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Looking for the PF&HT Recipe for Success Write-Off contest winner? Stop by tomorrow when we officially announce the winner of the Chelsea Gilmore critique.
Collections, Hobbies and Clutter. Oh CRAP!
My son has always called my craft room, the crap room. Maybe it’s because that’s the term my husband uses. Or maybe because the room is always full of various half started craft projects scattered from one corner to the other. Of course, I never thought my stuff was crap; until recently.
This year my family decided to take a long hard look at our life and everything we’ve accomplished. Because I’m a firm believer of looking at both sides of a situation, I also felt we needed to focus on areas where we have not been successful as well. With this in mind, we dubbed 2011 our Year of Reevaluationand took a critical look at every aspect of our lives together.
In January I blogged about making the decision to downsize our home. I still feel strongly about this choice and we are well on our way to making it a reality.
In last month’s post, I gave a little insight into our revamped family budget and how a detailed spreadsheet has kept us on a fairly straight path to paying down our debt. We still have not been able to keep from dipping into those luxury columns every now and then, but I think given a little time we will get there.
This month, I want to share one of the toughest decisions we’ve had to make thus far – cleaning out the “clutter” that has filled our home. By clutter, I don’t mean just the pile of quilting scraps stacked on a shelf next to my sewing machine. I don’t mean just the mountain of half used sheets of colored paper that I use with my scrapbooking projects. I also don’t mean just the shelves of handmade clay figures I’ve received over the years from The Kid. No. Those items would be far too easy to target alone.
What I do mean is that we also evaluated the various collections we’ve accumulated because they might be worth something one day; the antique items inherited from relatives as they’ve cleaned out their cluttered homes; the books, the clothes, the shoes, the videos, the games, the sports equipment, the toys. I could really go on and on here… This stuff can really add up.
One of the items I had to take a hard look at is my collection of more than 150 Barbie Dolls. All are in their original boxes, unopened and sitting in Rubbermaid tubs in the corner of my craft room. I don’t look at them or display them because I fear damaging the boxes, which would drop their value tremendously. I had originally thought to pass them onto a daughter or even a granddaughter (I only had the one boy), but they take up a LOT of space. With the home downsize, that space is going to be limited.
My husband inherited an old amber glass lamp from a great aunt after she passed away. To be perfectly honest, it matches NOTHING in our house and we fear breaking it every time we move (and we do move more than the average family). He also has a fairly large shop back in Wyoming that was too full of “his crap” to move when we headed southeast eight years ago.
I inherited an old Victrola record player and a heavy upright piano from my family. Those items are sitting in my in-laws garage back in Wyoming because (like hubby’s shop items) they are just too big and bulky to keep moving.
The Kid has saved every Lego piece we bought him, every Bionicle he put together, every Tonka truck he bought with his own allowance. These items alone don’t even make a dent in the boxes and tubs we have in storage for when he “grows up and has a family of his own.”
Yeah, yeah. Blah, blah, blah. What is the point I’m trying to make here?
Simply that we’ve been extremely greedy over the years and become tied down and limited because of it. In eight years, we’ve moved six times. That’s just in the last eight years. Don’t get me started on the others. One of our “hobbies” is to build or remodel houses. Not only do we usually make a decent profit, but we’ve created a family bond that has literally been the glue to some of the tough economic times we’ve had to face.
So, as we reevaluated life, we realized that there are far more things we would like to be doing and all this stuff was just one of the obstacles keeping us from doing them. Most of the items I mentioned have already found new homes (still trying to talk hubby into parting with that lamp….) and the others will also vacate the premises before the end of the year.
Ironically after accepting this change, we had an epiphany. Instead of feeling sad or lost without our “stuff,” we’ve felt somewhat freer. I have a lot less to dust. I’m not constantly worried about damaging my collection of dolls. I’m not feeling guilty about all the projects I have in progress that I honestly will never complete. Hubby and The Kid have also expressed similar feelings about their sacrifices. If we had known just how good this would feel, we might have done it a long time ago. Maybe.
How about you. Tell us a little about some of your collections or hobbies. Better yet, if you had a good reason or needed to do so, do you think you could give them up? Leave a comment for a chance to win a cup of coffee on me!
Check back April 28th to hear why The Kid asked to cook dinner as we evaluate our health and eating habits.
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by Tami Brothers
Great post. Last Christmas, we adopted a new rule in our house that helped us deal with clutter. For every present the kiddos received, one old toy had to find a new home. The grown-ups had to do the same thing
Love this, Samantha! I definitely agree that we should look into that. In fact, The Kid is looking at a new Gameing System (he will buy with is own money). We have several he never uses. I might try this on him…
Thanks for commenting!
Tami
This was a very interesting post. I’m not a collector of anything butsomehow a lot of junk accumulated in our laundry room and the whole family worked to clean out 25 years worth of stuff. Now I have a lovely laundry room. My office is a nightmare with things I don’t need and if I could ever clean it I know my mind would be less cluttered.
I have some ideas. You could sell your Barbie dolls.
About the lamp? How about writing a book called “The Amber Lamp” and using your great imagination to trace the lamp’s provenance to tell a story and your heroine could be a compulsive collector.
We have friends that have had to add on to their house twice to accommodate their hobby of collecting depression era glass and antiques. They could open a museum and maybe you could too. A crap (I mean craft) museum.
Another way to get rid of junk is to have a flood in your basement. I don’t reccommend that but when that happened to us we had no choice. Everything in the basement was ruined.
Hey Tami, I’ve been decluttering off and on for a while now. My biggest issues left? My hubby’s computer parts collection which spans the garage width on a couple of shelves and family photos in boxes. Only one of those is under my control
Hi Tami,
When we left Calif we got rid of a ton of things…furniture and “stuff” because we were downsizing and in the meantime, we were paying Bekins to store and then later to ship it cross-country.
Then after 2 yrs, we bought a larger house here in GA (we downsized too far) and had to buy more furniture. (@#$%^) (g)
I commend you for taking the plunge. Good luck!
Really interesting blog! When I read the title I jumped right over to read it. I had an issue with “collecting” all the things relatives gave me. I felt I had to keep them to honor that person. One day I had the epiphany that most of the times they were just giving me the stuff so they didn’t have to feel guilty about either throwing it away or bother with carting it to a charity. Yes…stuff like that. My desk is a cluttered mess, but I’ve really cleared out on the inherited stuff. After all, we love people, not their stuff.
Tami,
That post really struck home! Me and my clutter; it makes me crazy. Just not crazy enough to do something about it – yet.
I had a collection of Hallmark ornaments, but in the fire they bit the dust. It felt really good when we moved and the closets had only a few items and lots of room left. Now? I can close the doors if I shove.
One day I will clean it out. One day.
Proud of you!
Tami,
Decluttering is a pain. But, yes it is sooo freeing. I learned, people and relationships are important, things well, if they’re senitmental I still pause first. But hey, I’m human.
Thanks for the reminder. I need to go clean out a closet.
One word – eBay. Those Barbie dolls sound like they’re worth money. And so does the lamp.
My hubby is a thrift store junkie, but we’ve both been bitten by the decluttering bug and he’s taken several SUV-loads TO the thrift store so far this year (I hope he doesn’t buy anything back). And yet, piles of papers continue to grow in my office. Sigh. I’ll get to them some day…
Inspiring post, Tami. Maybe I’ll get rid of some stuff this weekend. You’re right. It does feel so good.
Good post, Tami. It’s hard to be honest about things that need to go.
When we were building the house we’re now in, my husband and I edited things before we moved a lot of household goods and clothes out to a storage area to make it easier for the real estate agent to show the house. When we got ready for the new house, we realized we had not missed much of what was in storage and edited again before moving into the new house. That got me thinking recently when I was having a hard time getting my husband to clean out some kitchen clutter.
The kitchen is my husband’s turf so I don’t touch it (b/c I LIKE that it is his turf) but I kept wanting him to clean out a couple of the pots & pans areas (and the plastic container drawer that has overflowed in every house we’ve had) because we tend to use certain ones all the time. He put it off for a year until I suggested he take out everything he hadn’t touched in six months, box it up and put it in the attic. He did and has been very happy with the kitchen space.
So for anyone who isn’t sure what they can part with, consider just boxing and moving out of sight. You’ll be surprised at what you’ll decide to get rid of later and you’ll enjoy the change the way Tami feels a burden lifted.
Tami,
Great minds think alike; you know I just blogged about this on my personal website last Friday! It’s a process, but I am determined to get rid of everything that I don’t absolutely need or love. At one point I sold most of my doll collection, but I will admit that I still have a small boxful of Barbies that I just can’t part with. Maybe someday. Thanks for the inspiration!
Pam
We are in the same mod at our house. Getting rid of things and kids. We are down to two now. I’m in the process of making changes in bedrooms, clkeaning out storage, moving my office and selling things off. I did buy a new desk for me yesterday. Large enough that I’ll look more important behind it than I am.
LOL Marilyn! Not crazy about the flood idea. Think I’ll skip that one (although, the neighbors just yesterday had the flood people over after this rain we had. They did not look very happy at all.) I LOVE the pictures you posted of your laundry room and it sounds pretty cool that your family helped go through the things you had stored. I would think it would be nice having everyone there so you didn’t have to second guess whether or not someone would want to keep something and then end up saving it again.
Thanks a ton for stopping by!
Tami
Oh man, Debbie. Speaking of computers parts… The Kid has decided he likes taking things apart to see what they are made of. We are currently discussing the shelf full of computer and cell phone “guts” and why we really need them. I’m with ya on the photos. I have two shelves of scrapbooks and three years worth of pictures that still need to go in them.
Thanks a ton for taking time from the lake to stop by. Miss you guys and hope you get a lot written!
Tami
Hi Sandy! THIS is actually something we are worried about. We know we are downsizing for this year, but we also know ourselves and that we more than likely will be building another house in the coming years (hopefully being a LOT smarter with our budget when we do it). This is one of the things we are trying to consider as we work through this.
Thanks so much for stopping by. I hope you guys are having fun at the lake (hope the weather is treating you well).
Tami
Thank you, Anna! Major, major congrats on that Golden Heart final!!!!
I am in total agreement with what you said about them giving you the stuff they don’t want. My mom went through her house a few years ago and gave back many of the knickknacks and figures me and my sisters had given her over the years. At first I was disappointed because they were things we had given her. Now, I totally understand her thinking on it. And don’t get me started on the desk issue…grin…
Thanks a ton for stopping by!
Tami
Hey Maxine!
So glad you were able to make it to the lake Write-Away. We missed you this weekend, but totally understand that family comes first.
With our house for sale, we had to clean out those closets we had that “if you pushed really hard they would close.” {g}
Sorry about the Hallmark ornaments. We started that collection when The Kid was younger. Thank Heavens we stopped about the time he was 5. I can totally see where that would become an addiction for me…
Have a wonderful week!
Tami
Hi Sia! Another lake writer this week. Thanks so much for taking time to stop by.
You hit the nail on the head with the people and relationships being important. I tend to let the computer take up way too much of my time and that is one of our reevaluation things for this year. I plan to do better with it. And those sentimental things. I have to admit that I couldn’t give up the shelves of clay figures. I did toss out the flower pots that were cracked or broken (but took pictures of them first), but I just couldn’t get rid of the figures….
Thanks for stopping by.
Tami
Hi Lindsey!!! I am definitely looking at E-bay. Unfortunately, the economy has really hit home there, too. Susan is having the same issues with E-bay and her Barbie Dolls. I’m thinking I might have to make do with them in the corner of a room until closer to Christmas time…
Good luck with your hubby’s trip to the Thrift store. I know I can’t take The Kid into one of those. He would probably buy back some of his own stuff…grin…
Have a great week!
Tami
Hey Dianna! Awesome idea on putting those things away to see if you really don’t need them. I never thought of that but it is something that I think will work immensely.
I’m just getting ready to tackle my kitchen and this process of putting things away for a bit will help with that. I have a really cool set of white glass cooking dishes that I have NEVER used (okay, maybe a piece here and there simply because they were there). I have carted them around the country for more than fifteen years. I think those will be the first things to go. I also have one of those plastic container cupboards where half the stuff hasn’t been used in a LOOONNNNGGGG time. Great, great advice.
Thank you so much for stopping by. We really do appreciate your support.
Tami
Hey Pam!!! Yes, I read your post and LOVE it! We are sooo in the same frame of mind. The credit card debt thing just hit us over the head and was one of the things that started us thinking about this reevaluation thing. We had credit card debt right after we were married and had to really buckle down to pay those off. Then when both of our careers were a casualty of the bad economy, we found ourselves relying on credit cards again. Now we have to figure out how to get by without them…
We need to chat sometime about our health issues. I’m in the same boat as you are, but not leveled off yet….
Thanks for stopping by.
Tami
Hey Susan! Love that idea of looking important behind the desk. Very cool. Best of luck with your Barbie Dolls. Maybe we will have better luck in October/November…grin…
How is that Leg Lamp? Might have to borrow it sometime.
Tami
Did you say Barbies?! You knoe we love Barbies in my house… http://decatur.patch.com/articles/naked-barbies-in-the-dollhouse
Seriously, I’ve got to do the same. 4 kids born in 4 different seasons. Maternity clothes and regular clothes in 6 (yes, 6!) different size, 4 rooms with book shelves. Toys everywhere. Somethings got to go. The books are the hardest, but I’d rather have someone somewhere reading them. Otherwise the books are just collecting dust. My TBR pile is now only for books, I really plan to read.
Great post. Declutter your life and declutter your brain. More room for writing!
Ah, this post really hit home. One of my goals for Lent was to part with many, many things. I was kinda hoping for 40 bags in 40 days (there’s a far more eloquent blog about it somewhere out there), but so far I think I’ve only made it to 4 bags with 2 in the hall.
One of my big problems is greeting cards. What’s the consensus on those? I hate to throw them away because, inevitably someone special gave me the card, but, man, I can’t take any more paper items in this house! Thoughts?
Hi Tami,
Interesting post and it took me right to the thing we hear from almost every editor and agent… protagonists carrying unwanted baggage into the book! I just cleaned out my teenage son’s room yesterday and what a revelation! You’d think they’re growing up but they don’t want to part with anything! Thanks for sharing!
Anju
Can I have that lamp?????
Hey Nicki! Love that link!!! My favorite line – Now the Barbies are wearing straitjackets, and I’m the one to blame. Oh man, I am with you on the books. I swear each time we moved my books would take up a quarter of the moving truck. Now that The Kid has his own collection, hubby is threatening to make us haul our own boxes in and out of the houses when we move… We are working on sorting through those. It’s just really, really hard to part with them!!!!
I will definitely have to take your advice on the To Be Read pile. I have books I receive for free and books given to me by friends. Some I will never read because they just aren’t my taste. I’m thinking I need to find a new home for those…
Thanks so much for stopping by.
Tami
Tami, I feel your pain – though I think you are far more productive at decluttering than I am. Almost every year I’m cleaning out a closet here or there, or a room. We’ve been plugging away at the catch-all basement for a few years now. Hubby always stops short of how far I’m willing to go…and then it just fills up again. Sigh. I think we’re all re-evaluating here at home with my son’s wedding in just a few weeks. We’ve been doing that “gotta finish this project because the family is coming” thing for the past month and seeing the progress is helping to highlight where the trouble spots are. Hey, if nothing else I’ll get one room back from the clutter monster to turn into a sweet little guest room. Now, to keep it from turning into another catch-all…..
Hi Sally! Never thought of the 40 bags in 40 days! Sounds like a movie…grin…
Great idea, though. It might make things easier if I swear to fill one bag or one box per day. Then maybe it won’t be so overwhelming…
On those greeting cards, I have to say that I only keep the absolute ones I just can’t part with. Thankfully, I get very few of those. But I do save all that we get for The Kid. I have a file for each school year for him and I just slip those in. Also, I let him cut out the cool pictures on our Christmas Cards (I save these until the end of the next Christmas season) and make a fun collage for the coming holiday.
That probably doesn’t help much, does it…grin… Good luck with that. Let me know if you get a good answer to this.
Tami
Hey Anju!
I completely agree with decluttering your WIP. This can definitely be used in just about everything we do in life and especially in our writing. Takes out all those extra, unnecessary words.
Funny about your son’s room. That is exactly what we are finding. We just gave a huge Rubbermaid container of Rescue Heros to a nephew, along with a huge car, huge rescue tower, huge battleship. No kidding when I say this collection took up almost as much as my Barbie Dolls. It was like twisting The Kid’s arm to give it up (and hubby’s – he hates cleaning out the clutter and the excuse he uses is that we spent good money for that!). We had to use the “Something Has To Go” voice…
Thanks for stopping by.
Tami
Hey Jen! Too funny! I’d ship it to you yesterday if I could. I can’t even get hubby to put it in a box wrapped in tons of bubble wrap. We never use it and I don’t think it even works (although I’ve never tried it). And he won’t let me decorate it to try and make it fit somewhere (you know, fabric, paper, glue, hammer….). I’m about to set it on his toolbox out in the garage and tell him to find a spot out there to use it to decorate with…grin…
Thanks for stopping by!
Tami
I just KNEW somebody would claim that lamp for you Tami! LOL.
You know Hubby and I have moved a lot over the years. Big, long-distance moves that required us to declutter each time. There were some things that I stored at my sister’s house (1st shoes for each kid, outfits we brought them home from in the hospital, favorite blankie and such.) in her cedar chest and we kept one bulging file folder full of kid’s school stuff and fridge art. Now if we could get them to take those last couple tubs each of “keepsakes” we’d be in pretty good shape.
Sometimes I bemoan the books I’ve had to get rid of, but really, if I want to read that book again, I can get the e-book version or visit a used book store to find it.
Good luck with the de-clutter process!
Hi Darcy!!!! How exciting. I can’t believe you have a son old enough to get married. And I’ve even met your daughter.
Best of luck with getting everything done for the wedding. I know the thought of company coming is the best incentive for us. I’ve gotten lots of cool stuff completed that we put off for years.
LOL about the catch-all room. I don’t necessarily have one of those (anymore….), but I do have several catch-all drawers. I seriously don’t know how that stuff multiplies. Just when I think I’ve got things consolidated to one drawer, I find more “stuff” in another one (and I’m positive it wasn’t there the day before).
I send my very best for a wonderful wedding. I’m sure it will be great.
Tami
Hi Tami,
Now this is right up my alley. I recently did a video about clutter, concentrating on my sewing room. I wanted to get back to sewing, but with all the STUFF (fabric and notions) I had accumulated over the years being tossed into my sewing room, I couldn’t even see the cutting table for me to use it. I made a pact with myself to DE-clutter not only my sewing room, but my life.
I’m working on it, but it’s slow going. Now that I can see the table and have boxed up my fabric stash, I started sewing so now I don’t have time to de-clutter.
I’ll be painting that room and putting down a new floor so hopefully by the end of the YEAR, the clutter will be gone.
I “am” giving away clothes that I haven’t worn in the last few years. I’ve got bags and bags. But, my worse area of clutter is PAPER. Bill stubs, insurance stuff, statements, etc. I make little piles on the dining room table to sort it all out and they may stay there for MONTHS. *shakes head* Don’t come to my house unannounced. You’d never know I have a very nice six foot Corian island in my kitchen. And don’t look at the desk in there. I’m surprised I can still see the laptop. Maybe I need to hire an expert.
Hey Carol! How do you like the new place??? We really do miss seeing you out here.
LOL about the lamp. I’ve had lots of people ask me why I want to get rid of it. Unfortunately, everything we have is more modern. AND I’m almost positive if I display it, my MIL will pass on a whole slew of other amber colored collectibles they have “lying around….”
Pretty neat on the cedar chest at your sister’s house. Did you get to take those things back with you with this last move? We put together a time capsule for The Kid in a metal container, which is currently stored in one of the closets. The temptation to open it each time we move is almost overwhelming. But inside I have those first shoes and the outfit we brought him home in. I know there are other things, but I can’t remember them off the top of my head.
The books are definitely the hardest for me to part with. But I agree on the e-book thing. I’m figuring out how to archive my e-books and I’m sure hubby will be a lot happier helping move those.
Thanks for stopping by!
Tami
LOL Jeanette! You did a video??? Are you posting it to YouTube??? Keep me posted on that!
I would so love to see your sewing room. I am still drooling over that dress you made for the Reader’s Luncheon many, many years ago with Sherrilyn Kenyon. Beautiful! I don’t sew a lot (or very well), but I love to mess around with my machine on occasion and quilting was one of those things I tried. Again, not too good with it, but I did have fun and even completed ONE quilt for The Kid…
I wish you ALL the best with the Decluttering of your Life. I’ll be checking in with you the next time I see you at a GRW meeting…wink…wink… We can keep each other on track!
Thanks so much for stopping by! I promise not to drop in unannounced…grin…
Tami
Great post, Tami!
I just had baby #3 on 12/31. I thought I had my house organized. LOL Since she arrived . . . my house looks like someone picked it up and shook the darn thing! For every square foot I clean, my three yr old son is destroying another two feet elsewhere in the house. My hubs calls me a pat rack and I guess in some ways I am. BUT it’s all stuff about my kids. Drawings, hospital bracelts, clothes they wore to their one yr pics. Stuff like that. One day I’l get myhouse back in order–like when all the kids are off in college!
Oh man, Sarah! Congrats on the baby. I can’t even imagine three. The one was enough to keep me running…grin… LOL on your hubby’s comment. I actually call mine the packrat, but I will admit to being the one that keeps all The Kid’s baby stuff. I think I even have the umbilical cord clamp (I think).
Thanks so much for stopping by! Have a great week!!!!
Tami
Thanks for the topic, Tami. Looks like a lot of folks are working on the clutter in their lives. It’s great to know you’re not alone. I’ve been concentrating on accumulated paper. I used to print out tons of stuff. I’m a lot more discriminating now. There’s also a great deal of material from other sources to cull and organize. It’s an ongoing battle.
Then there’s the kitchen and the clothes and the bath supplies and on and on and on. Never ends! We won’t even talk about the books. But I live in a one-bedroom apartment, and I have to get rid of more. Lots of great ideas here.
Sally, my sister-in-law gave me a great idea for Christmas cards. If the sender didn’t write on the inside cover, cut off the front, punch a hole in the corner and thread if with ribbon, and use it as a gift tag next year. As for other greeting cards, I admit I keep mine. I’m beginning to cull those, but I know I’ll always keep one my brother gave me for my fourteenth birthday. He drew it himself and it’s too fun to throw out.
Thanks again, Tami. Great post.
hey tami, i think ill just move and not clean nothing ,
i gave up any crafts , i read is all
LOL Gypsywitch! Too funny. My husband’s shop is that way (which is why we still haven’t moved it after 8 years…).
Thanks so much for stopping by!
Tami
Hey Emily! I have been really good about the paper thing, but then again I haven’t printed very many things because of the price of ink in my printer. Now I have a new printer and the ink is MUCH cheaper. I’ll try to keep from doing the extra printing thing, though…lol…. Hubby and I lived in a one bedroom apartment when we first got married. I honestly don’t think I could do it again (even when The Kid graduates). That would be a LOT of culling down…grin….
LOVE the idea on the gift tags. I will have to try that next year. Would be a much better use now that The Kid doesn’t like doing the collage anymore….
Thanks for stopping by!!!
Tami
Hey Tami!!! Thanks for stopping over here today. I’m with ya on the reading thing. BUT I still love my scrapbooking. The good thing with that is I’m putting it all on my computer with the nifty little scrapbooking program I got for Christmas. That really cut down on the craft room “crap”…
Again, thanks for stopping by!
Tami
Good Lord, girls, I got hives just reading about tossing stuff! I love my clutter!
LOL Mary! Thanks for stopping by!!
Tami
Okay, lucky winner of the $10 Starbucks gift card was drawn from 0-46 and #40 won!
Yay, Emily!!!!! E-mail me your snail mail address and I will get this in the mail to you girl.
Thanks to everyone for coming out and commenting. I really do appreciate the support.
Tami
Hi Tami: I love how you’re approaching the new year — great way to plan a major change. We just moved after living in the same place for 9 years. Talk about a lot of clutter to get rid of–most of it was darling hubby’s and darling teen’s. We gave away a lot, but still moved a lot. My hubby and teen are collectors of all things-hang onto them with fierceness. My teen once saved a box of rocks. I know! I’m the declutter queen, but I have a few things that need reevaluation, too. We want to downsize when we move again. I have instructed DH to cull the attic every spring and summer before that happens–
Good luck!
[...] Like Tami Brothers wrote about in her blog Monday http://petitfoursandhottamales.com/2011/03/collections-hobbies-and-clutter-oh-crap/ I have a Barbie collection also. My husband has 1000s upon 1000s of baseball cards. Last Saturday [...]