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View from Down Under

by Rosemary

Rated: 13+ · Book · Biographical · #2181121

The world from a short person's POV - not Australia or New Zealand.

Random thoughts, pointed comments, and whatever else crosses my mind

Show Recent Comments

10 Most Recent Blog Comments:

Cubby

Apr 2, 2020 at 6:59pm
In response to "Invalid Entry"

Wish I could port myself there right now!

Cubby

Mar 22, 2020 at 10:06pm
In response to "Invalid Entry"

Sounds like a dreamy vacation, Robin! Enjoy!

Cubby

Mar 22, 2020 at 10:03pm
In response to "Invalid Entry"

Fire dancers!!! Wow! What fun! You really are in Paradise! So happy you for you!

Cubby

Mar 22, 2020 at 9:58pm
In response to "Invalid Entry"

It sounds heavenly!!! Other than your travel delays, that is. Seems like nothing ever starts out smoothly.

Schnujo's Doing Homework

Oct 15, 2019 at 11:12am
In response to "Invalid Entry"

Oh, we've already decluttered and cleaned the whole house? Obviously I'm not keeping up. lol

On thing I'm finding is self-talk can help. It seems that you might enjoy cleaning or at least don't hate it. I hate it.

But I wish I loved it. That would be SO HANDY! So, I've been working on positive self-talk regarding cleaning. I smile when I say these things and I say them out loud if I'm alone or in my head if I'm not. I say things like, "I love to clean. Cleaning is fun. Cleaning makes me happy. I enjoy a tidy space." Blah, blah, blah...

I also sing songs with cleaning words replacing the regular lyrics. For example, for Row, Row, Row Your Boat, I sometimes sing, "Clean, clean, clean your house, gently down the stream. (It doesn't have to make sense. lol) Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily cleaning is a dream."

Sure, it's dumb, but if it works, it doesn't matter.

And if I even sort of want to clean something, I praise myself, even if I don't follow through. I always try to keep it positive. If I do clean, even if it's just a little bit, I praise myself like I'm a little kid who just used the potty.

Admittedly, It took me almost 2 weeks of doing positive self-talk before I noticed any change and if I quit for a couple of days, I had to start all over again. I've been doing it (more or less, as I remember to) for about a month. My place is still a wreck, but not AS bad as it was.

1 Like

Carol St.Ann 👓

Sep 25, 2019 at 1:13pm
In response to "Invalid Entry"

A lot of good advice here, m'dear.

I've always been organized and maniacally tidy, (annoyingly so, I'm told

).

I lost my mojo when my wonderful hub and I purchased a very large Victorian Mansion back in '97, because I'd always dreamed of owning and running a successful B&B. The timing, price, and location were beyond perfect, and I thought this was the sign I wanted it to be. Once it was ours, we set about furnishing it. And boy-howdy, did we ever have fun with that. I can't remember when I've had that much f... well, you get the picture.

And that's how I got into the mess I got into with STUFF.

The dream was brilliant and fulfilled. Everything I'd ever hoped it could be. And then life dealt a nasty blow and I was on my own. The B&B was too much for me all by myself, and the new owners wanted to actually live in it. The nerve of those little pishers!

So, I moved into a tiny studio apartment with my mattress and some favorite clothes and purchased a contract for several storage units for the furnishings (and all the memories of finding and buying and refinishing and designing...oye!) See, I figured that, once the worst of the grieving was past, I'd be able to let it all go and I might as well get the best prices I can for all of it, right? Best way to do it would be to open up a shop. Sounds reasonably doable, doesn't it? I thought so, but ... No.

Here's what happened. I continued to shop furniture and furnishings because I seriously LOVE to do this. Garage sales, yard sales, flea markets, and auctions ... are actually what heaven is made of, and - because I was smart enough to make a rule (whenever I buy something I must get rid of something), I started flipping
furniture and furnishings. And got hooked. Utterly. (I honestly think I was using these activities like a drug, to keep him alive, ya know?)

I did get a hold of myself about a year ago, and started selling the B&B furnishings, but it was slow going, because, as I stated, every diggity-dang item had a memory attached to it. Um, actually, it was more than that; I really liked all that stuff. Decisions on what to keep for myself and what to let go were difficult, and I allowed them to become more stressful than they ever should have been. My greatest success was selling the final item from one of the units and shutting it down. It was a big day for me. Empowering. A good look at the monthly budget without that added expenditure encouraged an inventory of what the remaining three units had to offer. (Hey, It was a 10 bedroom house) And started marketing that shit with dedicated intent. Cha-Ching!

I closed the last unit this past March.

I live comfortably clutter-free again, rapidly approaching what I would consider minimalist if not for the paintings ... and the books. I need to get rid of all those books. Dear God in heaven!

All that said, I love reading your support group blog because I like knowing I'm not alone in the situation - or I should say: process. And it really is like an addiction. I mean, just this morning, I passed a sign that read AUCTION THIS SUNDAY and there were six or seven gigantic white tents... And I checked my calendar before I even realized what I was ding.

And that's why they call me
Calamity Carol
XO

[Visit the entry for more...]

1 Like

Carol St.Ann 👓

Sep 17, 2019 at 10:45am
In response to "Invalid Entry"

Oh, Girl! I just read your post on the QOTD forum and swooshed over here to read your minimalist blog. I've embraced the lifestyle after a lifetime of decorating and redecorating with antiques. Not that I've stopped loving it; I'm really good at it and love the buying and selling... you get the picture. But last summer, (2018) I had a mini disaster in the house and needed to quickly move everything out while repairs were underway. Almost immediately, I became hypnotized by the emptiness; the space.

I never realized how much I would like it. The look of it. The ease of cleaning (Oh my goodness!) Even breathing feels different. In no time, I sold all my antiques and when I would normally be buying more, well, I simply didn't.

I'm quite sure I'll never go back.

Fanning your blog and thrilled I'm not the only one. Woohoo!

Carol
aka Bookmenster

Cubby

Aug 22, 2019 at 9:53am
In response to "Invalid Entry"

As always, great blog entry! I love reading all your great suggestions! I'm now at the point where I have several bins of photos and boxes of drawings and notes from the grandkids.

Hubby is anxious for me to go through these bins and downsize while I am resisting the task, which equals friction.

QPdoll

Aug 22, 2019 at 6:37am
In response to "Invalid Entry"

Excellent recommendations of how to declutter. That's what I need to do, find a box for each room and put anything that doesn't belong or have a home in it. It's such a great idea. Now to find the motivation!

1 Like

Cubby

Jun 22, 2019 at 9:38am
In response to "Invalid Entry"

As always, great advice!

I'd like to comment about what not to do when someone is a new mommy or grandma. Don't save every single scribble, and especially don't date it.

I've got boxes of drawings and colorbook pages with names and dates that I saved over the years.

Even the colorbook pages "I" colored with the kids, and with my name and date colored.

What the... ??? I haven't started weeding through these boxes yet, but probably will in the near future. I've been thinking about blogging about this later on... things not to do.

I'm the prime example of someone who needed her own advice over 40 years ago.

I think I'll tear wallpaper off the bedroom wall upstairs first. Much easier task!

~Cubby ")

August 17, 2019 at 11:00am

#964326

And Now for the Rest of the Story

" The price of success is hard work, dedication to the job at hand and the determination...that we have applied the best of ourselves to the task at hand." Vince Lombardi

Well, here we are with all the "stuff" we haven't found a home for yet! It may have taken days or weeks or months to get to this point. Hopefully, you have celebrated your successes (not by buying more stuff) and are ready for this last major task. Dealing with all the things that didn't find a home in your decluttering, re-organizing project may seem even more daunting than the original project, but don't give up now. Remember all that you have learned along the way and use your new skills to tackle the boxes, bins and miscellaneous bits and pieces that still remain.

Did you find that you had things left over after you designed your linen closet(s)? Or are there odds and ends left from your kitchen organizing project? Did you just put them all in the "junk" drawer? Is your laundry room now filled with miscellaneous bits and pieces that you couldn't find a home for? Oh, and what about seasonal decorations; where did they go?

All good questions, right? Here are some pointers that may help you find success with this project:

First, I suggest that you take a walk through the rooms you have been working on and gather any items that don't belong. This includes taking a look at the drawers and closets you organized. Gather the items that are basically homeless in one area so that you can see all the things you will need to work with to make sure you and your house function the way you want.

Second, sort them in categories of sell, donate, discard. At this point, you need to use "critical thinking". That is, be ruthless in your deliberation and do it quickly. If you didn't find a home for the item first time through, you probably won't this time either - DONATE OR TRASH! If you have to keep the item because it is just too sentimental, then find a place for it. Be creative; look at different storage solutions. Consider: Can the item be stored in the attack, storage shed, a garage, a toy chest or trunk? Maybe even a shadow box?

Third, gather all your seasonal decorations. Most of us have items we only use at special times of the year, like birthday's, anniversaries, holidays. The question is: Where to store them? You might want to pull all these items together in one place to see what you have to store. If you are at all like me, you have decorative items that you use/display seasonally. This is how I chose to decorate my home; how about you? When I change items out seasonally I consider their condition and whether they still fit in with the major decor of the room. ( We have moved 5 times in the almost 7 years that we have been married so this is a major issue for me.) It is alright if over the years your style has changed and the items you thought were so great in the '80s or '90s no longer fit your style. Now is a good time to sell or give them away and move on. I pack decorative items by season in clear plastic bins that fit on storage shelving in the small mudroom next to our sunroom. With such a small space, I have had to downsize these decorations. It was much more fun when I had access to a full basement to play with, but oh well, it is much better for the budget now. And I have learned to be conscientious of what works and makes me happy decorating the house. Tip: if you feel the need to buy decorative items, buy them when the seasons' change and stores put this type of merchandise on sale.

In my next blog, I review some miscellaneous ideas for keeping clutter away or at least under control so keep coming back. And as always, I appreciate your questions and comments.

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