Happy New Year, Everyone! 2011! Wow! We have a whole new year ahead of us! The gift of a brand new start! Today is the last day of my Christmas break, which means tomorrow morning it's back to work. So, taking advantage of this last day of holidays, we took down our Christmas tree and put away most of the decorations.
As I was trying to fit the decorations onto the storage shelves in our furnace room, I saw so much "stuff": a pair of crutches that a nephew left behind this summer, a box of bows and ribbons, an old acquarium, some used lamp shades, boxes of school momentos from when our kids were little, some bins of things that Alida has decided she doesn't need to save anymore. So much stuff!!! But in the name of - "re-use and recycle", or "my grand children might like to see their parents' kindergarten drawings some day", or "the day after I dispose of this I'll be looking for exactly
this!" - it's all still there, packed away in neatly labelled boxes.
I used to delay the post-Christmas cleanup as long as possible because it always felt so empty and dull after having enjoyed the coziness and colour the lights and decorations for almost a month. But the last couple of years I get to a point around New Year's Day where I can't wait to put things away. And then I get a "let's -declutter- and- clean up" attack.
Last week we helped some friends clean their house so that they could move back in after some major renovations. As I was wiping the drywall dust off their books and trinkets, I wondered what the significance of these items was to them. Are they souvenirs? do they hold sentimental value? Are they gifts received in honour of significant life events? Did they inherit this from a special friend or grand parent? Do these items hold special memories for them? If someone came to help me move or clean, what would they think of all the stuff that I've hung on to over the years?
So when I got home, I started looking at the shelves above my desk. Why am I keeping all this stuff?! The little koala bear that a friend brought me from Australia and a little white stuffed animal with a Santa hat, and a raggedy Ann of Green Gables doll and a cancer bear all went into the toy box downstairs. Some books are set aside to be given away. And now I have an empty shelf! Yahoo! I'm not going to put anything on it! I'm just going to enjoy the fact that I actually have one shelf that is completely empty! Happy 2011, everyone!
As I was trying to fit the decorations onto the storage shelves in our furnace room, I saw so much "stuff": a pair of crutches that a nephew left behind this summer, a box of bows and ribbons, an old acquarium, some used lamp shades, boxes of school momentos from when our kids were little, some bins of things that Alida has decided she doesn't need to save anymore. So much stuff!!! But in the name of - "re-use and recycle", or "my grand children might like to see their parents' kindergarten drawings some day", or "the day after I dispose of this I'll be looking for exactly this!" - it's all still there, packed away in neatly labelled boxes.
I used to delay the post-Christmas cleanup as long as possible because it always felt so empty and dull after having enjoyed the coziness and colour the lights and decorations for almost a month. But the last couple of years I get to a point around New Year's Day where I can't wait to put things away. And then I get a "let's -declutter- and- clean up" attack.
Last week we helped some friends clean their house so that they could move back in after some major renovations. As I was wiping the drywall dust off their books and trinkets, I wondered what the significance of these items was to them. Are they souvenirs? do they hold sentimental value? Are they gifts received in honour of significant life events? Did they inherit this from a special friend or grand parent? Do these items hold special memories for them? If someone came to help me move or clean, what would they think of all the stuff that I've hung on to over the years?
So when I got home, I started looking at the shelves above my desk. Why am I keeping all this stuff?! The little koala bear that a friend brought me from Australia and a little white stuffed animal with a Santa hat, and a raggedy Ann of Green Gables doll and a cancer bear all went into the toy box downstairs. Some books are set aside to be given away. And now I have an empty shelf! Yahoo! I'm not going to put anything on it! I'm just going to enjoy the fact that I actually have one shelf that is completely empty! Happy 2011, everyone!
4 comments:
Ugh. This is what I'm supposed to be doing today. Going through stuff. Instead, you see where I am. Sitting here in Blogland. Good for you. Love that clean shelf : )!!
I had a slight clean up the clutter attack as well. I pacified it by throwing out three broken ornaments.
I like your post.
Anytime you have the urge to come and "declutter" my house, feel free:-)
Anneke
Ellie, thanks for your sweet comments on my post. I appreciate your encouragement. And I had to laugh out loud when you talked about hearing aides and dentures. Hehehe. Won't be long eh???
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