On to another cluttered 'corner'....my oldest daughter's closet:
1. Top shelf is filled with 30+ assorted small travel or makeup bags of all sizes; probably 1/2 are free makeup bags from estee lauder.
2. Many many small travel size toiletries.....including sewing kits (12)...shower caps (6) and of course shampoo, lotion, toothpaste, etc.
3. A caboodle from the 80s? They were invaluable because they provided a great Christmas or Birthday present for a preteen and they were also fairly functional.....I'm still not sure of its destiny
4. On to a shelf crammed with many many spirals, folders, pads of paper, and even packets of looseleaf notebook paper left from days at the French school. The French school required a detailed assortment of paper products; small notebook paper, normal size, all different colors which would be used for different things, etc....I also found good ol american notebook paper which we would bring back probably just for nostalgia and of course, it is still there for the same reason.
5. Gift wrap materials.......as you might imagine of a hoarder, various pieces of giftwrap are all nicely folded going back several years...along with ribbons, there were also things that could be used as small gift decorations .....that's giving myself the benefit of the doubt...because there were some items that were cute but useless. The cutest and yet most useless were some leftover 'favors' (at one time, wedding and baby showers included favors)....however, I am at a loss to remember the guest of honor, location, or decade.....the favors were very cute though: tiny baskets filled with small artificial fruit, berries with a bow tied of fabric cut with pinking sheers.
6. Party Supplies: Hoarders make great party planners because they have so many ready resources for different themes; however, the remnants of actual party items are rather pitiful because they are all thrown together in a plastic bin probably never to be used at a party ....zoo party plates, ballet dancer paper tablecloth, rock n roll plates & tablecloth, black crepe paper streamers for an adult 'old' party (which I personally did not buy nor condone)....balloons to be blown up for balloon animals..
7. perhaps 3 years worth of used Far Side daily calendar pages....of course, they are all torn off so you can imagine the difficulty in storing these.....believe it or not, we use them...great for mailing to someone....using for a birthday greeting....quick message to tape to a mirror....someone, not me, had actually sorted them and I found paperclipped together piles with titles, like "Valentine's"....."birthday".....etc. To add to our collection, we just received a package in the mail the other day (keep in mind we rarely receive packages or mail) and it was the complete 2007 Far side calendar, sent by a nice former house guest who wrote "I noticed you like Far Side"....what we need is a 2008 calendar of any kind but at least we can find a Far Side to read each day no matter what the day is!!
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Saturday, January 5, 2008
Closet in son's old room
My de-clutter project will begin in the closet found in my son's old room. He is now 26, married, living on a different continent. Since he left home, we have casually carried random items - clutter, if you will - into his room and I can say, we have now successfully filled just about every exposed horizontal surface, all drawers, shelves, and hidden horizontal space, such as under the beds.
I'll begin with the closet.
My problem witih 'hoarding' as the experts calls it (I call it saving)..is that each item I consider falls into one of 2 categories:
-it has a sentimental origin (gift from someone, bought on a trip, etc.)
-it might come in handy someday.
1. I begin with 3 blouses all nicely dry-cleaned which haven't been worn in probably 10 years. Good condition, nice colors....but, yes, there are shoulder pads in the blouses...yes, they are not fitted as is the style now. why do have them? they actually fall into both categories: my mother bought them for me and since she is no longer alive, everything I keep that she gave me, seems to keep her here with me; I also keep them because they might come in handy for a special event (they're very dressy) or as a costume (?).
2. A dress I sewed in late 60s or early 70s....short, straight with an elastic empire waist...what is amazing is that the fabric looks almost new (good quality choice on my part as a 14 year old) and the elastic is still stretchy. I love to sew so I am sure it falls in the sentimental category.
(some time has elapsed with a brief but intense flu bug so I'm way behind on my 1 'corner' per week...)
3. There were approx 50 neckties - most of them were my husband's and had been sent to this closet to hang out with my son's abandonned neckties. The wonderful colorful collection included:
-a Home Improvement tie (from the sitcom!)
-a home-made tie made of Texas Aggie material and sewn by moi way back when it was a short-lived fad to sew ties from a pattern
-an Armani tie found in a pile of discarded clothing from a stylish Swiss gentleman who died 20 years ago
-"Creation Of Adam" by Michelangelo; on a tie....was there a time when men's ties sported fine art?
4.my ski jacket bought in Ft. Worth in 1976 on my very first ski trip taken with about 150 teenagers from the church. I had never skied and my husband/ski expert thought I needed total outfitting. I think we'll find the snow boots we bought that day in another closet later in the year. The jacket is actually cute; short and fitted. I'm just not sure I'll be skiing soon, especially in Morocco. There is skiing here; just not emergency room services near the slope.
5. Now on to some non-clothes items that are up for question: 'parts' of a "Lie Detector Game" which I played with when I was little and then de-cluttered my mom's house by borrwoing it for 30 years. My children are somewhat attached, I tell myself, to the cute sales girl, the suave movie director, the friendly gas staion attendant, the beatnik artist, and the rest of the gang always willing to give testimony on an alledged suspect. the fact that the lie detector machine still works is amazing....
6. I know a lot of activity has been occurring in my brain b/c I handled some items multiple times and actually retrieved them from the trash can. Later, my husband re-retrieved them from the trash!!!! you can see what I'm up against!!! the culprit?? 5 Mad Libs game pads!!!total dollar worth, probably $5. Unfortunately they met both deadly criteria: sentimental and practical. My children's chosen words representing different eras in culture! and their own precious handwriting and spelling. The empty pads would also be so useful for random parties....classroom fillers..... I'm happy to report that they made it to the trash, except for a few pages my husband tore out to save. :/
7. Closet almost finished! Way up above the regular closet there is a cabinet that can only be reached if you're standing on a chair. I knew it contained some sleeping bags whose time was up. Somehow from both of our respective families, my husband and I ended up with the boy scout sleeping bags. That means they were used on campouts, approximately 45 years ago. I'm also sentimental about the 2 from my home because I spent many many fun nights at slumber parties in the boy scout sleeping bags. I remember many mornings after a party, trying hard to roll up the sleeping bag to fit into its carry-bag...I usually ended up just throwing it in 'as is' into the car when my Mom arrived. Oh well....trips to Valley Forge (maybe my brother took it?)....my husband's many scout trips to Philmont in NM...and they were all used at Camp Wisdom in Duncanville, Tx. IF we should decide to go camping - instead of staying in a hotel! - we can buy new ones that are much more compact and less musty.
I'll begin with the closet.
My problem witih 'hoarding' as the experts calls it (I call it saving)..is that each item I consider falls into one of 2 categories:
-it has a sentimental origin (gift from someone, bought on a trip, etc.)
-it might come in handy someday.
1. I begin with 3 blouses all nicely dry-cleaned which haven't been worn in probably 10 years. Good condition, nice colors....but, yes, there are shoulder pads in the blouses...yes, they are not fitted as is the style now. why do have them? they actually fall into both categories: my mother bought them for me and since she is no longer alive, everything I keep that she gave me, seems to keep her here with me; I also keep them because they might come in handy for a special event (they're very dressy) or as a costume (?).
2. A dress I sewed in late 60s or early 70s....short, straight with an elastic empire waist...what is amazing is that the fabric looks almost new (good quality choice on my part as a 14 year old) and the elastic is still stretchy. I love to sew so I am sure it falls in the sentimental category.
(some time has elapsed with a brief but intense flu bug so I'm way behind on my 1 'corner' per week...)
3. There were approx 50 neckties - most of them were my husband's and had been sent to this closet to hang out with my son's abandonned neckties. The wonderful colorful collection included:
-a Home Improvement tie (from the sitcom!)
-a home-made tie made of Texas Aggie material and sewn by moi way back when it was a short-lived fad to sew ties from a pattern
-an Armani tie found in a pile of discarded clothing from a stylish Swiss gentleman who died 20 years ago
-"Creation Of Adam" by Michelangelo; on a tie....was there a time when men's ties sported fine art?
4.my ski jacket bought in Ft. Worth in 1976 on my very first ski trip taken with about 150 teenagers from the church. I had never skied and my husband/ski expert thought I needed total outfitting. I think we'll find the snow boots we bought that day in another closet later in the year. The jacket is actually cute; short and fitted. I'm just not sure I'll be skiing soon, especially in Morocco. There is skiing here; just not emergency room services near the slope.
5. Now on to some non-clothes items that are up for question: 'parts' of a "Lie Detector Game" which I played with when I was little and then de-cluttered my mom's house by borrwoing it for 30 years. My children are somewhat attached, I tell myself, to the cute sales girl, the suave movie director, the friendly gas staion attendant, the beatnik artist, and the rest of the gang always willing to give testimony on an alledged suspect. the fact that the lie detector machine still works is amazing....
6. I know a lot of activity has been occurring in my brain b/c I handled some items multiple times and actually retrieved them from the trash can. Later, my husband re-retrieved them from the trash!!!! you can see what I'm up against!!! the culprit?? 5 Mad Libs game pads!!!total dollar worth, probably $5. Unfortunately they met both deadly criteria: sentimental and practical. My children's chosen words representing different eras in culture! and their own precious handwriting and spelling. The empty pads would also be so useful for random parties....classroom fillers..... I'm happy to report that they made it to the trash, except for a few pages my husband tore out to save. :/
7. Closet almost finished! Way up above the regular closet there is a cabinet that can only be reached if you're standing on a chair. I knew it contained some sleeping bags whose time was up. Somehow from both of our respective families, my husband and I ended up with the boy scout sleeping bags. That means they were used on campouts, approximately 45 years ago. I'm also sentimental about the 2 from my home because I spent many many fun nights at slumber parties in the boy scout sleeping bags. I remember many mornings after a party, trying hard to roll up the sleeping bag to fit into its carry-bag...I usually ended up just throwing it in 'as is' into the car when my Mom arrived. Oh well....trips to Valley Forge (maybe my brother took it?)....my husband's many scout trips to Philmont in NM...and they were all used at Camp Wisdom in Duncanville, Tx. IF we should decide to go camping - instead of staying in a hotel! - we can buy new ones that are much more compact and less musty.
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