We need more bookshelves in this house. All of us need more bookshelves. We make good use of the library, but we also seem to have accumulated quite a few ourselves. I probably have the least if you can believe that. I should have a cull of them, but the littlest boy is very attached to ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING which makes decluttering a tricky thing. I usually do it when he's not around. The guilt is excruciating.
I've sorted out his clothes and also got rid of a load of mine as well. Even though I don't have masses of clothes, there did seem to be quite a pile of things that I just don't wear. I have been fairly ruthless. I do love that feeling of getting rid of clutter. Love it. Of course it does seem to be a losing battle. The children just seem to need so many things. I am fairly furious that some of those World Cup 'collectable' stickers have made their way into the house. But they do love them. They are an addiction I think. Just one more packet.
I shall try and keep going with the decluttering, a bit at a time. It's that time of year. I feel rather out of control of everything at the moment. Housework, garden, you know how it is. You run the duster over something but twenty-four hours later IT IS BACK. I feel I am going mad with it all. It has won.
I have done no work whatsoever over the Easter break. I gave up. I spent all forty-three of my spare minutes making a birthday card and envelope for a friend. I knitted a bit too, late at night when I was too tired to do anything else.
I've been leafing through the calligraphy book. There are some incredibly talented people in there and some amazing pieces of work.
In the garden the peach tree is flowering. It will look horrible in a few weeks time when peach leaf curl kicks in. It will be so bedraggled I will swear that I'll dig it up and replace it with a plum. But come next winter I won't get round to it. Maybe there will be more peaches this year.
Spring must be here because the weeds are growing. A daisy in between the paving stones, tiny seedlings in the raised beds.
The children are utterly overwhelming when they're here and I miss them when they're not. Oh, it's tricky isn't it. I hope all had a good Easter break, weather notwithstanding. There is still an Easter egg in the cupboard here. It belongs to the littlest boy and I think he has forgotten about it.
I am envious that the dust stays away for a full 24 hours in your house. Here, I swear it is about 52 minutes. Decluttering is good. I am not a hoarder but there always seems to be so much stuff. I have been to the charity shop today with a blue Ikea bag full of shoes and three black bin bags full of everything else. Still too much stuff. Our bookshelves are literally bending under the weight of books that we probably won't read again. I don't like to touch dusty book, which is a problem... I have considered a Kindle lately but it doesn't look so nice on the bookshelf.
ReplyDeleteYour knitting stitches are beautifully regular. Love the colours, too. What are you making? On trees: I'd pay my weight in gold for a peach tree that survives the West of Scotland. Have a lovely weekend, hopefully it is not too soggy in your parts of the world xx
Well, it's supposed to be a little blanket for the living room, but now that we've got a dog I can see a flaw in that problem. He'd make mincemeat of it. I shall curl up with it somewhere though, a quiet corner with a good book. CJ xx
Deletethose are very restful colours in your knitting project...i feel soothed just looking at it.
ReplyDeletemay i say that your calligraphy/lettering is absolutely STUNNING!! i've a yen to learn lettering....but every book i've had from the library is mostly just project-based (and i categorically do not need a hand-lettered tote bag) when what i really want is a collection of alphabets that i can study (read: copy) until i get the knack. as such, i've not got past having a yen.
as to clutter and stuff - dearest me...there are never enough book shelves, that's just a law of the universe and no matter how many times i declutter, things have a way of creeping back in. And once you're aware of the overwhelmingly HUGE amounts of useless tat in the world, it becomes almost excruciating to see it crossing the threshold. Another soapbox of mine,i fear. It's difficult with children though, because who wants to be an ogre than won't let them have their 'collections"? what to do.
glad you're seeing some evidence of spring...it snowed here today...enough that i had to clean off the car...i don't care for snow in April. xoxoxo
I am a firm believer in decluttering yet I look around my house and it looks like I have never given a thing away in the 16 years I have lived here. As for boys, they can make you laugh hysterically one minute and make you want to kill someone the next. They are exhausting, yet you miss their energy when they are away. Still a few hours of, "me" time would be great.
ReplyDeleteSo love the colour of your peach blossom tree. Worth keeping just for the blossom each year. I know what you mean tho' we have the same with a white rose. Looks gorgeous for a while then the leaves go all manky. The knitting looks good, a bit neopolitan ice cream like; my favourite flavour :) Good luck with the decluttering. We are making inroads on our massive book collection but some I can’t give away. All the boys children’s books are in a cupboard in the spare bedroom. Couldn’t possibly give them away. Hope you have a calm weekend. B x
ReplyDeleteThat knitting looks gorgeous and you made me smile about all the books - we physically can't fit any more bookcases into the house. When I painted the built in shelves in the hall recently, I had a bit of a cull. It felt so good! I'd stick with the peach tree - if only for the Roald Dahl factor! xx
ReplyDeleteA friend of mine went through a serious, and successful, decluttering phase. And then she made a rule with her children - nothing new came in the house unless something old went out. (She had 2 girls and a boy.) Once they realized that mom was adamant, they fell in line. Wish I could do the same with myself!
ReplyDeleteYour card is absolutely amazing. You're so talented, CJ. I need to declutter too, especially my own clothing. There are things I haven't worn since before I had my kids! That's just ridiculous. I hope you have a good weekend!
ReplyDeleteIsn't it funny ----- we wish for a quiet moment and then when the children and husband are out, we wish for the noise that they would make. Hope you find plenty to love about this weekend, boy noise included.
ReplyDeleteHaving just moved, I am all about decluttering!!!
ReplyDeleteI was ashamed with just how much 'stuff" we had accumulated.
I am determined to keep the clutter out!
Have a cozy weekend. : )
i love that blossom so much, makes me yearn for Japan. Not that I've ever been LOL.
ReplyDeleteClutter! I'm drowning in it. We have lived in this house for 22 years - which is twice as long as I've lived anywhere else. Moving house is a fabulous opportunity to clear the decks. The idea doesn't seem to appeal to the other half though. And we still have boxes in the loft that haven't been opened in years. I do try though - it's so satisfying to take a pile of stuff away and not bring it back. Then while you blink the Charity Shop box fills up again. Good luck with the clutter and saving the blanket from the dog!
ReplyDeleteSo liberating to de- clutter, but so difficult when you have children. It gets easier when they move out!
ReplyDeleteI smiled when I read this post. Although a lifelong bookbuff I really don't keep that many books, and as a bit of a minimalist I don't generally need to declutter. However I do sympathise.
ReplyDeleteThanks to the weather over Easter I mostly mooched. Enjoy your weekend. xx
I’m strict on clutter here. Can’t stand it. Every now and then we blitz the place. We have a new rule this year- to only buy what we need. It’s working, so far. Hopefully you’ll feel calmer when school starts again and there is more you time xx
ReplyDeleteThat under-the-cover-of-darkness de-cluttering - I have my dark cloak and recycling bag too! Mine occurs when the little babe is at a playdate.
ReplyDeleteIf I hadn’t started buying ebooks goodness knows where I would put new books. I just can’t get rid of books. I’ve been busy pollinating our greenhouse peach so hope for at least one or two fruits.
ReplyDeleteI think you made a perfect choice over Easter break and made some beautiful memories. And there is still room for more books on to of the books. There is a nice space there I have found out. Dust will always be there, it is a reminder of friends and family no longer with us. Enjoy.
ReplyDeleteOne of my boys hated getting rid of anything and became very distressed if I had a clear out. As a result, even though he has not lived at home for nearly six years, I still have box loads of his stuff (mostly books). If I dare mention that he has lived without it all for these past years he won't let me sort it out and claims he hasn't the room for it at the moment. I can sense a show down before long as we are hoping to downsize in the not too distant future. Just be warned! I like nothing better than a good declutter but feel all the stuff is still managing to take over our lives.
ReplyDeleteHey CJ,
ReplyDeleteJust catching up with you and your blog on this rainy Tuesday here in St Ives. There are too many books here. I can't believe that I would even think such a thing, but there you go. Sam's books are currently on a seven foot high shelving unit in my bedroom, while he decides whether he's returning over the summer, or just moving to Bristol in preparation for his PGCE course. They make me feel highly uneducated about the world around me, given that they are bit fat tomes about world history and politics. Lots of political biographies too. My latest thriller just doesn't cut the mustard.
And feeling swamped by the boys, is a feeling that I know very well. Yesterday it was all out and about and air and exercise and contentment. Today it's all staying in, board games, Lego and pulling my hair out. And the dust. Oh the dust!. Will it ever be conquered?
Wishing you a harmonious rest of the week, dear girl.
Leanne xx
The overwhelmingness of stuff got me this year as well. I'm still blitzing the house now and then, and of course there are always more books than bookshelves. The only person in our house who has no books is my 17 year old, and that's because he says all his reading is online, or he likes Audible. Keep on keeping on, and we'll get there in the end.
ReplyDeleteWhat a lovely blog...i follow you...do you live in Engeland ? Or America ?...love from je Ria x 💜
ReplyDeleteI've just read that book that I saw in your last post; I also picked mine up from a second hand shop. Did you enjoy yours as much as I enjoyed mine? I think that it is a brilliant book.
ReplyDeleteI hope that you have recovered from the ditch episode now!
I know what you mean about feeling out of control...it's because we all have so much to do these days. How did that happen?
ReplyDeleteHope you've had a good week?
I am a bit in love with that blanket. Those soft and gently ice cream colours are divine. And a youngest boy who adores books and never, ever throws anything away....hmmm, sounds familiar.
ReplyDeleteOne of our grandchildren was like that... When young... Must not get rid of anything. -sigh-
ReplyDeleteKeep getting rid of what you can though. Other wise you will wake some day, and the decluttering task will seem un-able-to-be-done.
And try to think long and hard, about what comes into the home. Just think of the money, and cleaning up of, and finding a place for... all those things, which we don't bring in. :-)