Connections and Mojo

The restraints are off!!  

No Goals or No Resolutions or No Guidelines or No Anything

 that speaks of a yearly intention.

  BUT 

I have plowed ahead regardless - one connected link at a time in "making space"

  just like I always seem to do every single January.

And yes,

all the actions were curiously linked.

It started with a walk-in closet.  This closet holds 'stuff' - paint, rags, wrapping paper, Christmas decorations, cleaning supplies, tools ... it is a catch-all closet.  When the door is closed - it is OK.  When the door is open - it is not.  When I decorated for Christmas I had to practically empty the closet to get to the right boxes.  Same struggle when I needed wrapping paper.  Ugly!  God forbid I should need a hammer or a nail.  When Christmas stuff returned to storage - I did a big clean out.  Now I can walk into the closet.  Fancy that!  I can actually walk into a walk-in closet!!

The closet clean-out produced two bags of donations.  My first thought - two bags - not enough to make the trip to Good Will, so I easily created a few more bags from my "guest/yarn/book/hobby room."

BUT ... while tootling around in the "guest/yarn/book/hobby room" for donations ... I remembered a problem that needed my attention.  My knitting notions and needles were in total disarray after 9 months of marathon Christmas knitting.  The disarray was so bad I was forced to buy several circular knitting needles in sizes that I already owned but could not find.  *sigh*  Now I have an organized knitting notions bag - an actual tote size bag.  (Yes, I have a knitting notions problem.)   And finally, all the knitting needles are back in their 'homes' ready for the next project.

And speaking of the 'next project,' after wandering around in my knitting supplies, I pulled out all the knitting projects that I set aside to get Christmas projects completed.  Yep!  I did a little line up of things that needed finishing.

Finally I was done.  'Stop looking at stuff' I cautioned myself.  It never ends.  Best to do something that really need doing ... like bill paying.

Ha!  I am so naive.

I set myself to working on bills.  Of course, my wandering eyes drifted towards the 5 inches of filing that I put off for months.  At the same time,  I remembered that I needed to find a specific proof of warrantee that my previous searches didn't turn up.   Filing followed bill paying.  And a search for a specific paper followed filing.

Filing done!  Warrantee info found.

Since I am not a fan of filing, I decided to distract myself with a cup of hot tea. (Seriously, a cup of tea ... where could that lead, right?)

See, I am a coffee drinker, but for some reason I have boxes and boxes of different kinds of tea.  And much of it never gets consumed because most teas upset my reflux.  (Bet you know where this is going ... ). So with a ton of tea taking up space - most of which I cannot drink - I decided to thin it out.  I made several cups of tea to taste, and I pitched near 100 tea bags in the trash.  I still have a life time supply of tea, but it felt good to get rid of the stuff I couldn't swallow.

NOW I am done!!

(Does anyone believe that?)

My knitting activities will probably lead to a much needed reduction in knitting patterns and books.  My tea tasting adventures will definitely lead to a much needed clean out of my messy pantry.  Who knows where this 'clean out fever' will connect to next.

January always seems to trigger this fever in me.  List or no list - ironically downsizing and cleaning out usually makes an appearance in my New Year.   This year it popped up spontaneously without a set of New Year goals.  It felt wonderful to just do what was in front of me rather than what was on goals list.   All that was needed was the mojo to do it!

But here is the really satisfying thing. 

If the mojo goes away - oh well.  

I got a lot done while it was here.  

It will return.  

It always does! 

Meanwhile 

 "Clean Out January" - a very satisfying thing to do!!

  A lovely way to begin the New Year!

S - Swedish Death Cleaning

S is for Swedish Death Cleaning

Bet I got your attention with that title.  

It is a real thing and it caught my attention as well.

Swedish Death Cleaning for Beginners:

How to Declutter and Downsize your way to a happy home and life, 

by Sara Hodges.  

WOW - I thought.  Death Cleaning!  How is that different from any of the other declutter, downsize, minimize, frugality readings I have done?  Can there possibly be anything new "under the sun" on this series to topics that I haven't seen yet.

The simple answer is yes - and I have actually seen this done but did not realize what it was!

I am a long time down-sizer, a sometimes frugality proponent, and a dabbler in the minimalist movement!  I have done my fair share of reading on all those topics from The Complete Tightwad Gazette by Amy Dacyczyn (from the 1990s) up to and including Marie Kondo's recent best seller  The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing.

Since the 1990s I have cleaned out, organized, downsized, decluttered and drove my self totally nuts - making room in a 2,200 square foot town house for returning family members to live.  First it was for my mother-in-law who was in hospice for lung cancer (yes, I was her caregiver too), then for a returning son after military service, then for a daughter during a down time, then for my mom who was no longer able to live on her own, and finally for myself and my husband as we did the traditional senior citizen downsize - to move into 1375 square feet of condo space. I thought I knew a lot about this topic - 'cause I had lots of practice.

What could this little book offer me - except the answer to what was 'death cleaning.'

Grims-ville!  I thought.

 So, of course, I read on!!

What the heck is Death Cleaning?

The author says it best on the first page of Chapter 1 ...

"To put it simply, the art of Swedish death cleaning is about ridding your home of possessions that you don't want, need or use, so when you do happen to kick the bucket, your loved ones are not left with the grave emotional task of shifting through 80+ years of your stuff.  It's a blatantly honest approach to decluttering your home and a very transparent way to look at all the things that you possess."

Light bulb time!  

Ok, I get it!

Clean out your own stuff

So your relatives don't have to do it for you.

I will say that the words "art" in relation to throwing things out ... and "kick the bucket" in relation to dying - made me smile a bit.

Before you say why should I care about Death Cleaning - let me share a story about an uncle that my cousin shared with me.

My Uncle Walter died the month before my mom.  His son, my cousin, called me a month later to offer his condoences.  We hadn't chatted in probably 30 years.  But we both lost parents within a month of each other.  It was good to talk.

Uncle Walter lived in the same house he brought his bride to in the 1950s.  He died in 2014 and his wife pre-deceased him by many years.  You might anticipate, expect, understand ... if his house was filled to the brim with all the little items of living until 90 and on his own as a widower for many years.  But you would be wrong.  At his death, he left behind a totally cleaned out house - with only the items he needed to live.  His closets were totally bare except for his one personal clothes closet, excess furniture was gone, surfaces were totally clear.  My cousin said when they entered the house after his father's death to prepare it for sale - they discovered the wonderful gift he left behind for his children ... a house that required no cleaning, no repair and no clean out!  NONE!

My Uncle did 'death cleaning' without knowing about this topic or book.

So death cleaning may not be important to you - but it is a wonderful last gift to give the ones who love you.

Yes, I have swept my life clean of things that were redundant and unnecessary in downsizing to this smaller condo.  But I am not done yet.  My downsize journey going forward with be for a different audience other than myself.  It will be for my children - so when they are in the midst of grieving (after I kick the bucket,) they won't have to be further weighed down by the weight of all my stuff.

Becoming Minimalist

Inspiration!

Most people are influenced by inspiration.  They are exposed to an idea or an example and they find themselves drawn into a new path of awareness or action.  That has been my experience with downsizing and decluttering.  My personal journey towards less has been shared here in my blog - and several wonderful readers have let me know my sharing has inspired them.  Thank you.  I think that is how some movements are started - inspiring each other and passing it on.

I do not aspire to become a card carrying minimalist, but I do find inspiration in that movement.  I do strive to free myself from the weight of things for very selfish reasons.  I am freeing myself from extra work of maintaining stuff (sadly no hired help in my future,)  reducing stress (which I seem to have more than my share over the last 10 years,) and reducing distractions (the ability to focus seems to be the first mental ability to fail as we age. *sigh*)  In addition, it makes my visually impaired husband's life just a little less frustrating.

So let me share with you a blogger who has inspired me.

BecomingMinimalist.com

Joshua Becker is the writer of Becoming Minimalist and he is the author of the book The More of Less.  I love the title of his blog because it suggests that minimalism is an ongoing process not a final destination.  His blog was born from a place where we have all "visited" in one way or another:  dedicating precious time to the management of stuff rather than to people we love and experiences we desire.

He had the typical life filled with a happy family, a satisfying job, a normal house and an all too familiar over abundance of stuff.  His story begins one weekend when he decided to clean out his garage.  His 5 year old son also wanted a piece of his time to play in the backyard.  With promises to play when the cleaning was done, he proceeded to empty the garage onto the drive way to approach this task in a thorough and logical way.  Soon he was overwhelmed by the enormity of the exposed stuff and the effort it was going to take.  It was then that his neighbor casually commented: "Maybe you don't need to own all this stuff."  From that simple statement he quickly realized what mattered was time with his son and not the stuff in the driveway.  Inspiration in its most infantile form!  That experience sparked the beginning of a new way of living that he shares in his blog.  I don't have a garage or a 5 year old child, but strip away the window dressing of that story, and his sudden realization was mine as well - it just took me a little longer.  I encourage you to visit his blog and see if his experience could also be yours.

Recently he hosted a guest post from Sarah Peck.  Her story is titled:  The Story of Enough: Giving Up (new) Clothes for One Year.  Although I have never been into collecting clothes I took time to read her story.  The clothes saga is the window dressing of her story.  The underlying truths can be nailed down to a few words -  I have enough.  I am enough.  And "enough" is different for everyone.

Yes, that is EXACTLY what I believe.

I have captured a few of her quotes below.  I encourage you to check out her post on BecomingMinimalist.com - and maybe spend some time visiting with Joshua Becker.  I don't think you will be disappointed.

Quotes

Sara Peck

The Story of Enough: 

Giving Up (new) Clothes for One Year.

"Our world is filled with messages that tell us we don't have enough space, enough stuff, enough clothes, enough fitness.  We're never skinny enough or pretty enough or good enough or rich enough."

"...the idea of minimalism isn't about reaching a goal or checking off a box, or reaching a certain destination.  To me, minimalism is realizing that what I already have is enough, and that adding clutter to the pile won't make it any better."

"Stripping away the excess lets us get to the bones of what really matters.  Get to the heart space.  Get to the pieces that are important.  And that level can be different for different people."

"Untethering from the need to consume was surpassingly easy.  It was the attitude change that made the most difference: looking through my things and realizing I already had enough. ...  It was relaxing and reassuring to know that what I had was okay.  What you are is already good enough."

"Sometimes a subtle attitude shift or a small sacrifice can make a big difference.  Like taking the time to appreciate that what you already have is enough.  And your effort?  It's enough."

Sliding towards less

While I am not qualified to speak on the topic of minimalism,  it does feel like I am slipping towards a "less" style of living. Setting aside the downsizing efforts needed to move, getting less stuff off my radar always makes me feel better.  I've done this many times, but not so drastically as this time.

For the most part, I can't remember the bulk of what I have carried out the door.  Obviously if I can't remember that mountain of stuff, it was not important.  It was taking up space in my world and robbing my attention and energy.

But the remembered list of discarded things is considerable AND remarkable for many reasons.  It totally astounds me how much we held onto - long beyond our interest in them.  Passions from 20 or 30 years ago that we lost interest in and just boxed away.  Hobbies and past times my husband could no longer enjoy because he could not see.  Sentimental items that lingered because we could not let go of the emotion attached to them.  Valuable items we never touched much less saw for years and years.

Here is a brain dump of the remembered stuff that is living with new owners.

• Doll house and all the doll house furniture - this all went back to the original owner, my daughter and pictures of that lovely hobby were featured here. It is the one thing if she simply didn't want it any more, I would take back.
• Stamp Collection -  valued at over $80,000 at one time.
• Huge board game collection
• Vast library of books - near a thousand at one point when my husband could read
• Miniature hand painted soldiers - over 300 miniatures, many were museum quality
• Themed chess sets - 10 or 11 in all
• German imported nut crackers - 22 in all
• Furniture - 2 chests of drawers, 2 benches, a full size freezer, 2 desks, a head board - that was just in the last 3 months - many more pieces in the last year.
• Kitchen stuff - mugs, good china, Kitchen aide food processor, about 40 cookbooks (a ridiculous number for a person who doesn't want or like to cook) 
• Crafts - spinning wheel, yarn, about 25 books, yarn
• My work clothes are gone, boxes and boxes of shoes are gone - mostly because my sad old feet can wear only about 3 pairs without pain.

That list makes me a little breathless.  The money we spent.  Yes, we did get enjoyment at the time but really ... the space and energy it subtracted from our lives over years exceeds the balance of enjoyment we got for a short time.  Too bad I can't send a message back to my younger self and say "STOP!  You won't really care about this stuff for most of your life!"  

Well ... I still care about that doll house and my yarn, but everything else, not so much.

And still stuff remains .... photo albums and pictures I will keep because they spark precious memories.  I still have a lot of clothes.  Guess I will need to check out condition and size.  Our pantry is shrinking ... the thought crossed my mind more than once over the years that I may be a food hoarder.  At least all the expired foods are gone :-) and I check the pantry before I shop.  Ha!  There is a roughed in closet with storage items (Christmas, lamps, picture frames, ladder, shovels, etc) that has yet to be explored.  I bet I have weed killer from 1999.  And my yarn room.  *sigh* I have given away some yarn to various folks and about half my pattern books.  I could still knit until I was 97 without buying even one skein of yarn and never run out.  Here there is no doubt ...  I am a card carrying hoarder of yarn.  I think I will happily hold on to that title until I take my last breath.

Interestingly enough, ongoing stuff reduction seems to have unintentionally spilled over into other areas of my life.

For example:

I have long since given up a wide array of cosmetics, perfumes and lotions.  My approach to personal appearance is simple - this is me, the way God made me and life changed me.  My gray hair and wrinkles have been well earned. I wouldn't think of hiding them.  I am happy with myself the way I am.  All I really need is a blow drier and hair brush, moisturizer, lip gloss, a splash of blush, enough sleep to keep the circles from my eyes and a smile!  I hope all that counts as graceful aging instead of laziness.  Ha.

I have never been a big jewelry person but I did have a few pieces that were special.  I gave away some to family, kept a few, but only wear my wedding ring now.  I don't even wear earings in my pierced ear lobes.  My, how times have changed.

My personal schedule is much reduced.  I used to enjoy many social obligations and organized groups that used my talents.  I don't get the energy or enjoyment I used to from that busy schedule.  Now I limit myself to fewer external ongoing commitments and look forward them more because they are not squeezed into an over committed calendar.  I am happy with my own company, my family and close friends.  I don't seek out more just because I have time for more.

Sliding towards less ...  

a good thing.

Begone!

The declutter bug has taken hold of me again.  It started with tossing Facebook out my life (which, by the way has been great!  I highly recommend it.)

And then I hired someone to haul away 2 large old TVs, along with an old recliner chair and a short chest of drawers - both of which the cats were using as a scratching posts.

And then there is the treadmill in the basement.  I never walk indoors if I can help it.  Yes, the treadmill still works, but it is one heavy and large piece of equipment that is taking up floor and, more importantly, life space for me.  It must go.

The books had another "go through" and many of them are going to Charity.

This is just the beginning.  These are just the things that are visually in my way each day.  Come this fall, I start on the stuff that is tucked away in closets and drawers and rooms that are not used.  This is the stuff that is not evident because it is hidden, and lingers on year after year after year ...

As each thing exits my life, I feel lighter, happier, more focused on the things that really matter.  Although I see many beautiful images on the blogs I follow - stunning household items that are fun to see - I seem to crave clear surfaces - the look of less.  I find it more calming.

We are in a serious DOWNSIZE mode (again)!