can still keep going and make my 1,000. I decreased my Christmas decorations even further after Christmas. Why? Because what I didn't put out lots of my stuff. And I needed to assess why that was. Most of it went. I also haven't missed a single thing I've gotten rid of.  Every day I've managed to find a handful of items slated for the get rid of pile. 

And my new additions (just 2 items, except the toys....some of which have already had the squeakers excised so I'm not counting them) winter coats for the girls. Ha. Ha. How cute are those? I need to make some adjustments the neck velcro is a little tight and keeps popping.