Ex Hoarder Turns Neat Freak (not really)
Since I took a deep breath a couple of weeks ago and headed to the basement with an attitude and a pitchfork things have been coming along quite nicely. I think I can now rid myself of my self-imposed "hoarder's" label. What was once a narrow pathway between boxes and boxes of trash wonderful stuff is now a wide open hallway, organized laundry room, organized storage area and usable utility room.
As they say in France - VOILA!!
THE BEFORE PICTURES OF THE UTILITY ROOM/WORKSHOP/DISASTER AREA:
NOT MUCH "WORK" GOING ON IN HERE!
THE AFTER PICTURES - LOOK OUT! I FEEL LIKE I'M GETTING BACK MY CREATIVE ENERGY!
OH LOOK! THERE'S MY WORK TABLE! THERE MAY BE A NEW CARVING IN MY FUTURE!
ONCE I GOT RID OF ALL OF THE JUNK WITH A CAPITAL J.U.N.K. THERE'S LOTS OF ROOM FOR THE GOOD STUFF WITH SPACE LEFT OVER!
LOOK - EMPTY SPACE ON THE SHELF!
WHAT? HOW CAN THAT BE? MORE EMPTY SPACE! ALL OF MICHAEL'S BELONGINGS HAVE NOW BEEN ASSIMILATED ONTO THE SHELVES EXCEPT FOR TWO PLASTIC BINS WHICH HOLD HIS WINTER CLOTHES. TIME TO MAKE A SWITCH MY DEAR - WINTER IS HERE!
Today I made the drive out to the Household Hazardous Waste depot with about 20 partial cans of paint and 30+ partial cans of spray paint. It felt really good to get rid of that stuff.
I also got rid of: two bags of old Christmas decorations to Talize.
...
old carpet and several bags of useless garbage...
...an old fan that doesn't work anymore but thought I might fix someday hahaha!
I also put together a big box full of scraps of wood from various DIY projects that I am saving to burn in the firepit at the trailer. I have decided that I cannot live without my trailer. Yes, it still feels like MY trailer. We have been encouraged many times by its current owners who are friends of ours to use it any time, but it just didn't feel right. But I am mourning its loss deeply and have decided to hell with it, I am going to use it!!
So come springtime we are heading to the trailer! I am going to create a
TRAILER BOX (bedding, pillows, clothing) that we can take back and forth with us. Every time I think of the trailer, which is frequently, my heart hurts so badly, so I'm gonna give this a try.
Finally, I'm only 25km from Brighton, ON. I won't make it there tonight but definitely by tomorrow night. I will let you know soon some of the great things about Brighton.
Oh yes, and I won a sweet little blogging award - details to follow!!
Congrats! It looks soooo much better. You must feel great :)
ReplyDeleteI just love before and after pictures. It makes me want to tear apart a closet or two. I really love to dejunk. I would tell my kids to clean out their closets or I would do it. You have never seen kids move so fast. I really am that mean.
ReplyDeleteThe basement looks so nice! I know you miss the trailer but it is nice that you can go back again :)
ReplyDeleteI am so totally devoting myself to a 365 decluttering project. It is totally ridiculous how much stuff we have and the amount of money we have spent on this "stuff".
ReplyDeleteIt looks great! Nice to finally meet someone with a bigger paint stash than me. I'm addicting to painting furniture, walls... anything gets painted at my house if it stays stationary too long.
ReplyDeleteWhilst in Brighton make sure to give Gail a wave =)
ReplyDeleteLook at you go, doesn't that feel good. Please do not look at my garage! Scary!
ReplyDeletethat looks fantastic Jane! well done
ReplyDeletebeen busy! I need to make my downstairs look like your cleanup job! just tonight I backed out of sewing because of the clutter I'd have to move first - voting on a nap first then hopefully will tackle enough to make some headway with my projects.
ReplyDeleteI figured you'd miss the trailer - seems like that would be something 2-4 people could own together and divide up the usage times. I know someone who owned a plane like that - 4 of them split the cost of the plane/storage/maintenance -worked out ok for them.
sleepy but made the mistake of drinking diet orange soda that I now realize has caffeine :-(
susanna
@Finding my Way - Yes, great idea, maybe she'll give me an interview!
ReplyDelete@ Jake - welcome! I would love to join you on a 365 decluttering project. I KNOW I could find at least one item per day to get rid of!
Oh that's a great idea about Gail!
ReplyDeleteTell her I said 'hi'! ;)
Great job! What a difference. I bet it feels great.
ReplyDeleteThat basement totally does it for me. You really know how to turn on a man.
ReplyDeletem.
Wow, that does look good! There was a FLOOR under all that? Who knew! You're well on your way to start the new year with a less cluttered home. Here's to you!
ReplyDeletewell done Jane - clutter can be so daunting to tackle. You did good!
ReplyDeleteWelcome spendwise woman! It DOES feel great - who knew??
ReplyDeleteOfficially taking you OFF the Hoarders list. ;-)
ReplyDeleteGreat progress!!!
Look at you! Awesome!! De-cluttering is catching...
ReplyDeleteI love decluttering. I seem to do it all the time. We have a pile in the living room called the get rid pile :) Every month or so I take it up to value village to get rid of it. Now if I could just get Dave to clear out some of his boxes :)
ReplyDelete