Closets, closets, closets

Last time I wrote about my plan to declutter our home.  It is definitely a work in progress.  But like all home projects, one thing leads to another.

It started with my switching my summer and winter clothes.  I was going through my clothing closet as I usually do, culling out the items that were too big, too worn, or that I really wouldn't wear again.  I am trying to be ruthless in my purging. 

Things were going well and then I realized that it had been over twenty years since I had everything out of the closet and had it painted.  So, on Sunday night I painted the interior of my closet. (My husband gave me a questioning look as to starting mixing the paint after dinner.  The look dissolved after I explained it was either I do it now or at 5 o'clock the next morning when I generally do home projects.  Seeing that the opening of the closet is close to the head of the bed, he wisely choose to remain silent with any other suggestions.) 

That led me to thinking perhaps I should reconfigure the space better.   In viewing the space, and short of having a contractor come in and knock down a few walls in order to widen it, I started looking at another upstairs closet.  That led to a thought, "Should I redo that closet to be my main closet and switch the items around?" That will probably lead to another project and so on and so on...

What is so difficult is that neither closet is a "normal" or average closet space. I have looked at the myriad of closets on Pinterest (and there are thousands more that I can peruse). I can not find any other closets that would match the size and scope of what I want to do.   So, it is hard to imagine how best to maximize the space without feeling overly cluttered.  Of course, after looking at all these pictures, I am wondering if people actually live in any of these pictures.  Are they seriously suggesting that people stack and keep stacked their color coordinated t-shirts on wire shelves with only slim wire dividers to hold things in place? 

I am still researching ideas as I am continuing to cull out the closets.  I really want to live into the quality not quantity ideal.  In putting the actual decision off for a bit while I am still sorting, I am hoping to eventually have an actual plan for the two closets and not just my wing and a prayer type of DIY.   I'll let you know how it goes.

What about you?  Have you ever redone a closet?  Did you use a closet system?  Is it still working?  What would you suggest as a plan for our main closet?  I would welcome your comments below. We don't plan on reconfiguring any walls or doing any major renovation, just want to reconfigure the interior to house hanging clothing (shirts, skirts, pants, dresses, blazers), shoes and handbags.  It is narrow- 30 inches across but deep- 88 inches deep. About 55 inches into the closet the 88 inch tall ceiling slopes down so that the back of the closet is only about 48 inches tall.  There had been two shelves in the back of the closet (you can see the wood side bars that held them up.  Also the two rods are the same height.  One of the issues I have is that currently I use both rods.  In order to access anything behind the first set of clothing rods, I have to duck down and waddle into the closet. I feel like I am going "to ground" like our terriers when they enter the wood pile after spotting their prey.  

Closet Project Number 1...

Space

Hubble peers into a storm.  www.nasa.gov 

Space.  According to Star Trek it is the final frontier.  Space in all its connotations is a frontier that I think we never will completely conquer. 

When I think of space the context is

1. physical.  When I am feeling overly cluttered with stuff invading our space in our home, basement, closets, dressers, etc. I feel out of sorts.  My physical space is closing in on me and I begin to feel claustrophobic. 

2. mental. When my physical space is out of sorts and disarrayed, I have trouble concentrating on any mental task at hand, e.g. writing.  I need to have my space sorted.   It doesn't have to be sterile but just a feeling that the items won't crowd out my clear thinking.  

3. emotional.  When #1 and #2 are crowded with too many  physical and mental items, then I get emotionally overwhelmed with feeling like I have too little space, that I have too many demands on my time and attention and that I feel that my emotional space is overly cluttered.  My balance is all out of sorts.  

In the hopes of keeping some free space in all aspects of my life, I have challenged myself to get rid of 25% of my stuff.  This is not an easy proposition.  I am starting on the physical track- systematically going through each room in the house and trying to eliminate 1/4 of the items in each.  I am hoping that once I let go of the physical, I will be able to see clearly what mental and emotional stuff I need to eliminate. 

So, I am doing a deep sort of my closet and drawers.  I have my piles: consignment, Goodwill, trash.  It is such a cathartic experience.  Because I want this to be an ongoing process, I have reminder notes in my drawers and closet that each time I wear something to evaluate it:  What is the condition- any holes, pilling, worn areas? Do I like it?  Does it fit me?  Would it look better with some minor alterations? Can I wear it with three other items in my closet? 

I'll let you know how I progress.  For now it is like I have embarked on a new adventure.  

What about you?  How is the space in your life?  Feeling cluttered, overwhelmed and claustrophobic?  Or do have a good handle on the stuff in your possession?  Do you have any processes that keep you clutter- free?  For physical, mental and emotional items? 

Tidying Up

 l love the word tidying. It sounds so cute, so benign, so Goldilocks-ish.  It is a word that explains what you want to accomplish and how you go about it.  It evokes an activity that is not too strenuous nor too ineffective.  It is just right. 

There was a very interesting article in The New York Times Magazine about the author, Marie Kondo and her book, "The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up".   Seems that Ms. Kondo has quite a following of people who swear by her methods.  Her whole premise is that the items in your household and eventually in one's life should bring you joy. 

Like so many ideas that abound, this is nothing new.  As I have posted before, the 18th Century English textile designer William Morris felt that one should have only beautiful and useful items in one's home.  Basically, only have things which bring you joy.   It makes sense that in order to appreciate those beautiful and useful things you have to be able to see and find them.  In essence, have a neat and tidy place.  But as with all things that seem simple, it is very hard to achieve. 

There are a myriad of books on the market about getting organized. There are a ton of organizational tools and systems. They all are a means to the end- getting rid of items in your life that take up valuable space, time and resources. What isn't necessarily mentioned in any of these processes is that in order to get rid of anything you have to sacrifice it.  You have to make a choice to remove the said item from your midst. I think there is the rub.  We cling to our things. We want it all. Even if something is not useful or beneficial we still want it around, "just in case." 

It is not only physical items.  We hold on to emotional baggage and mental images that only clutter our lives. For nothing less than to show that we have/had something-an emotional draining relationship, a self-pity party or a poorly acted upon decision.  It is almost as if we have to tightly grasp these situations to prove that we exist.   Even if it was/is harmful to our psyche, it was/is something nonetheless. 

I know for me, it is until things get to the point that I cannot stand the clutter that I will then be ruthless.  It is then that I say, "this needs to go".  Of course, everyone in our household has a different tolerance point of when things need to go and there too can be the rub. 

That's why I like the word tidy.  It seems doable.  I can work on the emotional, relational, and physical stuff that is cluttering my life. I don't have to do it all in one day.  Tidying seems to be a word that is done in smaller increments. I think, "I can talk to that person and straighten out one of our issues."  "I can let go and remove the worry scenario replaying in my mind." "I can tidy my office today and start on the corner of my basement tomorrow."

What about you?  Do you have a tidy life?  What do you do when things get messy? Does the clutter bother you?  At what point do you say, "this needs to go"?  Do you even notice clutter in your life? What is your method for tidying up?   

House Ready or Not?

The houses on both sides of us are for sale.  I was telling someone that the other day and I didn't realize how bad that makes us as neighbors until I noticed the raised eyebrow and the "Uh huh.  And this doesn't have anything to do with you?"  Innocently I said no but then it occurred to me that not every one loves a working (aka, barking) terrier.  

One of the houses is listed online and is typical of all nosy neighbors (come on, be honest, you know that you would too) we looked at the listing and the pictures.  The thing that struck me- "Where was all their stuff?"  My son who has spent some time there babysitting their children, said "Wow, that looks totally different." The house looked lovely, like a place from HGTV or a glossy decorating magazine but it also looked sterile.  Where was the lived-in look, the photos, the kitschy knickknacks from travels abroad, the books and papers?  It made me look at our home in a whole different light.

Actually I almost felt sick to my stomach thinking what would happen if we tried to sell our home?  We have so many undone projects and things that are particular to this quirky house. There couldn't possibly be anyone out there that would have the same preference as we once did and who would want to pay a nice price for it.

It also struck me that with all the staging and sprucing up, why don't we live like that always?  Is it just a fantasy that everyone buys into with the real estate game?  Of course, everyone wants to have a linen closet with perfectly stacked sheets and towels with plenty of shelf space so that you actually see the shelf.  No one really lives with shelves stuffed beyond capacity so that the linens are actually so packed they can stay wedged in open space between the front wall and the shelf. 

I also felt sick to my stomach of gluttony of household items.  Do we really need all those plates in the kitchen?  Can we get rid of some of our chairs?  Can't I put all of my clothes in the closet rather than schlepping the seasonal clothes in and out of neighboring bedroom closets? 

What if I only had in my house those things that were useful and beautiful (to misquote William Morris) and only one set or one item?  What would it look like if I parred down my belongings?  What if I got the house ready to sell but then enjoyed living in it? 

I am ready (almost) to try a challenge: Can I systematically go room by room, ruthlessly getting rid of those things that I don't love or don't use.  (One of the questions to ask- if I had a fire and this item was burned, would I replace it?)  What if I removed the unnecessary items, like I was staging the home for sale?  (Even though I do go through our rooms periodically, I never have been really hard core in my decision keep/throw out tree.)

I don't know if I can actually get rid of everything so I might just put in a labeled box in the basement.  A tip from professional organizers is to label the box "Give to Goodwill by December 2017" and if you haven't looked in the box by then, you haven't missed it so get rid of it. 

If going through a room is too much, try a section of it.  I have read that it is a good exercise to clear a shelf or mantel or wall of decoration and just live with the blankness for a while.  When you start putting things back, try the William Morris test of usefulness and beauty. 

I think there must be a fine line between living in the "staged" house setting and living in a pigsty. I don't want to live in a sterile environment but it would be nice not to feel that I am being suffocated with "stuff". 

What about you?  Is your house ready to sell?  What would your home look like if it was?  Would you like living in that setting or would you feel like you were missing something?  Would you want to try the house ready challenge?