Tuesday, May 7, 2013

The decluttering continues...

It's harder for me to work on the big projects while I have my son here, so I am deferring the den and instead spent an afternoon clearing out the bathrooms. I followed the usual rules - every single item left the two bathrooms and was piled on my bedroom floor. It's so much easier to get rid of things once they are out of the room and out of context - suddenly putting everything back seems nonsensical. Even the little shelves in the main bathroom - there used to be a big collection of shells and I pared down to just a few. And now, you can actually see each individual shell and piece of coral.
I've mentioned my supply-hoarding, right?  Well, it was sobering to actually count. 28 containers of dental floss, folks. Why? I don't know. I think every Christmas I buy a big pack because it's one of the small items I put in stockings and then the rest go into the cupboard, year after year. With the array of toiletries spread out in front of me, I had to consider each item and whether it made sense to keep it. Two curling irons I never use because my baby hair is immune to them? Out. The nail polish in shades that look better in the bottle than on me?  Out. The glittery shower gel that leaves sparkles everywhere?  Out. The shampoo I don't really like the fragrance of?  Out. The leave-in conditioner that I never want to use? Out. And most of all the nineteen gazillion soaps and tiny bottles of shampoo and lotion I've brought back from hotels over the years. They're so cute. And they sit there in cute little masses mocking me. Out. All except from several bottles of amazing-smelling lavender and eucalyptus shampoo and conditioner I got in Cancun - I kept those and put one set in the shower so I'll remember to use it. Additionally, I realized that my plan to force myself to use up all the olive oil bar soap before I switched to the liquid soap was just stupid. The bars get goopy in the shower and last forever. So I pitched the one in use and replaced it with the bottle, and took the remaining two bars out of their wrappers and put them in dresser drawers as sachets. Win-win. Above, my now incredibly stream-lined bathroom cabinet. And I made a solemn vow not to buy anything new until I was nearly out.  Especially dental floss.
The over-the-sink medicine chest has a shelf for each of us. Now that I think about it, I'm not sure why I have the top one when I'm the shortest person in the house. By more than half a foot. Anyway. In order to leave the sink as clear as possible, each person has a little bin for toothbrush and toothpaste. The single item left on the sink is a bottle of hand soap.
And the other shelves now hold only swabs and cotton balls. The little white things next to the cups and bamboo are not run-away cotton, by the way, they are dried sea urchins I found on the beach in Puerto Rico.
I keep medical things in the half-bath so they won't be subjected to steam. I found a ton of bandaid wrappers left by my evil children who apparently don't notice there is a trash can right there. Again, things I couldn't identify or don't use were tossed and everything else neatly put in bins with like-items.
Just soap on this sink, too, and no clutter. An aside - every time I look at the blackbird framed with the feather he left behind, I think of the Beatle's song "Blackbird." I took that photo during a difficult time in my life. One day a big flock of blackbirds visited my yard and the sight of so many  was unsettling at first until I was reminded of the song. Now looking at it is a reminder of hope and healing. I'm finding it to be true that when you get rid of the excess, you're more likely to notice and enjoy those things you treasure. Shouldn't everything you see in your house make you feel that good?

Blackbird singing in the dead of night 
Take these broken wings and learn to fly. 
All your life, 
You were only waiting for this moment to arise. (Lennon and McCartney)

31 comments:

  1. pretty cool wisdom on trimming the excess to find your treasure....you have cool walls...i like hte kinda city scape design...and the use of bamboo as well...

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    1. Thanks. I have to admit, I had a blast with the walls - it struck me that I was really free to paint them (or add a granite tile border) however I wanted.

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  2. Good job! You know I have like two containers of floss in my house, right? I'm probably the odd ball.

    I don't get the leaving of wrappers all over when every freaking room has a trash basket. My kids are notorious for this.

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    1. Have I mentioned I don't like running out of things?

      And I think kids have trashcan-blindness.

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  3. Wow. Impressive. I so need to do this, but it's totally overwhelming.

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    1. It was for me, too, at first. Once everything was on the floor, I seriously considered just giving up!

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  4. Blackbird is one of the better Beatle songs but I do like so many of them. I have no problem using the hotel shampoo bottles at home. We do have many conditioner ones since I don't use that. You should check, if it's not too late, with the local homeless shelters for donating the hotel shampoo. It could be they don't want to mess with it but you never know.

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    1. So hard to choose among Beatles' songs!

      I generally don't care for hotel shampoos, but I use them when I'm there.

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  5. "And I made a solemn vow not to buy anything new until I was nearly out. Especially dental floss."

    HA! You are too funny! I'm a dental floss collector as well because I use floss probably TEN times a day, so I run out fast. And there is nothing worse that not having dental floss.

    I LOVED your story about the Black Bird and it's symbolism.

    "a reminder of hope and healing."

    And it's funny because my eyes immediately went to that Black Bird photo as I was scrolling down. Awesome photo!

    X

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    1. Ten times a day! When do you get anything else done??

      And thank you - there was something so pure and stark about it.

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  6. That first pic looks like a petrified brain...

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  7. I love the blackbird, both song and your art.

    Don't forget battered women's shelters for the bottles, they do take as desperately needed.

    Love your new bathrooms and how everything shows so much better.

    XO
    WWW

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    1. Thanks!

      All the little bottles were opened and partially used.

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  8. As you say, everything looks wonderfully streamlined now. It's so easy to let things pile up and just not notice how many things you never use and don't need. Twenty eight packs of dental floss - my God!

    Blackbird is one of my favourite songs. So poignant and so tender.

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    1. In my defense, I do have kids who have had/do have braces and so dental care is a priority in this house. But still, too many.

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  9. My bathroom is definitely a place that needs to be decluttered constantly. For some reason, lotions and shampoos and other toiletries just seem to appear!
    Your bathrooms look very zen.

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    1. I know, right? They breed, I tell you.

      And thanks.

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  10. i can say the bathroom in my house is the one place that needs no decluttering.....mainly because it's just barely big enough to fit ME! lol

    i do love seeing your progress though. i think i shall be doing this over the summer when school is out of session.

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    1. Both the one full bath and the half bath are tiny. But they do have great storage spaces, which is probably unfortunate.

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  11. I love the decor of your bathroom. The clean simple lines of the buildings is perfect with your new clean simplified cabinets and counters.

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    1. Thank you. I painted that half bath gray and then thought "This room needs a city scape!" I don't know why it even occurred to me.

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  12. I just decided that I am going to go around the house and take pictures of all the places the feel cluttered to me. So when I finish them I will have the after. My drawers and cabinets on my side of the bathroom are emptied more than anything else in the house yet they get the worst the quickest! Okay....that is a lot of dental floss. Everything looks wonderful and I think I will tackle my bathroom first since I want it to look like yours. I love your story and picture of the blackbird.

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    1. Great idea! It wil help focus and motivate you, I'm sure. I find any cabinet dangerous because it's easy to stash things away and forget them.

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  13. The next time I organize a closet or cupboard, I'm going to try your method of putting everything in a different room before sorting stuff out.

    I'm gonna contact you the next time I run out of dental floss. ;)

    There was a time when I kept buying dish soap because I was convinced that I didn't have any at home, and I had quite a collection.

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    1. It truly makes a difference, I promise. The thought of lugging everything right back stops you. And sure, I'll send some floss your way. :-)

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  14. I am so over stuff. I'm decluttering this month, too. There's a thrift store owner near us who will come to your house and give you one price for your things so you don't have to have a yard sale.

    I find it easier to think and breathe and do when there's less stuff in the house.

    I like to keep little things like hotel shampoos. They are adorable.

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    1. I wish we had that thrift store option available here - I'd jump on it. And yes, the shampoos are adorable, but I just wasn't using them because I buy regular bottle of stuff I like better.

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  15. Sarah McLachlan does an amazing version on the I am Sam soundtrack. I need to do a bathroom declutter.

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    1. I'll have a listen. But my heart is with McCartney.

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  16. One of the biggest problems we have in my household is the pile up of nicknacks. They get several layers deep with no hope of reduction. I'm not even allowed to toss out plastic bags without someone or another squawking at me.

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