The Office

It is my ambitious plan to declutter my office today. I have the motivation, I have the will, and I have the big trashcan.

Cover me; I'm going in.

I'm a lazy blogger.

So much has happened in my campaign to declutter and simplify my life, but I haven't posted anything. I had a yard sale last Saturday, and, including the pre-sale I did for friends on Friday night, I made $420. It went so well that I'm having another one this Saturday, and my neighbors are going to join me. So I have to come up with a lot more stuff for the sale, because I sold so much last weekend. I have culled almost all the furniture that I want to sell (and I've pre-sold my dining room sideboard), except for my old dining room suite. I am seriously thinking about adding a couple of the den chairs to the sale, because they're very pretty Victorian chairs, but they're not comfortable, and no one enjoys sitting in them. Plus, if I move the chairs and side table out of the den, I can add another bookshelf to get the remaining books off the floor.

I have a couple of odd chairs in the garage that I will sell, and I also have a metal cabinet that I bought surplus at work, but I'm never going to use it, so I may put it in the sale, too. Plus, I'm selling a lot of framed art and Halloween and Christmas stuff.

Success!

I have decluttered by master bedroom, master bath, hall bath, and guest bedroom, except for a pile of art underneath the guest bedroom bed. I haven't yet figured out what I'm going to do with it. I have already identified some pieces that I intend to put in the garage sale, but there's a lot I don't want to part with, even though I will never have room to display it all in my modest little home.

I just read this over a Miss Minimalist's blog, and it really spoke to me:

All too often, we hold on to stuff because it represents who we think we should be, rather than who we are. Sometimes our fantasy selves are meant to impress others, sometimes they’re relics of our past, sometimes they’re fantasies about our future.

I have just about had it with the Stock Market.

I don't contribute all that much to my 401(k), but I'm seriously thinking about stopping the contribution altogether and putting the extra money toward debt reduction. That way, I'll know that I actually got some bang for my buck. And then I can just start socking away cash, until I retire.

The guest room is a nightmare.

But I knew it would be. It may take the rest of the week to get it where I want it.

I'm thrilled. Thrilled, I tell ya!

I have finally completed the decluttering and re-decorating of my master bedroom, and it looks faaaabulous. I replaced the burgundy sheers and heavy burgundy brocade coverlet with a black/white toile valance (that my mother made for one of my long ago apartments), a white blanket, rose sheets, black/white toile pillow shams (that I made to match the valance), and a single black brocade throw pillow. I took the burgundy and purple fringed scarf/throw off the mahogany rocker, which shows the black/white toile underneath (also done for that same long-ago apartment). With the new clean, white walls, the black/white/rose color scheme makes the room look so much bigger.

It's even more thrilling when I open my closet doors, because both closets are tidy, organized and free of junk sitting on the floor.

I need to find black or white European shams to replace the burgundy ones on the rattan settee, and I have to decide whether I'm going to repaint the bathroom to match.

I managed to declutter both my linen closet, my hall bathroom, and my hall closet this weekend. Next up...the guest bedroom. And it's going to be a bear.

Slowly, but surely, the decluttering continues.

I have finished decluttering my master bedroom and bathroom and feel a tremendous sense of accomplishment. I've also identified a basket full of things to go in the garage sale.

Next up, the guest bathroom, linen closet, and hall closet.

I also bought two really cute new dresses yesterday at Peebles, my favorite place to buy dresses. They were both on really good sale.

Anyhoo, one is a red/pink/white/black expressionistic poppy print with an A-line skirt, a black rouched waistband and a scoop neck edged with bands of black. I wore it to church today with a red sinamay hat, red sandals, and a black purse trimmed with faux zebra.

The other is a sky blue (with brown polka dots), sleeveless dress with a bateau neckline and an A-line skirt. I have a light blue sinamay turban that may be just the thing to wear with it.

Now, I just have to decide what I'm going to get rid of to make room for them.