Clutter

Curing Costume Clutter

/ Jo / 2 Comments

Once upon a time I was a theatre designer.  Although I mostly concentrated on sets and lights, from time to time I was called upon to design costumes for a show.

I almost always did a sketch to start the process.

When I became a mother I used my college degree to create costumes for my son.  I thought I might one day write a book about coordinating pieces of clothing from the closet with some simple sewing to make comfortable and lavish costumes.

I remember my Martha Washington gown being much like the one above except it was entirely pale aqua moiré.

When I was a girl my grandmother would ask me what I wanted to be and whatever I dreamt up she could facilitate.  I have been the “Queen of Hearts” in a tulle gown and “Martha Washington” in pale aqua watered-silk.

It was important that all costumes were comfortable and easy to wear.

We created a Sharpie dragon on a piece of fabric and appliqued it to the back of the Ninja tunic.

So I always asked my son what he wanted to be. I would draw a quick sketch then collect clothing he already owned and add some bespoke pieces to complete the costume.

I had yards and yards of this stunning 1.5 inch wide woven trim from my mother’s old gown which ended up on more than one costume.

The skirt from an old gown makes an elegant pirate cape.

I used old gowns and bits of trim to elevate the simplest of patterns.

In 3rd Grade the student could choose to be a Pilgrim or a Native American. Tunic and chaps made an easy-to-change-into costume without undressing.

Sometimes the costume was dictated by teachers and sometimes not.

A vest is an easy to make and embellish basis for lots of costumes — pirate, cowboy, yodeler, Aladdin — to name a few.

I still have lots of costumes.  I’m not writing a book so it’s time to list them for sale.  I have posted all of the costumes in the closet for sale on Facebook Marketplace at very low prices.

The Cowardly Lion was a very first costume — I was the Scarecrow and Dad was the Tin Woodsman. (Crown made from cottage cheese container sprayed gold.)

With a change of hood and addition of a small jacket, the Lion became Peter Rabbit.

If I’m not successful, I guess they’ll just go in the rag bag.

Jo

Curing Cashmere Clutter

/ Jo / 2 Comments

I love cashmere sweaters.

I keep my sweaters in a closed cabinet with lavender to deter moths and worms.

My family knows this so in addition to buying sweaters for myself I also have been gifted beautiful items.

My sweaters  range from dark to light but seem to maintain a cool color palette.

I have some sweaters that are over 20 years old which have succumbed to moth damage.  I wear them as long as I can (sometimes as comfy undershirts to hide the holes) but have finally decided to get rid of some that are too far gone.

I packed all nine sweaters in a mailing box — weight 4 pounds, 1 ounce.

Unfortunately I just can’t throw away cashmere so I searched the internet to see if anyone was recycling the fiber.  I found one artist, Cathy Wade, who is using recycled cashmere to make new items so I contacted her to see if she wanted 9 clean but holey sweaters for her work.  She said, “yes.” They’re on their way to her.

Jo

The Toy Purge

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I’ve been holding onto a lot of children’s toys since the 1980s in hopes of a grandchild.

A custom made wooden train.

Baby’s first puzzle — about 8 inches tall.

Since it seems unlikely to ever happen I have decided to get rid of a few boxes of toys.

Sug built this hand truck with the Pipeworks set.

With Sug’s help to clean and assemble these toys I have listed them on Facebook Marketplace.

This classic toy has been given to a young boy who talks endlessly about gassing up cars.

One of the people who saw the ads on Facebook is a teacher of special needs children who told me they can no longer share toys due to Covid-19.  I was more than happy to waive the small fee I had listed in the ad.

The Tonka Bulldozer — fully operational.

These photos just scratch the surface.  I’m saving more grown-up toys like the rock tumbler and a microscope for a second wave of listings.

A radio music box plays “Somewhere Over the Rainbow”.

Listed early in the month I’m hoping to be lighter by at least 50% at month’s end.

Jo

Gradual Shift

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I’m subtly changing my decor style.  I’m making incremental shifts from Parisian influence (since 2011) to a mid-Atlantic coastal vibe.

Currently The Glade is tied to these colors and patterns.

I am also slightly replacing some of the colors in my color palette with similar but more beachy tints and tones.

My color inspiration.

For instance I’ll be adding “sand” and taking out the dark gray shades I have been using.  The basic palette is still same — true blue not aqua, shell pink, green — but I’m generally going lighter and maybe brighter.

Love this scheme found here.

All this started when I thought I might one day actually have a waterfront home. I’m not planning on moving anytime soon — certainly not before I have the bulk of my international travel plans completed.  Currently we live 6 minutes from the airport.

Certainly I’m drawn to the water.

Anyway, I was feeling our current home at The Glade was a little dark and cluttery so I’ve been purposefully removing items of furniture that add to this heavy feeling.

Before

After

Recently I changed out our vintage dark wood dining chairs for more modern rattan ones.  That change led me to lighten the table as well by stripping it and leaving the top natural light wood.

These 4 chairs were visually and literally heavy in the kitchen.

The old dark kitchen chairs are gone and replaced with chairs we already own.

I generally use the “Paris” gray slipcover on the living room sofa.

A lighter slipcover in the living room.

I’m trying my very best to keep what I like, get rid of what I don’t, and manage the switch with minor expense.

Jo

Lighter by 30+

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I had a plan to get rid of some of the items that are cluttering our lives so task#75 on my 101 tasks in 1001 days was to throw away or donate 30 items that were not to be replaced with new acquisitions.

Letting go of stuff is like making breathing space.

Here’s the list of items that are gone:

  1. Green bag from attic
  2. 2 large empty cardboard boxes
  3. Child’s rocker

    Rocking chair

  4. 2 cement flower urns
  5. 5 suitcases
  6. Waffle iron
  7. Computer monitor

    Monitor

  8. Computer keyboard
  9. 2 Computer speakers
  10. 3 Stuffed toys
  11. 3 Baseball mitts and balls
  12. Swim goggles
  13. Photo frame and plastic box with photos
  14. 12 old windows

    Windows

  15. 2 sets of bookends

    Bookends

  16. 2 cabinet doors
  17. Sharp photocopier

    Photocopier

  18. Wooden ladder
  19. Green hutch

    Hutch

  20. Nesting tables

    Nesting tables

  21. 3 foot lockers

    Foot lockers

  22. 5+ old ink cartridges
  23. 5 pairs of eyeglasses

    Old prescription eyeglasses

  24. 3 curling irons

    Curling irons

  25. Ninja Turtle trunk
  26. 2 trumpets
  27. X-rays

    Dozens of x-rays are history.

  28. Secretary

    Secretary

  29. 2 new metal vents
  30. 4 kitchen chairs

    Kitchen chairs

Actually there are more than 30 items because some things were sets or multiples.  Notice I didn’t list the piano or dining room chairs because we actually replaced those things.

Charlie has replaced my studio piano with a baby grand.

Just taking on this activity has given me a new understanding of letting things gooooooooo.

Jo

On a Roll

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Over the weekend we got rid of a large piece of furniture from the dining room.

The piano on the left was taking up valuable space in the dining room.

Now we have rolled out another large piece.  This time it was my studio piano which I sold on Craigslist.

Studio pianos weigh about 500 pounds.

The movers came in the early evening and 2 men — strong men — lifted the piano onto a dolly and rolled it out to their truck.

The rug was turned back to its original position from before moving the pianos in place.

Charlie helped me swing the dining room rug around 90 degrees.

The table had been downsized and shoved to the side to make room for the piano.

We put the leaves back into the table to change it from a round to an oval.

My plan is to lighten up the dark parts of the house.

Aside from the clutter (removed from the secretary) which I still need to put away the dining room seems much more open.  And now all the new chairs fit.

Before

After

Another item checked off the list.

Jo

Great Grandmother’s Secretary

/ Jo / 2 Comments

Five years ago I wrote about my plans to paint my grandmother’s secretary.

The secretary in our dining room made the spaced feel cramped.

Recently, after moving it into the dining room to make space for a new piano I had the idea to get rid of it altogether.  First I asked my son if he would like to have his great-grandmother’s secretary and he said “yes”.

Now I have to organize/get rid of 2 bins full of the secretary’s former contents.

It is a useful piece of furniture because it doesn’t take up much floor space but holds a ton of stuff and is attractive.

We wrapped the secretary well the night before the delivery but of course it rained all night.

I emptied it and Sug cleaned it well.  Then we loaded into Sug’s new pick-up and hauled it down to the shore house.

The small settee has been moved to make room for the secretary.

My son has made room for his great-grandmother’s desk in the living room.

The secretary in living room at the shore house.

I’m hoping they will someday be inspired to paint it a fun, bright color. After all it is an heirloom.

Jo

17 to Begin

/ Jo / 2 Comments

During the covid-19 stay-at-home, social distancing order I find I’m more stimulated to declutter the house.

I’ve been working diligently on the attic cutter.

Then I happened onto a list of 250 things to throw away.  Some of these things I do own but are stashed so deeply away I never think of them.

Our pantry always seems to be overrun with plastic containers.

So to begin I looked at the list and chose items I could easily part with.  In the next little while I’ll be getting rid of the following 17 categories:

  1. Old belts
  2. Never used handbags
  3. Old lingerie
  4. Old stockings
  5. Old eye glasses
  6. Curling irons
  7. Old hair products
  8. Extra plastic containers
  9. Food processors
  10. Crocheted doilies
  11. Old toys
  12. Costumes
  13. Old calendars
  14. Old computers
  15. Excess vases
  16. Old musical instruments
  17. Old x-rays

I feel this is a manageable list.  I have already collected my old eyeglasses (#5) which I was keeping in a drawer.  I haven’t needed glasses for the past 15 years so I don’t know why I was even holding onto them.  Some aren’t even mine.  I have two options for local donation so whichever one is more convenient at this time is where they’ll go.

I don’t use curling irons.

I also have 3 curling irons (#6) which I have never used.  Does anybody still use curling irons?  Is there a use for them beyond hair styling? I’ll list them for a very small amount on Facebook Marketplace.

Dozens of x-rays are history.

I have collected our x-rays (#17) from the past 20 years from the bottom of the drawer where they have been kept.  I put them through the shredder one sheet at a time.  I have kept a few of the heavy plastic sheets for future arts projects as I know they make great custom-cut stencils.

I have a brass trumpet and a silver trumpet.

Finally I have 2 trumpets (#16) that no one in the house can play.  Surely someone needs them.

I donated some doilies to a local theatre prop shop but I still have more.

I’m hoping to finish purging this list of 17 items in the next 30 days.

Jo

 

 

Rearranging for Flow

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Last week Charlie installed a grand piano in our home.

The path from the living room to dining room is winding with the pianos in this position.

Since we already have a piano the spacing in the living room/dining room was tight.

The back of the large chair (at the right of the photo) should be on the corner of the rug.

With the intention of eventually getting rid of some large pieces of furniture including the second piano, we rearranged the furniture so the grand piano would be in its final spot (before having technical corrections made).

After moving the studio piano I thought the we might just leave the grand where it was.

First we moved the studio piano against the kitchen knee wall.  It used to be there while we were renovating.  We also changed the direction of the rug so the pianos would rest directly on the floor.

While everyone was committed to a change, I decided to move the grand piano across the room to the now vacant wall.

Traffic flow from the front of the house to the back is now a direct path instead of zigzagging around furniture.

The blue chair in the living room is back to its regular spot on the corner of the rug.

In the old set-up I could not move the large living room chair into its traditional position.  Now I can.

The encircled furniture is slated to be removed from The Glade.

As for the downsizing of furniture, in addition to getting rid of the extraneous piano I’m also sending the secretary desk to the shore house (it belonged to my grandmother) and the dining room chairs are listed on Facebook Marketplace (too dark and rickety).

The passage from front to back is still ziggy but more direct.

That should lighten up the area.

Jo

Space Cleared

/ Jo / 1 Comment

For a couple of years I have been considering whether to keep or toss my grandmother’s secretary desk.

The secretary fits on a narrow wall.

I asked my son if he’d like to have it and he said “sure”.  It’s a useful piece of furniture that fits in almost any space because it’s not too wide nor too deep.

Everything has been removed from the zigzag wall between the living room and dining room.

I moved it out from its place between the living room and the dining room to see what that space would look like without it.

The freshly cleared space looks empty.

In the meantime Charlie found something that will fill the empty and more.  I can’t tell you yet what that might be but I hope to be posting soon.

Jo