I’ve been busy.
The heating system update was a turning point in our domestic organization.
Suddenly I am making progress in organizing the interior of the house.
The paper purge is ongoing. Who knew it would literally take months to sort through it all? Certainly not me! I continue to unearth pockets of documents stuffed away in nooks and crannies. This really isn’t surprising considering our rushed move into Mist Cottage, which was already furnished, is half the size of the Country House, and under continuing renovation.
Every single day I sort, file, purge. Once the paper documents are sorted through, I will move on to redundant electronics. I have here tech items that date back to the late 1980s, that have not been used in decades. Although they are still good, they will never be used, so to the charity shop they will go. You never know who might be looking for vintage items, so I am not throwing them out, but giving them a chance at a new home.
Most of our belongings are tucked into available spaces in this very small home. I am inspired to “untuck” them, sort them, purge, and organize what we keep.
My days are filled with finding items, deciding if we keep them or not, then either getting rid of them, or organizing their storage.
We have a lot of stuff. This is the result of having so many interests and DIY projects, such as gardening, food preservation, clothing construction, renovation… the list goes on and on and all of these things involve tools and equipment of one sort or another, which must all be stored. We buy used whenever possible, and good quality new if we cannot find the item used.
We also both have modest collections, record albums, books, and stamps. These collections aren’t worth much to anyone else, but they are meaningful to us.
Further complicating our storage issue is that we both like to keep useful things, even if they aren’t useful just at the minute. Often items that we have kept for ten or twenty years suddenly become useful to us, so that we seldom need to purchase things. An example would be the case of printer paper I purchased on sale in 2001. It has been bulky to store, but I am now using the last package of that paper. I’ve been looking to purchase one package and find the new prices astonishing, which is to be expected after 22 years.
The intensity of my activities has kept me from spending much time in the digital world. These days I seldom visit Facebook or other social media. I continue to write in this journal, as the universe calls my name from time to time, and here I answer.
Worldly
Weather
Updated on Fri, Apr 28, 9:45 AM
13°C
FEELS LIKE 12
Mostly cloudy
Wind 16 SE km/h
Humidity 65 %
Visibility 21 km
Sunrise 6:03 AM
Wind gust 24 km/h
Pressure 101.9 kPa
Ceiling 9100 m
Sunset 8:07 PM
Quote
“Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards.”
Soren Kierkegaard
1813 – 1855
This hits a cord with me, as I sort through yesterday to live more comfortably in today.
Thanks for the update! I should return to pruning. I’d made good progress, and then….
You know how some socks disappear in the dryer? Well, I swear paper multiplies when you aren’t looking! I so relate to this post and having interests that require so many supplies. I love to read and have tons of books…giving them away is like abandoning a friend. Then there are all the various craft and art and gardening supplies among other items that are “needed”. Best of luck on your purging!
I was doing a paper purge last year and found class notebooks I had put in an old cabinet. I couldn’t believe I hadn’t tossed them decades ago. Out they went. That led to some other paper items that I sorted through and purged. It feels good to reclaim a little space. 🙂
Sandy, wow, class notebooks, that is going back isn’t it. I have my PhD research in a cabinet (unpublished, so possibly of some interest to a future academic), along with background work for some of my publications, I don’t think I’ll ever be able to give those up. But a lot of the other stuff is in bags for the camp fires! It does feel good to reclaim a little space.
Eileen, LOL, I think you are right, it does multiply when we are not looking! I feel just as you do about books, old friends, warm feelings. All our supplies for our projects keep our lives vital and interesting. They are good for our health, better than any pills.
Joan, yes, and then…
I am determined this time around to plod along until I have reached a point where there doesn’t seem to be anything left to sort and purge. When I feel overwhelmed I tell myself that, “today I’ll just sort this one pile or box, call that a successful day, and reward myself with some sort of treat, often a quiet sit with a cup of tea and a muffin.
Wow, Maggie! Sounds like you’ll free up a lot of new space once you’re finished. I know when we pared down while getting ready to move 2 years ago we got rid of a 15 foot wall of books, floor to ceiling and a jam-packed 3-drawer filing cabinet of old papers. Oh and a closet full of old electronics, so I really know what you’re going through. For me, it felt like a weight was being lifted. I’m not sure what DH felt. He’s a bit of a pack rat and a lot of the paper and electronics were his.
Teri, it sounds like you know exactly what this is like! Attila is a bit of a pack rat, but fortunately most of the paper and electronics are my collection, he just lets me do my thing. I haven’t reached the stage of feeling lighter yet, hoping to get there though!