Life truly begins when you put your house in order. Marie Kondo
I'm not sure I'd go as far as Marie Kondo went in organizing. But I DO feel the need to clean out and reorganize because I'm basically a very organized person. My husband... not so much. He doesn't even SEE clutter and he won't get rid of anything because, you know, he "might need it some day".
So one thing I plan on doing this year is to clean out one closet a month. I know that's not getting it done quickly but even if it takes a whole year to finally clean out and organize ALL the closets in the house, it will feel like a great accomplishment! So I'm taking my time, but with the goal of having downsized, organized, and cleaned ALL the closets in the house!
When we first moved into the Plummer House we were pleasantly surprised to see so many closets! We thought we'd never fill them all! BUT, we DID!! Now it's time to get rid of all the "stuff"! Which is going to be hard for Les so I decided to tackle first, one of the closets he took over.
Also we still have some things that our adult children left behind so I got the word out to them to start picking up their stuff! Yeah, I know, it's about time!! Last week when our daughter and family came for a visit, she went through her old closet and found her wedding dress, her old baby quilts, high school photo albums, old year books, and more! She'll have to come back because she didn't get it ALL! She also found an old toy that was still in its package and had not been opened. She put it on eBay and got $95 for it!
She found a bucket of old Star Wars toys belonging to our son. He's hoping to sell those now! You just never know what cleaning out closets will get you!
But this month the closet my husband, Les, and I cleaned out was one that he kept throwing stuff into that he didn't know what to do with. He is a pack rat extraordinaire! When he takes over a closet with his "stuff" I don't even look in there! I would be so tempted to clean it out but Les would never have it! So I just kept that closet shut!
Here's what we found: Dozens of Iowa sweatshirts and hoodies that his brother had given him when he worked at the University Of Iowa. These were brand new, and never worn because they were too big for Les but that didn't stop him from keeping them! These will be going to The Landing for homeless men.
We also found a huge collection of vintage records, CD's, and the Seinfeld Videos Series. He couldn't part with any of these yet so we boxed them up for now. They HAD been all over the bottom of the closet!
We found an old 1950's VERY HEAVY black rotary phone. It's in working condition! That's going to go into our Gwen And Alma's Etsy shop to sell. A Mn Timberwolves Bobblehead was discovered among the "treasures". I know he has a whole collection of Bobbleheads in another closet but that's for another day, er month!
There was also an old Ukulele (that no one ever played), a very large stuffed lion he bought at an Estate Sale for the grandkids, two large animal heads he bought for Gramma Camps held years ago but still wears when going trick or treating with the grandkids, a massager to take in the car when traveling which our son wants, a suit jacket (we don't know who it belongs to), an old girls Mayo basketball jersey, two wood baseball bats that he couldn't remember where they came from, 2 DVD players, three wool blankets ( 2 Mayo High School, and 1 Iowa State ), and several other odds and ends.
Oh yes, and most importantly, several jogging suits that he wears everywhere even though he doesn't jog. He has three closets where he keeps his clothes. This is his jogging suit closet. I should have taken a "before" photo. ... Next time!
Now onto the February closet!
Is my life "truly beginning" now as Marie promised? We'll see! We have 9 more closets, a pantry, and a super large closet that has built in antique drawers and a window that is being used as an office but is going to qualify as a closet because it often becomes a dumping ground as well!
I have to give Les credit though. He DID help reorganize this closet and was even able to give up some stuff. We took a large garbage bag full to Savers and those hoodies to The Landing. He also vacuumed out the closet and wiped down the shelves where we store the wool blankets that he wanted to keep.
He was more helpful than a friend of ours who said one time, " Yes, my husband is a wonderful help around the house. He picks up his feet so I can vacuum underneath them." Bless his heart! Remember to give credit where credit is due!"
Ha en god dag! ( "Have a good day" in Norwegian )
Sandy
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