Greetings from summer in South Texas with the usual humidity, but not yet 100 degrees, but getting close next week. Clay and I have been married 23 years this August, and on 3 June it will be 23 years that he contacted me to be a ‘Pen Pal’! That did not last long. So after 23 years of collecting and keeping paperwork that was required to keep (now we just keep it on a zip drive) it was time to purge unwanted things and prepare for the new carpet laying in June!
I have just completed going through all file cabinets going through all “old” paperwork and then disposing of everything that is not necessary to keep! That took me 2 full FULL days to go through 8 file cabinet drawers and then setting up file systems that were colored coded! How about that for fun. That filled 5 bags of TRASH and that is difficult to burn, and too long to shred, so it has been buried and we anticipate a tree will now sprout! LOL.
Wednesday afternoon (hearing appt during the morning) I started on the library. Oh this one took 3 hours on Wednesday and 9 hours yesterday. Yesterday was the time to start looking at pictures, letters, and documents. What a time. I reviewed pictures from my life in 1980 through current time. There are a lot of pictures and cards that Clay and I have amassed since 3 June 1996, the day he found me in Sterling, Virginia! What memories. Those memories were wonderful to look through. I filled up 2 more bags, but I shredded most of the things. Being from the old school where we had to keep paperwork to prove issues, etc., it is time now to just let the computer storage devices save all statements. There are still a lot that I saved from our past and current lives, but not near as much as I had been keeping. I do not know whether to call this ‘downsizing’ or just ‘elimination of unimportant things’.
We also have removed a computer desk, file cabinet from the computer room, and a hutch from the Den that was no longer being used and we are passing our Trundle Bed and a Glider to my cousin Kay’s daughter Kathleen, to use in her recently vacated bedroom when her older son moved to an apartment. Kay now has 2 great grandchildren that are just beautiful babies. I know that the glider will be used to sooth the baby at nap time along with the new baby blanket I made her.
Because there will be a 4 day interruption in early June for the carpet laying, I will not be starting a new quilt project. Instead, I will do the 4 applique blocks for Suzn Quilts QAL, work on Stonefields (hoping to finish it), and transfer Aunt Bea’s Parlor embroidery blocks to fabric, and continue working on my French General embroidery project.
I feel so great about this ‘cleaning out project I feel as if a burden has been lifted. Sometimes it helps to just leave the past in the past and bury some memories. I have had the best 5 nights of sleep since I started this project, so whatever I sent to Shredderville, trash, burn pile, or buried, I am very HAPPY!
A couple of years ago I took over the Music Room where we used to play our guitars together. Now Clay plays his guitar here in the Studio and I enjoy listening to the music when sewing. I still have my piano and sometimes I have been known to sit and play awhile, but not a lot. I now store fabric and yarn in this room and I want to re-arrange some things and see if I need to “downsize” anything. It will not take long to accomplish this project, it entails moving some things from the Den and rearranging things that I have let accumulate where they do not need to be.
So hopefully in a few days I will have something to show about quilting. I do hope that this has inspired you to think about how technology has taken over the old fashioned way of record keeping!
Have a wonderful week-end!
Nanette
Chopin - A Passionate Quilter From Texas 
Hi Nanette! Wonderful use of time – it is something we all put off but doesn’t it feel just so fabulous to be organized?!! Clean out the old stuff – we need to do that as well. I’ve been putting it off . . . you are inspiring me. Enjoy your weekend! ~smile~ Roseanne
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There are a few changes visually with the furniture, but most was done where only I know how great it feels… LOL. I am through with most of the downsizing and will do more furniture moving after the bed and chair are gone. Have a great week-end Roseanne! Hugs
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Wow! You have accomplished a lot! I am sure you really do feel much better! Sorting paperwork and cleaning closets and drawers is something that I need to make time for.
I am looking forward to photos of the new carpet!
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Thx Laura, but let me put it this way, I won’t do it again, paperwork will hit the shredder much sooner and only important papers will be filed! I had been keeping receipts from all expenditures from our hobbies for insurance purposes….no more. I am grateful to be retired and doing it – only took 6 days of my time! Goodwill was smiling! LOL
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As you know, I am not retired, so it should take about 6 months. LOL!
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I know – want to hire me? LOL
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I can imagine you do feel good about going though all of that! I’m still procrastinating on my hidden clutter…😁
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Hi Deb, it is the ‘hidden’ stuff that I wanted to eliminate. I remember when I moved from DC area back to Texas……… I was only there 3 years, but boy did I realize then it is best to not accumulate a lot! That is hard to do sometimes. Let’s not discuss fabric….. Have a great week-end.
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Music room? Library? Den? Must be a big house. I only have 6 bedrooms, living room, kitchen, back kitchen, quilting room and only 2 bathrooms. O and 2 hallways. Basement is dirt floor so we store very little there. We also have been purging but we also have all the farm files and books and pedigrees and other stuff.
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Well about 2000 sq ft and then we have the Studio which is 4 rooms about 800 sq ft. Now we only have one bedroom (by choice) so ours is different from yours. No basements in the South
It is only Clay and I no kids, dogs, grand kids, etc. It is funny because we use the bedroom, baths, kitchen, and part of the Den. When we had the 36′ Fifth Wheel for 15 years, we used to laugh and say, “but not for our hobbies, we could live in it”. But living on the 5 acres is wonderful – so quiet and peaceful! No noise at all!
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You have really been busy. Good luck with the carpet.
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We should not have problems with things now. They will move the heavy furniture. Now I can go back to playing. Have a great week-end.
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Purging has to feel great, now you’ve got more room for fabric!
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It does, just to get rid of things that we do not use and make more room for some storage. The cedar chest was the most difficult to do. I opened it up and wanted to slam the lid, but after 7 hours it was cleaned out and very organized. Took two big shelves of books to Goodwill and made room for my newer books and still have room! Clay said I eliminated about 600 pounds off the house! LOL!!!
Hugs!
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Nothing like a good purge to clear your head and files! You are all set with your handwork projects for when the carpet layers come. You can just sew away, and what a good feeling to know you have the important stuff organized and put away! Send us a little bit of your heat please, we are looking at 32 for a low tonight, and a high of 42 tomorrow. I am so done with winter…..
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Well, if I could send you some heat I would. Today I did not walk! 97% humidity, foggy, and 77 degrees and that was at 6 AM! I will hit the path tomorrow – Today is rest day. I did not realize that it stayed that cold this late in the season! I would love it. Not sure if I could do the snow for 7 months though! Too old to shovel! But then there are always snow blowers –
Try to hang in there, maybe the heat will finally come. Hoping the garden is doing OK!
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This is a VERY late spring. We have been in the garden as early as in mid March
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You have accomplished a lot in getting the garden started this year with all that snow!
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We always get antsy to get things going, but this year has required a keen focus on the daily lows!
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…some years. I do recall scraping Windows one year on June 3, but that was just a bizarre fluke. We had corn snow for about 30 minutes this morning, and they say maybe an inch tonight, then a little warmer (65!) but I would dearly love some 70’s!
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I bet that was in 1996! I was in that blizzard when I lived in Northern Virginia! Ah the car was no longer visible – what fun it was to clean that and the other parking space! Hugs
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It was later than that, about 2009 or 2010 I think. (I only know because it was one of the years that I was advising the State 4-H Youth Council, and I had to scrape the Windows before heading to their leadership conference!
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I really need to do that in a few of my rooms to declutter. Any chance you want to come to Florida and take care of that for me? Enjoy the hand work while the new floors are in process.
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I will be right there! I love to organize, but this is the last time for that one! If the pictures get put in books before I leave this earth, so be it. No one will want them anyway, but they are in order of my life! My life started with Clay! We have about 3 weeks before the interruption of new carpeting (which is going to be great) arrives! Have a good Sunday! Hugs
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You seem to be moving very quickly at getting rid of the old, I guess a deadline of new carpet coming helps. My husband and I are slowly de-cluttering, a little every Saturday, it sure feels good. I think you may have inspired me in the paperwork category, I was keeping 7 years, but you are right, much of that is in electronic version.
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I will be glad to get the last two things out of the den and then it will be completed. I am now beginning to look forward to the new carpet…. If I could just find someone to clean after they lay it. It will be dusty!
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New carpet! Congrats on your anniversary and your clean out!
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The original lasted 21 years! But we do not have children, grandchildren or animals in the house. We are looking forward to the installation! I will be happier when the Den is finished! Hope you are enjoying Colorado and your new home! I think of you and you journey. Sometimes life is just not fair! Hugs
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