Decluttering

[poliphilo]

We have a lot of drinking glasses. When I was packing up the kitchen I found loads of them lodged in the backs of cupboards. I should have counted. I'll bet we own 30 or 40. For the past six weeks we've been managing perfectly well with with 2.

That's modern living for you. We pad ourselves round with wholly unnecessary objects. Ailz is in the front room now sorting through some of them- with a view to getting rid. She's just drawn my attention to a box of confetti left over from our wedding. I believe it's gone in the pile of things we no longer need.

I'm terrible; I'm a horder; things like that box of confetti I hang onto for purely sentimental reasons. There are objects I hate- ornaments mainly- that I keep for fear of hurting their feelings.  And then there are all the things that may come in useful sometime- kitchen things for example. Here I point the finger at Ailz. She loves gadgets and never saw a labour-saving device she didn't think was cool. I could care less. I use the same few pots and pans and wooden spoons over and over and over again- and since I'm the one who does most of the cooking- all those crock pots and rice-cookers and George Foreman grills are so much waste of space.

I'm going to join her now. I need to steel myself. 

Comments

[qatsi.livejournal.com]

I have three wine glasses from a set of four. Mrs Q also has three wine glasses left over from a set of four. The in-laws decided that three wasn't enough (because, gasp, we didn't have four matching glasses once when they were visiting) so we were given another set of four. We rarely use them; I hate to think what would happen if we broke one of them ...

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

Most of our glasses have come as unsolicited gifts. The in-laws recently off loaded a bunch.

[heleninwales.livejournal.com]

I find with gadgets that I have some that I fall in love with and use them regularly while others languish, never to be used. Unfortunately, it's impossible to predict beforehand which it's going to be.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

Ailz bought me a whisk the other day that I rather like. I find it's the really expensive things that I can't be doing with.

[airstrip.livejournal.com]

I try to clear my room of needless things every month. Things I don't use tend to be donated away.

I've got a few exceptions: cables, tools and a small plastic box of sentimental items.

I do have a suggestion for all those George Foreman grills: they make a pretty serviceable panini press.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

I'm full of admiration.

I have moods when thing get chucked or donated, but I've never done it on a regular basis.

[airstrip.livejournal.com]

Well, it's easier for me. I'm averse to spending money, so I don't tend to have a lot of things to begin with.

[airstrip.livejournal.com]

I also don't have a partner who might object.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

I have a dream of living a minimalist lifestyle- bare walls, only the basic necessities- but I think I'm incapable of it.

[airstrip.livejournal.com]

I should send you a picture of my room sometime.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

I'd like that.

[airstrip.livejournal.com]

I'm finding it difficult to take pictures of, just the shape of the room (not too big but very tall) makes it kinda awkward to photograph.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

I know what you mean. Rooms are tricky. You could probably do with a wide-angle or fish-eye lens.

[dalis-clock.livejournal.com]

I used to have a problem with saving everything. It was when I had lost all my belongings on three separate occations that I realized that they are all just "things". My advice is to toss or donate anything you have not used in the last two years. If a memory or feeling associated with an item is great enough, it wont go away if the item is gone. Would you really forget about a trip to Paris if you lost the hotel ashtray you smuggled out of there? No. It isn't a memory. It's an ashtray. Imagine the memories and positive feelings you could create donating crock pots and utensils to a battered women's shelter. Take pictures of the items and make an amusing scrapbook of them, then toss them. "This is the day we took our 3rd broken can opener to East Beach in Rhode Island. We had a blast!"

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

Good advice.

BTW, it's good to meet you. I like Dali, but I like his colleague, the film-maker Luis Bunuel even better.

[airstrip.livejournal.com]

For me, it was moving. After a couple, I started to feel like all that stuff was just junk I'd have to schlep somewhere eventually.

[pondhopper.livejournal.com]

We are in the process of re-arranging our space and clearing out because our older daughter will be moving back in with us for an undetermined amount of time. I am appalled at the STUFF we have accumulated. And I'm talking about in just one room. This is a large house and I shudder when I think of some of our closets.
Good luck with it all!

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

And to you.

This time I mean to be really ruthless (which is what I always say.)

[veronica-milvus.livejournal.com]

I'm a chucker-outer and my husband is a hoarder, but I do have a box full of souvenirs from our wedding and another box full of odds and ends from over the years, I try to make sure all the collections are of little things that don't take up much space!

Kitchen stuff I try to minimise, especially anything you have to plug in. e.g. I could buy an expensive espresso and cappucino machine, but I really like cafetiere coffee just as well, so I stick with that. I've got an electric whisk, and a blender for making soups etc. and that is all I've found that I need in the way of electrical food implements.

I get rid of unwanted items on Freegle, which assuages my conscience with regards to landfill.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

This past few weeks my kitchen has been reduced to a portable oven and as many utensils- including crockery and cutlery- as will fit on a couple of shelves. It's been enough. The only thing I've missed is my hob.

[michaleen.livejournal.com]

I think we have a total of three drinking glasses. We have had dozens, sometimes bought cheap in case lots, and my wife breaks them, one by one. Sometimes I help, but usually it is my beloved that does the honors. I have taken to drinking out of a wide-mouth pint canning jar, both functional and surprisingly tough.

She is good with wine glasses, too, but we just bought yet another set of four and so far they remain intact.

I too save everything. My wife yearns to throw it all out. Unfortunately, this house is rather large, so it is not immediately apparent just how much stuff has accumulated until it is too late.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

Our reorganisation of the kitchen is going to leave us with less storage space than we had before. Maybe we need to have one of those Greek drinking parties where you throw your glass in the grate once you've emptied it.

[michaleen.livejournal.com]

Now, there's a plan. If you intend to serve ouzo, you might consider breaking the glass before drinking it.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

Why not the bottle too?

[michaleen.livejournal.com]

Indeed. Best not to take any chances.