The minimalist quiche

[educatingarti]

This is a new thread to replace the minimalist journey one which is nearly full!

Harriet, I promise I'm not stalking you but saw you were giving up screen time for Lent! What are we going to do without you!?

I'm a bit late to the scissor register, but I am sooo the poor relation on the scissor front of this thread! My friend does a lot of sewing, and recently at her house I did some gratuitous fabric cutting...oooh, oooh, the crisp slice snip. Joyful. So, judging by you connoisseurs, scissors get to stay and are off the decluttering agenda.

Silent - I had to get in my loft at 39 weeks pregnant with Ds. My mum was having kittens at the bottom of the ladder. So go steady :)

Have sorted hall - stuff to go in loft when kids finally get to sleep.

Cleaned a very grim kitchen floor and decluttered a few more ood bits dh was trying to hold on to (if I do it slowly he won't notice right?).

Was planning on sorting out the ironing pile of doom ready to go to my ironing fairy. but one of the twins is having a bad evening so she's currently trying to sleep on my lap.

Am having a mental count up of my scissors, inspired by your comments here.

One pair in each wrapping paper box
Two pairs of kitchen scissors
Pair in the baby changing bag (for cartons etc)
Medical scissors in my travel first aid kit
Nail scissors
Pair upstairs in the bathroom cabinet of packet opening etc
Sewing scissors
Pinking shears (do they count?)
I know I've got another 2 pairs somewhere. I just don't know where!!

That's very sweet of you, silent! I really hope the minimalist quiche is still going strong after Easter. I guess you'll have a new baby when I come back!!! Still, I have tomorrow and then -eek- no Internet or telly for 40+ days. Oh my. Hardcore mental decluttering. Not sure I'm ready...

Btw I don't intend to keep my 24 pairs of scissors, but I will be hanging on to more than one pair for sure. .

MrsPennyApple did you see this week's instalment of the Slow Your Home blog about holding onto items that remind you of something - here? It really struck a chord with me, and it reminds me of your situation with the lamp. I don't think there's a right answer to it.

educatingarti - you sound a bit hard on yourself. You were decluttering your time by chilling - doing nothing is fine. We all need to do nothing sometimes or we burn out.

harrietspy you will be missed. Come back and find us won't you?

LemonBreeland you are on a roll! Very inspiring!

Well I went to work in the office today and found a teetering pile of contracts and an email in-box of 2,500 messages waiting for my attention. I am determined to declutter the lot of it - deleted, filed, or done. By the end of March there will be only one day's e-mails in my inbox and my desk at work will be as clear as my desk at home. I'm going to plan my attack over the next few days and then storm the backlog - the next decluttering project.

(We only own one pair of scissors... Only on this thread can that be considered boasting!)

Hello all, catching up on my MN late this week ( I try to stay off it during the week but was away alot at the weekend so allowing myself a monday peek)...

As ever your updates keep me motivated to keep taking my baby steps along the minimalist road. Not too much this week - a few items in charity shop bags, and threw all my old make up out yesterday in fit of enthusiam. I really struggle with getting things out of the house - they fester in charity bags by the door as there are no charity shops on my usual routes so I have to go out of myway to dispose.

Or it languishes in a 'to sell' bag while I wait for a no fees weekend or umm and ah about where to sell.

Still, will keep plodding on.
harriet you will be missed, but hope you have a lovely lent, and at least we know the garage of letting go is in a good place before you leave us!

arti you definitely need to have time off to replenish energy, you are always a prime declutterer.

MrsPenny I don't think you should feel you have to get rid of it just yet, sometimes you need time to let go of things, and if you still like the look of it then it passes the beautiful or useful test.

A question from ages ago...antoinette you mentioned your household folder has some snazzy calender pages in it - one with all the year and hten one with a to do list by the months (I think). Where did you get them? We are currently working on decanting shelves and shelves of folders into:

• a household binder

• a finances binder
• maybe a firesafe box for things like passports
• rest of stuff scanned or shredded.

Slow progress...

I ventured into one of the cupboards of doom this evening . I am renovating an old wooden framed mirror that I got on freegle to go over my mantlepiece. So I needed some DIY stuff which comes out of one of the C.O.D. Scrabbling around in my "tool box" I felt almost physically ill at the thought of having to sort it all out! The thing is - I do actually want to keep most of the random bits of wire, screws, rawl plugs, wood etc because they do come in handy when you make things - as I like to do! The thought of actually finding a way of sorting it all out though fills me with horror! I have so many boxes etc of bits and pieces!

OK - having got all that off my chest, I think I need to take things in very small pieces. Some of the cupboards have more "random junk" than DIY stuff. Maybe I need to start there!

becstar thanks for that link. I enjoyed reading that, it has helped me clarify some thoughts about some 'souvenir' items of my grandparents that just aren't to my taste and I cannot display so have been languishing in boxes for over 15 years. They bring back vivid memories of bored Sunday afternoons staring at my gps ornaments and pictures for relief. I've decided to get these memories down on paper, along with the ones where I had fun with my gps, and sell the ornaments. After a quick google I have learnt some of them are collectibles so they should go to someone who can appreciate them and I can give the money to my Grandad's favourite charity.

bec it is very kind of you to call me an inspiration.

On scissorgate, we have at least 8 pairs. Yet I do not have nor have ever used a left handed pair. Keep meaning to get some as I can not cut straight.

LemonBreeland
I had my first proper pair of large left-handed scissors as a 40th birthday present - whata revelation - I do recommend them for cutting in straight lines if you are left-handed!

I have been attempting to sort out the loft and discovered a) loft ladders are hard with a dicky hip, and b) it is too bloody cold to be up in lofts at the moment.

However I have managed to cull some of my extensive hoard of children's clothes awaiting DC4, and sorted the ones I want to keep. I'm getting a system going up there so it's all labelled and neatly accessible in a row. I also found DH's sleeping bag liner, which we have been looking for for ages, as well as some useful things that fit DC4 right now.

My proudest moment up there has been installing a shoe rack for the children's shoe collection, again awaiting DC4. We have 28 pairs of shoes and wellies for him to grow in to! Except now they are all neatly in rows so I can find what I need as he grows, and not have to navigate a mountain of random shoes. I did discover some duplicates where we had clearly not been able to find the sizes we needed for the other kids, so bought new ones instead .

I think it counts as minimalism as all the stuff will be used, and as he grows out of it space can be readily vacated now there's a system.

bec, that link was fantastic.

Unpacking boxes this evening, I came across a little blue cardboard box with bone-handled butter knives in. We've been carting this from house to house for 15 years. It belonged to Sport's much-adored, ferocious grandmother. I love toast. I love butter. The little butter knives are gorgeous. I have put them in the cutlery drawer and will use them every day. Strictly speaking I don't need them, but I like the idea of taking time over something and paying attention while you're doing it. My own little toast ceremony...

Bec thank you for the link, I will go and read that now.

Oh and I meant to add, thanks for wardrobe ideas last week still haven't tackled it properly but got out some old skirts and been working through them to see if I can wear them again and if not they are going into bags by door.

bec I love your desk, so neat!

And also thanks for link, reading it now and pondering, letting go of memory items is a tough one

I was lying in bed last night thinking about how much stuff has been leaving my house and it becomes a bit scary. However I decided that it is just stuff that should have gone in small amounts over the years but hadn't, so it is okay that lots of things are going.

I think that as DD is my last child it makes letting things go a lot easier. Since she was born clothes that she outgrows immediately go. that is not something I could do in the past so stored huge amounts of things.

arti I must get a pair of left handed scissors. I hope they will be a revelation to me. It looks like DD will be left handed too, so definitely worth getting.

Boffin I've always had an issue of storing clothes/shoes for the next child to grow into. Particularly wellies as they are not fitted shoes. I have a cupboard full but must organise them better. DS2 currently has 2 pairs of wellies as I bought him new ones then found DS1s old ones a week later. Very frustrating.

I am finding lately that I feel more relaxed in my house as I see a future of it being organised and knowing where everything is. So far I have not set myself any goals of when I want the major declutter finished. But we have a huge amount of work to do in the garden so would like the house to be done by late spring at thelatest so I can focus on the garden.

I have joined you due the thread I started earlier in chat wherein I sobbed like a small child about my house :( Will read it all later

emi love your nn btw. Just had a wee look at your thread in chat. It sounds like this is the perfect place for you.

It is difficult if your DH isn't on board. It sounds like he has real issues with letting go of anything, especially the clothes. That sounds completely out of control.

Little things at a time can be a real help. Just a carrier bagfull here or there can really make a difference.

I am another one who had too much furniture. Not as bad as your bedroom sounds but you find yourself thinking you need more torage when the answer is less stuff. and for me that hasn't meant throwing out anything we actually use. In fact the things we do use are beginning to get proper homes as all of the cupboards etc. are no loinger full of crap we don't use.

Good luck with half term.

welcome emin
I'm in the process of dealing with one of the more minor shelves of despair in an awful, but nowhere near the worst, cupboard of doom. I'm enjoying listing all the things I am throwing out!

He's kind of on board, but when it comes to it - just seems to think that he needs everything, you know 'just in case', or 'I can't get rid of that - I got that in 1976' etc...

emin Just read your other thread. Can you start small with some of yours/the dc's stuff in the 2 weeks before you have your time off work? It might help to encourage your DH?

Agree that he sounds as if he's got a problem with letting things go. Do you have a charity like this near you? He might be more willing to let some of the furniture go if it is going to people who really need it? I think you need to sit him down when neither of you are in a rush and tell him just how badly his hoarding is affecting you!

Yes, we do. I have taken three days off work the week after next and am going to ask him to have things ready for me to get rid of that week ( he works p/t so can do it - despite his 'oh i never get time')

Meanwhile, I will start doing little places - drawers etc. We have tons and tons of paperwoprk from insurances and house purchase and god knows what in files all over the place as well. He and I have to sort through them together or I'll just throw out the deeds or something

Emin if you have time I would suggest reading the blogs linked to in this thread and the previous one 'mimimalist journey' as well as the threads. You will find lots of thought provoking stuff which will hopefully get your DH to question his 'I might need it one day' beliefs.

I'm still far from mimimalist but thanks to these threads I am thinking about our belongings in a way I didn't last time we had a clear out and making a lot more progress rather than just boxing stuff up again with clearer labels.

Brilliant. Thank you, I will. So pleased there may be some light

Hello eminem. I'm not going to be around for long as I'm going to be off the internet for Lent, but just wanted to wish you all the best. Starting small is absolutely the way to do it. One item at a time. And be kind to yourself while you're doing it. I think the message you'll get on here is that huge change doesn't happen all at once, only through simple tiny actions.

I say this facing a completely chaotic house with almost no room on the kitchen table. 180 mile round-trip tomorrow to get the furniture from clearing our old house. There's already a sofa in the hall waiting to be donated so I'm not sure how we'll fit more in... I have to move existing furniture before school pick-up so that we can accommodate the 'new' stuff temporarily, even if we're not planning to keep it.... However, the Garage of Doom has already become the Garage of Letting Go and soon it won't even be my garage any more . Spent 20 mins shredding a batch of papers from my horrible, stressful, utterly awful old job. I have had 'em for 8 years. More to shred, but it feels good.

Now I can't wait till the car boot season starts up so that I can get rid of the boxed-up clutter.

I'll check in again later - I'll miss this thread sooooooo much!