We don’t have this look yet, but I’m always optimistic.
I know, normally you think of clean up happening in the Spring, but I’ve learned to act whenever the cleaning up bug hits. Apparently, it has struck now. This is not like the flu bug and only has good affects. BTW, have you gotten your flu shot yet? I know some folks can’t, but it’s really worked for us. Even if we get the dreaded flu, it’s not as bad as it would’ve been without the shot. But I digress. We’re talking about cleaning up.
Those of you who follow this blog will remember that only a few days after we moved in to our lakehouse, I fell and broke my ankle rendering me out of commission for the next two months. My kids and Bob were great putting stuff places. It just wasn’t always where I thought it was best. So over time, I’ve been trying to rearrange.
Took this pic after I’d already removed stuff!
My writing closet has been on my todo list for months. I mean maybe 6 months. Yesterday, late in the day, it finally moved to the top of the list, and I began.
Beginning is good, you know. What’s that saying? A trip of a thousand miles begins with one step? Yeah, so yesterday, I took my first step. Part of the impetus is I’ve got some more print books and don’t want to have them sit in their boxes in my bedroom.
I don’t know how you do it, but I start by removing everything from wherever I’m cleaning out. Then go through and throw out, recycle, give away. This is such an emotional procedure. And may take many times of going through to decide I’m okay with getting rid of this. I haven’t seen or used in over a year—or whatever. I’m not sure the guru’s question, “Does this give me joy?” work for me, but the time factor definitely works. And our lakehouse cottage is small. I don’t even buy much in stores anymore, without figuring out what I’m going to get rid of. That helps, too.
My mother had a saying, “Out with the old to make room for the new.” She was good about throwing out. Must’ve have been all those years with my father traveling in the Air Force. We just weren’t able to keep much.
So, I’m not even midway into this process, but I wanted to share with you. I’ll post completed pics later, maybe in this month’s newsletter.
Stuff on the floor which gets in way of accessing the drawers.
Stuff is all over everywhere.
Clean before anything goes back in.
I haven’t even begun to go through all the pictures I found!
I’ve also been cleaning up my website and made some changes there. I’m unclear about how many people are following my blog. I’ve seen a very low number and a high number, so I have special plans to work on that in November. In the meantime, if you go to the bottom bottom right on this page, you’ll find a place to sign up to get this blog in your emails. I always post it on FB and Twitter and several groups I’m in, but I like getting email s for several of the blogs I follow. That way, I don’t miss them.
How do you handle cleaning up? Are you a Spring Person or an Anytime Person or Forget it Person? Can you share one of your successes? Failures can be instructive, too. 🙂 Love to hear from you.
If you’re in the Fort Worth area, I’ve got a book signing on November 3 at J. McLaughlin Dress shop on University at 3 pm. More info later.
Please sign up for my Newsletter and Blog on https://authormarsharwest.wordpress.com/
Contact me at marsha@marsharwest.com , and follow me on my social media sites. https://www.facebook.com/?ref=tn_tnmn
https://www.twitter.com/Marsharwest @Marsharwest
https://www.pinterest.com/marsharwest/
https://sisterhoodofsuspense.com/blog
https://www.instagram.com/marsharwest
Marsha R. West, Author 
I too live in a much smaller place than I used to… we’re down to under 700 sq ft now, and clutter happens so dang fast!
Like you, I clean when the mood strikes. It doesn’t happen often, but when it does, I’m like you too in that I pull everything out, then start putting back selectively.
Next up for me is our tiny storage locker so I can put things like the patio umbrella away for the winter 😀
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hey, Kathryn. So impressed with how much you’ve downsized. But you have an amazing place to live, so I’m sure it’s more than worth it. 🙂 I’ve learned to (cliche alert) strike while the iron is hot on cleaning up. Iif the mood is upon me, I go like crazy, because when it’s goine, it’s gone. LOL Sometimes I can’t decide where I really need to start. Like, I really should’ve started in the garage to make room for some of the stuff in the house, but it’s been too hot and this was a smaller task I could tackle. Now, I’ve moved on to file cabinet and desk drawers,. Wow! How do I accumulate so much paper in this paperless world? Have found some cool loose pictures. They must’ve been in frames and I de-framed them to move. They’ve been living in the closet for 3 years. LOL Thanks so much for stopping by and sharing your experience.
LikeLike
Omg ive been cleaning the kitchen before the painters came. But so worth it
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hey, Vicki. It does help to have an incentive like the painters coming. The kitchen pantry is on the list after desk & desk drawers. I’m not sure why I don’t do this more often. It really gives me a good feeling. Almost like losing weight. 🙂 Thanks for stopping by.
LikeLike
We live in a RV now, so clutter is inevitable, lol. We’ve learned to get rid of anything we haven’t used in a year or two- it helps to keep the mess to a manageable level 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hey, Jacquie. I like your 1-2 year rule. We should institute it. We’d have way fewer things. Thanks so much for stopping and sharing. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hello Marsha. I plan on getting my flu shot and shingles first shot soon. I want to do so around seeing grandchildren and we will be seeing them for the next two weekends.
As far as the house, we mainly clean when someone visits…lol… and then it is big time. This year it seemed like someone was always coming. 🙂 Believe it or not, all of my writing stuff is in the corner of our living room next to the sofa where I sit to write. It is very unnoticeable. And if anyone notices it, I really don’t care. 🙂 I think you have a lot more “stuff” than I do. I have a few nylon decorative bags that I received from Unicef where I keep my notes for the books I’ve written and a cloth square box I bought at Aldi’s for all of my other writing things. That’s it. The corner is also where I keep my laptop.
Good luck with your cleaning. I need to clean part of my garden and plant bulbs in the back. We planted in the front this week. Snow is in the forecast for us this weekend.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hey, Susan. I think you’re just better organized than I or less wedded to keeping paper copies of things. Gotta go. Storms. More later.
LikeLike
PS. I don’t know how you type sitting on the sofa, Susan. I can never balance everything. I can type on my Surface Pro, but it has to sit on a flat surface. Glad you’re getting your flu shot. Better safe than sorry works for that, unless you’re really allergic to something in the shot.
LikeLike
Hi Marsha, good luck with the cleaning. We downsized this year and I had to get rid of a lot of stuff. I find most things quite easy to get rid of. I don’t have an emotional attachment to stuff – apart from books. My husband told me I had too many, but I think that’s impossible! Anyway, we didn’t have enough room for them all. I’m very sad still about some of the ones that had to go 😦 Hope you manage to get everything sorted.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hey, Helena. It’s Friday morning now and a blustery, rainy day. Lightening flashes had the TV going and coming all evening. I just had to turn off the computer. When we moved to the lakehouse, I got rid of lots of books.It was sad, but I seldom re-read books, and we just didn’t have room. (I did recently discover a very large box filled with paperbacks in the garage. Apparently, I didn’t get rid of them all.) Closet is much improved, and now I have the desk and file cabinets. Thanks so much for stopping by,. 🙂
LikeLike
Hi Marsha
I have an 800 Sq ft condo with no storage closet. So I’ve got rid of a lot of stuff that I don’t use often and unfortunately my office tends to be more of a storage space. Really I’m quite happy working at my couch of kitchen bar, I just think I should put office to better use. If the mood strikes to clean I say go for it. Right now my table is piled high with papers but that’s partly because I had them out to do a disability claim and now I’ve been told I have to file another claim with CPP so I figure they might as well stay out until they’re both finished.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hey, Pat. I’ve learned that I just fill up whatever amount of space I have. I used to have an actual room in my house and I filled it up. (I did share that with my husband, so some of the stuff was his. :)) It’s kind of like the idea that you’ll take as much time as you have to do a particular task. My kitchen counter is the catch all. I swear, we get soooo many adds and asks. I try to keep up daily, but sometimes that doesn’t happen. Sorry you’re having issues with the CPP claim. Hope that gets sorted out quickly. Thanks so much for stopping by.:)
LikeLike
I’m reading all of your comments. If we ever downsize and move to a smaller home/condo, I will have so incredibly much to part with and many pieces are from family and my kids don’t want anything other than musical instruments. It will be difficult for me. Great for those of you who have been able to do this.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hey, Susan, I think the hardest thing was parting with Bob’s aunt’s dinning room set. The girls and I all loved it, but none of us had room for it. Sad, but the reality. The other thing we’ve lost is a ton of pictures from all our vacations. I had framed beautiful scenery pics from New England and the northwest. But we have walls of windows. Some of those pics were in an envelope I discovered in the closet clean out. Ah well, the pictures are in my head, too. 🙂
LikeLike