I'm still in cleaning and simplifying mode. Once one starts, it seems to carry over into other parts of one's life. I went through part of a second room and moved on to third. The second room, didn't need as much, as it is not used quite as much everyday. I meditate in a corner of the room. My meditation mat and cushion sit on the floor, partly out of sight. So that room needs to be uncluttered. Your meditation space should be tranquil.
The third room is the bedroom. It certainly needed a good straightening up and reorganizing. Some of the things in the closet were brought over when we moved here. Most of them never came out of the boxes. I guess I got too busy setting up house to think about them and then really forgot about them! Since I had finished the office, I had things that needed to be put away somewhere else. I didn't want to overcrowd those closets. That would be going back to square one, now wouldn't it? They used to be messy closets with things stuffed in just to get them off the floor. The closets are full, but are more organized now, and I would like to keep them that way!
I recycled and repurposed some things. Boy does that feel good, and it saves money. By reusing, recycling, or donating, they don't go to waste. I had purchased a new area rug for the dinning room a few months ago to replace an worn old one. Unfortunately, it didn't look quite right there. The pattern didn't fit with my decorating scheme and it was too dark. Because the dinning room is actually part of the kitchen, the table is used for every meal. It showed every little grain of salt spilled on the floor. I really don't have time to vacuum twice a day. I thought it might look better in my office and would cover some old stains that I could never get out.
It looks so much better there and seems to fit in better too. It gives the office a whole new look! It is fresher looking and the stains are completely covered up. The parts of the carpet that still look good show up well. It seems like a new room. The area rug gives the room character. That 's a good feat, since everything else was already in there. I found a nice large basket on sale for half off and I use it for magazines and things I want to read. I prefer that to a stack of magazines sitting on the desk. Now I have more room there too. Except for meals and the lack of a bed, I could live in this room!
As for the dinning room, I found an area rug that looks much better there. A bonus was that it was very inexpensive. It is made of recycled materials and was about 60 percent less than the price of the one I moved into the office. I got it with no shipping costs either. I found it shopping online. I have become very adept in finding great bargains. So I was happy to be able to switch rugs. The good thing was the other rug had been on sale too. I've learned to wait for sales or do some research. I waited a year to replace the original area rug. I wanted recycled materials, at a low cost, but a quality product. I have no problem living with old, worn stuff, if I know I can get a good price down the road. That rug will go in the family room where we had water seepage this spring. We had to remove the carpet and padding in a large section. It would be a waste of money to put down a whole new carpet, when that rug can sit under the couch.
I then went through the books in the other rooms and added more to my donation stacks. I am so pleased that I haven't had any urges to put some of the books back. Whenever I tried to clean out books before, I would find myself putting some back. I am getting so much better at letting things go. I did repurose a few books as a decorative element on my nightstand to raise a lamp higher. They look nicer than using a box. I got function and style that way. The stand was too low for reading in bed. The books have attractive covers and brought the lamp to a better height, so they suited a purpose and look nice on the nightstand.
Sometimes when I take a walk, I bring a few books with me to the library to donate. I can also walk to the store where they have a donation bin. Your community might have them too. There are book donation bins at some the the strip malls in our area. I drop some of the books there too. I don't want to give all of the books to the same places. Spreading them around to a variety of places benefits more charities and people. I have so many books that I've collected over the years, I have quite a lot to give away. I will not reread most of them, so they may be useful to others. It's better to pass them on, than to keep them for no purpose, when someone else may enjoy them. I do like to see books on my shelves, but they are also the books I will pick up and look at again often.
I really went through boxes and drawers and found more clothing to donate. There were also some shoes, I haven't worn for a long time. Since I no longer wear heels, I gave several pairs away. I cut a couple of pairs of pants down into shorts and hemmed them. They had ugly baggy knees from wear, but will be great shorts for working in the the yard. I had a few plastic containers and some shoe boxes I saved to use as drawer dividers for underwear and socks and for storing markers and pens. After going through the closet, I had several large cardboard boxes that I cleaned out. I gave them to a friend who is moving.
I watched the program "Hoarders" one time. I am very happy to say, I am definitely not a hoarder. In the past, when I cleaned out drawers and closets, I always had trouble letting go of everything, or really much of anything. I would give away a few things. I am pleased to say that is no longer true. I gave away about eight plastic garbage bags of clothing, shoes and miscellaneous stuff after cleaning out two of those rooms. I threw away and shredded several bags of paper and other stuff. I am not keeping coupons and other things with a short expiration date. If I don't need to purchase it now, out it goes. It is very empowering to be able to let things go. It is always good to give to charity and I feel very good about it.
Smokey Mountain Memories
A Little Slice of Heaven
