room by room - living room

Cheryl's room by room declutter is nothing short of amazing.  We have talked a bit as we both worked through this process but I hesitate to even share my results because they are no where  near as remarkable as hers. You want inspiration?  Go there.   I am less cluttered but  Cheryl is becoming truly minimalist.  She is making very decisive moves in that direction.  I am flirting, one toe in the water.  In the spirit of sharing progress however I will tell you what we have done and where it is going.  

Before you get too impressed let me disclose a few things.  First, we rented a 22 by10 ft roll off (construction type) dumpster and we filled it three times.  Now, much of that was rickety furniture, patio set, farm stuff, and so on.  Lots of fixer uppers that never got fixed up or thrifted items past their prime and we had to be real about the likelihood that they were going to be more than that in the foreseeable future. 

Then came the bags of stuff.  LOTS of stuff.  A humbling amount of stuff for a woman who thought she was doing decently well at simple living. We have lived here 8 yrs though and had an enormous amount of room to spread it all out indoors and in the barn and outbuildings so it was easy to miss how much we were dealing with - much of which came here with us and hadn't been touched since.  I will elaborate on what went out as we go. 

Letting go of stuff can be a wrenching process even if you are not all that materialistic.  There are lots of emotions attached to the 'stuff'.  For me it it is a often guilt, especially if someone gave me the item or it got ruined while we had it. That last one is particularly hard.  Or it is a frugality thing. Maybe it could be worth something if we fixed it up or it would be cheaper than replacing it with something new.  So there is that tug of war going on every time I pick something up.  There is only so much time in the day however and oftentimes space is worth more than the items in question. And finally there are the things that our kids used. I am seriously looking at little airplane baby jumper knowing it isn't even functional.  But my babies used it. : /  Realistically though, we aren't in a position to maintain a shrine to our past so we have to make these calls. The whole thing goes in stages with me initially thinking I can't part with it and months later deciding, yes, I can. With our numbers and mobility I must.

The living room was the easiest room of the house so we will start there.  It was easiest because we also have a family room.  There is no tv in here, hence there is never food in here.  Secret #1 for an easy to maintain room. 

 

So what it is in here is the piano, music books, art, 3 piece leather set, lace curtains, a plant stand, the sewing machine table holding the lamp, and the prayer table with statues/bible/devotional books/candles.  

The biggest clutter challenge in here was the music books.  The volume was unreal.  It is STILL unreal though it is fairly well contained behind the chair in baskets.  Alannah is still culling the books, saving what we can use for the littles and tossing the duplicates. 

 

There were some project items under the couch - frames to be painted - and the basket under the prayer table was overfull.  I love all my books and have a bad habit of grabbing one and thinking Oh! this is a great read.  And then another.  And another.  And they ARE great reads.  Inspirational.  But they are just as accessible on the shelf as in a stack.  Probably  ; ) So there is a bible and devotional left on the table and a few on the windowsill for good measure. 

Some challenges left -besides the little box left on the chair lol - are the blinds.  They are really hard to keep clean on the prairie but the sun demands something be there.  I have debated about whether to take or leave the lace panels.  I realize that lace has fallen out of favor in design circles but I am still torn.  Maybe it's the Granny Chic in me lol.  I have this ongoing internal battle between minimalist and vintage and the latter keeps winning. 

The leather is really easy to clean. Good call that was.  The floors are easy care.  It takes all of ten minutes to clean the room.  So there you have the easy fix room.  

Comments

[Barb]

WOW! so inspirational! I need to move I think jk.

[Paula]

I've been following Cheryl's progress, too. You've done an amazing job. I can't wait to see the rest of the house!

I ended up covering my blinds with fabric. I found a tutorial on the web. I don't remember where I found it, but I did copy and paste into a document. If you want a copy send me your email and I'll get it to you.

[shelly]

i'm in love w/your hardwoods! LOL

[Wendy in VA]

Love your floors! And the beams, and the piano... Decluttering is *hard*, but makes it so much easier to sell. That looks beautiful.

We also have lace curtains -- OK, valances -- that I wouldn't trade for anything. Dh likes the old-fashioned look, and they remind me of Germany. :o)

[kris]

We have lived here 8 yrs though and had an enormous amount of room to spread it all out indoors and in the barn and outbuildings so it was easy to miss how much we were dealing with - much of which came here with us and hadn't been touched since.

--We moved recently and I can very much co-miserate with you on this one. We also got a dumpster! :) Anyway, it was very good to hear I'm not the only one who found myself in this spot. May God bless your efforts @ decluttering and your upcoming move!

[Ellen]

I was scrolling down to the bottom of your page, looking for some information with my three year old hanging on my back. As I scrolled past the pictures of your living room, he exclaimed, "Oh, I want to borrow that house!"
"Why?"
"It's so cute."
:)