Decluttering

Another blogiversary missed. You would think that New Year was easy enough to remember wouldn't you? And it wasn't because I was celebrating all out.
In fact the whole Christmas/New Year period has seemed delightfully quiet. I say delightfully because this past year has simply flashed by with DH working in Christchurch, thesis work ongoing, transporting and wrangling organising kids, my Mother's death and the long, long job of sorting out the estate of a hoarder. Everytime I come home, I want to throw things out of my house, but usually by then I'm too tired.

So, this last week, DH and I have been tackling all the jobs that have been neglected around our house - the weeds have been brought under control, for now, after a mammoth effort involving my sister and her husband as well as us. Why is it that the plants I grow the best are the ones I don't want?

We've been decluttering and reorganising for the last few days. A trailerload has gone to the tip, 2 carloads have gone out to charity stores or friends, and there are 7 large bags of rubbish waiting to go out this week (usually we only put out one) - yeah, our house was that bad! - and we're still going!

I've only gone through a small portion of my fabric and managed to get rid of 3 boxes worth so far. Then there was the liberating feeling of throwing out a load of 'mending' that had been sitting in the pile, some for years. I sat down and fixed the items that were still of use and no job took longer than ten minutes. Obviously the lesson is to stay on top of it all regularly. Hmmm, maybe I should rethink my New Year resolution not to make resolutions.


Comments

MareeAlison said…
Keely - I haven't been on PR or checked blogs for ages and I missed any comment about your mother's death. I'm really sorry to hear it. I'm also incredibly sympathetic about having to clear out her house. A couple of years ago we had to clear out my husband's parents' home when they moved into a nursing home. It was very difficult both physically and emotionally. When we came home I started to go through all my cupboards and just de-clutter. A lot of my older friends did the same after I spoke to them about our experience. Just recently I went through all my fabric -far too much - and bundled up 3 boxes to take to a local charity that specialises in fabrics, haberdashery etc. It was a good feeling. All the best for 2012 - may it be a more relaxed one for you and your family.
MareeAlison