A gift of simplicity

Sometimes all I wish for is space.
The energy is pretty tense in the house lately and I finally figured out why. The space we share is cluttered.... a little here a little there.
No longer a house hold filled with pitter patter of small feet. This herd of ours has simply grown and only getting bigger... and yes, the space now feels smaller.
Lately I have been running out and buying bookshelves and storage bins- to hold the all the extra "what not" in the house.
Boxes filled with clothing and stuff purged and thrown out- yet, it seems as if it only has scratched the surface.
My space upstairs still holds a lot of things that I perceive as "meaningful" that in reality is not. I try to organize and de clutter, but I loose steam and motivation as I stop mid way in my de clutter storm.


So...I gave myself a GIFT.
No, actually 2.

1. I gave myself permission to let go.

Let go of things that no longer serve a purpose or things that did not make me happy, stuff that just sort of hung around because of old habit. Things from dad- that I didn't love or have any connection too. I realized I had to let go of the past so I could freely move forward and feel happy.
My stuff was not doing that.
I needed the space "it" was keeping.

2. I hired a professional organizer.

Usually a gift would be something like turquoise ring, cd, something for my horses...jeans etc.
 But this time it's about "space".
Room to breathe.
( I am actually smiling as I am writing it makes me so happy)
Mrs. Organizer came equipped at 9 am with trash bags, boxes, markers and a "Grande" coffee and an fair dose of "can do attitude" maybe it was the caffeine?
For 5 1/2 hrs...dust hit the fan.
It was a hurricane upstairs- we got rid of SO much. I was happy to see in the end I could donate most of it and not too much was trash.

 I had over 50 little girls dresses I made for an ETSY shop that never really worked out- I donated  the dresses to a "teen mom" organization
..... and that my friends felt a 100 times better than a paycheck sometimes..

But even after all this time, the space was still not done- it was Phase 1- getting rid of things.
Phase 2 is actually the organization part- " finding a home for my things" ( In my home)
The question was- how could I continue to afford Mrs. Organizer?
Well, I  figured that too. I would sell my unwanted things at my friends, shabby chic/second hand home store, she agreed and would gladly sell them.

Bingo!

SO...now Mrs. Organizer is returning on Monday to organize the room , phase 2.
I am hooked!
The following week will be kitchen and linen closet, moving on to laundry room and dining room and so on.
And last .....the mother of them all "le Garage" or as we call it - the black hole.

A gift.

A gift that keeps on giving- I feel so light and uplifted. Mrs. Organizer worked for me - only me. She listens to my needs and tailors the space to how I need the space to flow...and that makes me feel special and very happy.
Now I feel there is room to breathe and be creative in my new open space.
I can't recommend this enough to anyone that feels overwhelmed by stuff. If you haven't used or enjoyed "that something" in year...well, it's time to let go.


An amazing find was un earthed in this torrent of cleaning..... my kids original birth certificates showed up- went missing for 2 years, I did a back flip!!!!
They were sent back with their old passports - I would still be looking for them. Good Greif!



What I learned

It's actually good to get rid of the bins and boxes that held the stuff- when you empty it all, it's tempting to keep the bins only to start re- filling them once again- with new stuff.

Find a friend, family member or an organization to give to- they'll love it- and you will love it.

I found that I could afford Mrs. Organizers service by selling most of my things that I was getting rid of. I also considered having a yard sale- that money too would cover her cost.
A wash- worth it to me.

It's okay to donate at least "a few" of your children's books- even though it tugs at the heart strings, you are not donating the memory of you and your kids reading together.

In the long run it makes life simpler:  patterns, recipes, design ideas, etc. are now in "marked " binders, easy to locate and easy to use. Things are labeled and share a common space: yarn, needles, yarn winder, patterns, dye etc.


My toughest give aways:

Linens- especially vintage
material- yep, vintage
kids books
vintage clothing
vases ( I collect them)

 BUT I DID IT!!!!!!!

I also came up with something wonderful to do with my material I had a hard time giving away
 will share this in a post soon.

~ Simplicity is not about deprivation, but creating a space for living ~