Re-evaluating the Self via Decluttering the Bedroom.

The course leader, Joshua Becker likes to approach decluttering room by room. This week we're in the bedroom. The assignment (#4):

remove everything and anything that does not contribute to the two main purposes of the room: sleep and intimacy. 

Of course, it's also where I get dressed, so holding items necessary for that is important too--but we'll sort that later when our wardrobes get an entire week to themselves.

Like last week, my shelves gave me grief.

Those white boxes at the top are cassette tapes. Back in the day when I put 1,000 miles a month on my little Toyota, those tunes kept me company--and sane. I was able to get rid of about 1/2.

As I went through them, I got rid of anything I knew I wouldn't likely listen to again, (Sorry, New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band.) Anything easily replaceable, (Miles Davis' greatest hits) but I kept really precious ones (Nirvana), and personal ones (mixed tapes from long-ago friends).

I need to revisit these and decide what I am going to do with what's left. But I still have my cassette player, so I can choose to listen to them from time to time, too.

Then, my journals.

I opened one of them at random. It was from the months I'd just started Journalism school in London, Ontario. I wrote at great length about my plans and frustrations with trying to sew slipcovers for my couch cushions--and a chair. I was in love with something called "that flower fabric." There I am....starting a new school--a new career--and there's barely a word about my classes or what I'm learning. It's all about my decorating plan for my new apartment--and I knew I was only going to be there a year. Yet nothing was more important to me.

I picked up another. The one that covers the months surrounding my daughter's birth. I started reading. This one, I realised, this one is one I keep.

And so I am not ready to part with the Journals, just yet. A part of me just wants to burn them. Let that past go. Purify it with flame. Become someone who has left the past behind, utterly.

Yet that's rather dramatic for what's mostly a laundry list of things I did and planned to do. Heart pourings about people and my wooden headedness. I would like to revisit them at leisure and read through them, thank you very much. And then I'll know what to do with them.

For some, these shelves would not contribute to the two main purposes of the room: rest and intimacy. I thought about removing the shelves completely when, as I was going through two old binders that were on those shelves, binders holding many, many of my thoughts about my home and decorating plans and swatches and what not, I found a few pages talking about my bedroom. I wish I had the pages to quote right now, but I'd said something along the lines of "my books mean home to me. They comfort me. I need to put shelves up in my bedroom." So, there we are! Several years ago, I was quite deliberate about it--and the books there are the most meaningful to me.

Books still mean "home" to me--though, if I ever get the chance to move to my little dream cottage near the sea on Vancouver Island, all of it would be gone-- in a flash.

Joshua encourages us to touch every single item as we're decluttering. I did that as I dusted.

Decluttering makes room for us, as people, to change. It seems odd, but a lot of our self-identity is wrapped up in our possessions--the person we tell ourselves we are, is a person, often, who has this, but not that--who does this sort of thing over here--but not that. That's what this bookshelf in the basement held. The boxes are full of homeschooling books and scrapbooking things.

Two past selves.

And I want to move forward--and give myself room to breathe--to let go of my old self--and embrace whatever the future has in store. Not to become someone new, but renewed. Evolved.

I actually started to cry when I opened the boxes of homeschooling stuff. So many memories! So many dreams that weren't quite fulfilled. We were never quite that homeschooling family I'd hoped we be--and these books were both a reminder and a remonstrance. And I realised that it really was time to let them go. Emma starts Grade 12 next year. Ben will start University.

I also ran around the house and collected any audio recordings we still had on hand. Turned out Ben still had quite a few.

Joshua Becker encouraged me to donate these precious items--and so I've put out feelers to home school groups to see if there is a family who might benefit from these last four boxes. I hope we find someone who will take it all.

I've decided that I will make a donation run every Friday while the course is on.


This was the pile collected Thursday night:

And this was the pile the next morning:

I'd gone to bed thinking about all the things I hadn't touched. I collected it in about 1/2 an hour--before coffee!

Our next assignment is our closets (and drawers) and the bathrooms. I wonder if my husband will be willing to part with any of his clothes?

I'd like to paint the closet, too.

Flowers and Floors

I did not finish.

Friday night, I decided to tackle our bedroom. I started strong.

I started with the closet.

I moved everything out. Dusted the shoe shelf and got rid of two pairs of shoes. Vacuumed the floor. Mopped the floor.

Nice!

I moved everything to one side of the room.


Vacuumed the dust rhinos.

Mopped.

I did this three different times to reach the whole floor--oh! Except, I didn't move the dressers.

As I was vacuuming and mopping I thought about how much I love getting this beastly chore done. I try to do this in the bedroom at least twice a year--but I think the last time I did this it was actually during the cure one whole year ago!

But disaster struck. While I was cleaning baseboards in the first section, I twisted my ankle. I limped through to the finish line but I could barely walk by the end of it.

Saturday morning, I begged off going to my mothers so I could finish my floors.
Ha!

I got the hallway upstairs done. Just in the nick of time, my husband finally finished painting the bathroom--so I could put all the stuff away.

I really like it without the bookshelf. I thought it would look weird without it but it's OK.

Then, I tackled the stairs. That was a much bigger job than I'd anticipated for some reason. I mean, I swept. But then I hand washed each step and riser with a bucket or water and a micro fibre cloth.

When I was done, I was done in. It didn't help matters that my ankle was throbbing badly.

I didn't do any more, even though I had my husband pick up my Mom's carpet cleaner so I can try and resuscitate our living room rug.

But it will have to wait.

Make Room Challenge Two: Primping and Pampering with Jewellery

I am part of a team to promote and publicize Melissa Micheal's latest book, Make Room for What You Love: Your Essential Guide to Organizing and Simplifying . As part of that, we are participating in weekly challenges to set up our homes to help us move through life with ease and grace. (I love that!)

 Part of doing that, of course, is preparing the space to make yourself pretty and put together. The task last week was to organize our jewellery. About three years ago, I decided to keep my necklaces on a corkboard set into an old, unused picture frame. How I did that is here.

The necklace collection, 2013

That worked until this past January when I noticed the cork had come loose from the frame.

Rather than take the whole thing apart, I decluttered the necklaces I rarely wore (and I rarely wear necklaces, they just aren't practical for work) and inserted a band of cardboard along the top to hold the corkboard in and under the lip of the frame.

necklace collection, 2016

Unfortunately, the cardboard is not as attractive as it could be, but it gets the job done!

About the same time I made the necklace holder, I made an earring holder out of a frame and screening material. That did not fare as well. (Sort of like the first two times I tried to pierce my ears!)

It was just awkward to use.

Then, my daughter made this great ceramic dish and I wanted to find a use for it, so I started putting my earrings into it. It is now my official long dangly earring holder.

Studs go into the other, smaller ceramic dish.

It's incredibly easy to put on those finishing touches--and I quite enjoy seeing it all out there.

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Make Room: Challenge One, Part Two: Moving Towards Grace

I am a klutz.
I've been a klutz all my life.

In fact, just the other day, I was walking from the kitchen into the dining room and hit my arm on the door trim. Just thwacked it.

In her book,  Make Room for What You Love, Melissa Micheal's talks about a home being able to help us move gracefully through our days.

Isn't that a lovely idea?

I stub my toe at least once a week on this chair.  

Of course we'll be clumsy if we're tripping over things on the floor, grumpy if we're late again, because we have to root through the piles.

Having my dresser cleared off and displaying only what's essential to me to get my day going is vital to achieving "poise and grace," as Melissa would say.

And she's right. The bedroom, I think, should truly be a sanctuary--a place where we can go at the end of the day and not see anything that nags at us to be taken care of.

It doesn't show up that much in pictures--but,oh, the dog hair on this thing! Definitely not sanctuary-like!

I am grateful I've developed a great morning routine which keeps this room mostly picked up and presentable every day.

But I still trip over myself!

The next challenge is all about making it easy to pamper yourself.

I like the sound of that!

Are you doing any Spring cleaning?


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From the Weekend: Spring Cleaning my Daughter's Room

I need this on the record.

Emma went to Costa Rica as part of a school trip over March break and, with her permission, I cleaned her room.

Ladies and gentlemen...


I present to you....



the floor!



And it's clean.

(Though I didn't get a photo of it. Trust me, there's nothing on it that shouldn't be.)

We'll start here, behind the door.

This wooden dresser cam from my mom's last fall when we created her dressing room.

Unfortunately, her lights don't quite reach around the room. We should have bought more at Christmas...but the hooks had come off the walls and we weren't sure we could get them to stick. I put up quite a few new hooks this weekend. Fingers crossed they stay there.

I put reflective window film up n the bottom half of the window--I even made an emergency ru to Home depot to pick up a squeegee. But it wasn't until I was rolling up the film when I found the detailed instructions...and sure enough I'd done it incorrectly. (I had been going by what it had said on the outside of the box!) I ran to check on it--and sure enough, the piece I had cut and affixed to the window was gone.

Not only do we need more lights--we need more bulbs!

Emma got the double bed and the Expedit last fall.

Funny story. I looked for the bed on Craigslist...and our second call resulted in finding this set. When we talked to the guy, it turned out he taught at a local high school--the very one Emma was going to start attending! She actually had two classes with him. Apparently, he never said one word about the bed.

If you're curious, you can see previous incarnations of her room here (along with the other bedrooms in the house).

Love Your Home Days 15-21: Refreshing

Melissa Micheals, of the blog The Inspired Room is posting little Love Your Home assignments every week. I quite enjoyed the first week I did them, so I thought I'd do the second.

Day 15 – Making Memories: Gone are the days when we send all of our photos to be printed. While there are some good things about the technology shift to digital, the not so good thing is many of our favorite photos live on our phone or computer. Today take a quick look through your phone or computer images. Pick a few candid moments or special memories and send them online to a photo printer (or print them out at home right from your phone! Here is a phone printer that looks really cool). Update your frames and send a few through snail mail to family! You’ll make everyone feel loved.

Wow. I don't think I have any recent photos of the kids. Not even from Christmas. (My daughter got quite upset when I tried to take a few shots Christmas morning, so I put the camera away. Then I got busy.) I should take some.

Day 16 – A Place of Your Own: Do you have a special spot in your home, a comfy chair or a desk? Today treat yourself to a little love by improving or designing that place of your own. Add a spring pillow on a special chair, declutter your desktop and add a vase of flowers, find a special cup for your morning coffee or afternoon tea, or gather a new stack of books and magazines by your reading spot. Treat yourself to an inspiring place of your own.

I finally found some daffodils! I decided to put them on my bedside table. I don't often put flowers there since it is so small, but I've been enjoying them enormously. I also stacked all my current library books neatly on my shelf.

oops, typos.

Day 17 – Lovely Linens: Today we are going to streamline and refresh our linens. Pare down excess sheets and pillowcases and only keep to what you actually use.  Tidy up the shelf or closet where you keep bedding! Now, make a fresh linen spray to keep your room and linens smelling divine! Here’s my current favorite blend: mix drops of lavender and lemon essential oil with water in a small glass spray bottle.

I have tidied the linen closet many times: I do not have anything we don't use....except for my yellow duvet cover. I haven't used that in along time. So, I re-dressed that and the bed. I didn't make a linen spry. I wouldn't know how to use it--and I probably wouldn't remember, anyway.

Day 18 – A Gracious Giver: Where do you keep your gift wrap? Is it hard to find, wrinkled and crinkled? Do you have pretty ribbons, gift tags or embellishments for gifts? Today gather what you need to set up a newly organized space. What will inspire you to give each gift your own special touch? Make or print a few gift tags, visit a pretty paper store to pick out something new, or just organize what you already have.

Am I strange? I just don't give gifts all that often....

My gift wrapping supplies are still here in the drawers in the basement where I keep them.

Day 19 – Make it Sparkle: Today let’s make the bathroom sparkly! Clean the whole room if you are motivated, or focus on one part that could use a little TLC. Clean the mirrors, polish the faucets or reorganize a drawer. Make it shine and step back to admire your progress!

I am definitely willing to make the whole room sparkly--but it will take more energy --and time--than I currently have. All of the grout needs a scrub.

I started.

 I also cleaned the fan--which is way more difficult than it should be.

Day 20 – Music to Your Soul: Music moves us, improves our mood and inspires us! Today get your home soundtrack organized and ready. Set up a house cleaning soundtrack, put together a fun dinner playlist or round up inspirational songs that speak to your soul. You can set up music with an online service or app for your computer or phone (Amazon Music, Spotify and Pandora are all great options).

Hmmm. Two things.

1) When I was cleaning out my old files in the basement, I came across lists of composers and their works to study from when we were homeschooling. So, I made some requests at the library.

2) I also listened to my favourite music playing radio station while I was at the computer and wrote down the artists and song titles of tunes I thought would be great to clean with. However, without a phone, an ipod, or mp3 player, I don't actually have any way to listen to songs as I clean and move from room to room.

Day 21 – A Cleaning Frenzy: Today we are going to clean as much as we can for 15 minutes. Before you begin, grab your phone and snap a quick BEFORE pic of the area you intend to tidy or clean. Now, crank up your cleaning playlist and set a timer for 15 minutes. Ready, set, GO! When your timer goes off, grab the camera and take an after pic! Amazing, right?

I chose my desk.

I am not doing every one and I'm not doing them every day, but here and there, as much as I can. I'm afraid I am a bit behind! (The week starts on Sunday and ends on Saturday--this is last week!)

The flowers have wilted, the desk is messy again and the playlist hasn't progressed much beyond that first burst of enthusiasm, but it's still good.

Week 5. Cleaning The Bedroom: The Joy of Habits and Routine

This last week, the challenge at A Bowl Full of Lemons was to declutter and clean the master bedroom.

It was basically a free week.

I cleaned the room within an inch of its life during the January Cure--rotating the mattress, changing the linens--I even took the curtains down and washed them.

Since then, I've been following the 20 minute task for 30 days cleaning schedule from AT: and because of it, I've cleaned the mirrors and the inside of the window. I've also changed the sheets, dusted and swiffered twice. Each. The bedroom has never been so clean! The only thing I did especially for this challenge was to wash the sofa cover and pillow covers on this couch. (It's essentially the dog's bed.)

But I also have a daily routine which I've developed over time--and it keeps the bedroom humming along pretty well.

It starts when I go to bed--and it starts with this chair.

I love this old chair. I found it almost exactly like this at a flea market. Chris has had to reglue the legs back on more than once.

The purpose of this chair might surprise you.

It is not for sitting. It is much too frail for that.

This chair is for my clothes.

I usually just drape my clothes over the seat. I'll hook my bra onto the back. My PJ's are right there--hanging on the back of the bedroom door.

In the morning, after hitting the alarm, I put on my slippers--and leave the room. I don't come back until it is time to get dressed--and that's when the magic happens.

I make the bed.

I really enjoy making my bed. It's a simple thing to do: it's quick and it makes me happy twice over: Right when I make it, of course--and then when I come back to it hours later and crawl in.

After I make the bed, I get dressed. (Sometimes it is the other way around--like when I'm wet and wearing a towel after my shower.) Either I put on the clothes on the chair--or I put on new ones. But I tidy up the chair. The clothes have aired--either it is time to put them away--or throw them in the hamper.

I have one drawer in this chest.

and all the drawers in this chest.

Then, I putz about and pick up any trash on the floor. (The dog pulls it out of the basket.) I hang up our pj's (unless, rarely, hubs has hung his up already).

I put in my earrings.

My daughter made this colourful piece and I love it! This is the best way I know how to make it useful.

Then, I gather up any extra water glasses or other dishes, grab my socks and book if I'm working that day, and then leave to do my make up.

It's a little tidying routine--kicked off by making the bed.

Unless my husband is in it.

My husband has been home since January 11th with vertigo. He's often still in bed when it is time for me to get dressed. So, I can't do my little bedroom routine.

In fact, that's how I became aware it is not just a routine--but a habit. I haven't been able to do it --and I've noticed! I've missed it.

I'm not sure when I started this little routine--it's been years--so I can't tell you how long it has been since it became a habit. I am just grateful it is--and I wouldn't have noticed if I hadn't been prevented from being able to do it.

Funny that it works that way.


Next in the series is the Master Closet. Again, thanks to AT, I don't have much to do there, either.

Previous Posts in this series:

Week 3: The Dining Room is Cleaned
Week 4: The Launch Pads (or Entryways).

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