Well,it is almost spring, and that conjures up images (note I said "images") of spring cleaning. One way to actually make the task more palatable is to downsize first. This is a backblog from about a year ago, when I tried yet again. The 10, 10%, 100 concept is still almost impossible, but I have made some headway. I do not have to imagine quite as much cleaning...
This is what I wrote last year, but never published. There is no real knitting content- just the fact that stash is exempt from most cleaning rules!
Spring 2013...
"Downsizing" has been a popular buzz word and goal for the past few years. It is much easier said- and planned- than done! My personal theory of the best way to accomplish this goal is the Rule of Ten. (Actually, it is more of a suggestion than a rule or commandment!) I have tried it, relatively successfully, several times in the past in a few categories. I am anxious to move out of my current house, and have been oozing my way through boxes and drawers and shelves. The idea is that there can be no more than 10 objects on a surface: bureau, book shelf (doo-dads, not books!), kitchen counter, bathroom counter, bedside table, etc. That has worked relatively well: I just stash extra things in a cabinet! Unfortunately some things seem to creep back in the dark of night...
A corollary to this rule is the 10% Rule: I have to get rid of 10% of a certain category of items, ie books, greeting cards, picture frames, clothing, etc. (Right now, the one exception is my knitting stash- I have a different set of rules/suggestions for that!) I have taken countless numbers of books to the Friends of the Library; culled 50 greeting cards from my desk; removed a number of photos from their frames, with the intention of organizing them in a scrapbook (hah!); and thought about trying on and keeping only the clothes that fit. As far as the boxes and drawers go, I successfully culled down 13 boxes of Christmas ornaments into 7 boxes.
Can you believe that if you spend a mere $20-$25 on designer make-up that you can get a bunch of samples for free? I did, and succumbed to that temptation for many years. As a result, I was able to make art out of my over-abundance.
Then I see the book. It crosses my desk at the library, ready to be entered into the catalog. "Living With Less: how to downsize to 100 personal possessions," by Mary Lambert. I was gobsmacked, to say the least. Could I do this? No, not now. But I can start the journey. I can inventory each room, rather than the whole house, and limit its contents to 100 items. Hmmm... I could make a few exceptions and for rooms that have less than 100 items, ie the guest room, I could "store" excess items from another room!
My neighborhood has a yard sale in the spring. The Friends of the Library have an active used bookstore. Goodwill, Habitat, and the Salvation Army always need donations.I am ready and able, but can I actually downsize?
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