Category Archives: Decluttering

De…………..

Leave a comment

I have been considering doing a series of posts on decluttering – the how, why and when etc but I think that is going to have to wait until well into January as we are about to head off overseas for 5 weeks so my focus will be my travel blog, Somewhere, Anywhere. Please consider subscribing if you would like to follow along on our adventures.

In the meantime, here is something to get you thinking. I could not have said it better myself.

There will probably be another post or 2 here before we depart on Monday.

One In, One Out

Leave a comment

A few weeks ago I decided to list these boots for sale on Facebook Marketplace. They are about 28 years old but have not had a lot of wear and the elastic side panels have been replaced. The boots no longer suit my footwear needs and had been gathering dust.

I had several enquiries but they were not the required size and I had planned to relist them another time. Then I received a message from someone who lives a few hours drive from me who simply said she would pay postage and offered $110 rather than the $150 I had originally listed them for. I was very happy to see them go to someone who clearly wants them and will wear them.

These RM Williams ladies boots are top quality high-end footwear and currently retail for around $750. That is considerably more than I paid for them.

Regardless of the price I paid or the current value they were of no benefit to me so I was pleased to be able to move them on.

Meanwhile, my summer footwear is somewhat depleted after having not bought any for at least 3 years. Op shopping sometimes yields so excellent footwear bargains but it is definitely rather hit and miss.

So, last week I decided to bite the bullet and buy something new. I was unsure of exactly what I needed but I was leaning towards white which would be versatile enough to wear with pretty well all of my clothes. I also wanted to be able to wear it with dresses, skirts or trousers.

This is what I found.

These shoes are very lightweight and comfortable with the adjustable crossover strap. They are a bit more substantial than completely open sandals and I am confident that I will get lots of opportunities to wear them as the weather warms up.

Desk Declutter

Leave a comment

Even though we have been in this house just under 2.5 years I have already tidied and decluttered the small office space and desk a couple of times. However, I was a bit more ruthless this time with a few more things gone.

Although I did not take a before photo I found this one from a previous post.

The most noticeable difference is that the speakers are gone as well as the cane basket from the corner of the desk. As we were working through the various bits and pieces, GMan noticed that the speakers were not actually connected to anything and whenever we listen to audio on the computer it comes directly from the speakers in the laptop!! The speakers do not appear to be compatible with the laptop so they are off to the op shop to find another home. The cane basket had become a receptacle for all sorts of electronics odds and ends so we decided that not having it there would force us to put things away properly. I will probably repurpose the basket for storage in my sewing room.

This is the finished view of the desk.

There is a small cupboard on the wall above one end of the desk. This is where we keep the modem as the power point and connection are there.

However, I always felt that this space was under-utilised. So, GMan drilled a hole so that we could feed the cables through and place the modem on the top shelf. This freed up more shelf space to use for other storage, including the lower shelf which is more accessible. I now have some stationery supplies in a couple of very classy ice-cream containers. They were previously on the bottom shelf of the bookcase opposite the desk but it makes more sense to have them here.

Finally, we went through all of the drawers and removed various things that are no longer relevant and rearranged a few items to make better use of the space. The final touch is that I plan to make labels for the drawers so that things are easier to find without opening multiple drawers. That is a task for another day.

The Excitement

Leave a comment

It probably seems a bit at odds with my last post about decluttering but I could not contain my excitement when GMan spotted this in an op shop today. Sometimes you don’t know that you need something until you see it.

For the princely sum of $6 I am now the proud owner of a cast-iron tortilla press.

It needs a bit of cleaning but then I will definitely be attempting to make my own tortillas.

If you have any experience using one I would love to hear about it. I will post about the results in due course.

Do It Once

Leave a comment

Almost all of what I, and probably most of you, do is repetitive. Some things are repeated daily, weekly or less frequently. Things like meal preparation and washing up can even be multiple times each day.

However, there are some jobs which can be done once and once only. Many fall under the broader category of decluttering which in itself can seem like an endless task.

I recently cleaned up the desk in our small office which is a built-in desk in the walkway through to the laundry. Keeping this space free from clutter is an ongoing project and I completely understand that.

There were 6 small plastic boxes sitting one one corner of the desk. These had previously held photographic slides that belonged to my father. The slides have all been scanned and saved so I had disposed of the originals. The boxes were covered with adhesive labels and notations in permanent marker and I had been undecided as to whether I could repurpose the boxes. I possibly could but the question really is, ‘do I need them?’

After several months of seeing these boxes multiple times each day I decided that they could be used by someone else. So, the first step was to remove the labels and clean them up.

No before photo but here they are, ready to go. I plan to take them to the Bendigo Share and Repair Shed as I feel that someone will be able to use them.

I am sure that they will be perfect storage for someone’s small treasures.

Just because you don’t want to send something to landfill does not mean that you are obliged to keep it or even to find a way of using a particular item.

Reset in the Sewing Room

1 Comment

I finished sewing the patchwork blocks together a few days ago and yesterday I delivered all of the components – patchwork, batting and backing – to a friend who is going to quilt it on her long arm machine.

The horizon is clear as far as sewing projects go so I decided that it was time to make a serious effort to clean up and sort out the fabrics, patterns etc. Many of these are gifted, thrifted, hand-me-downs or scraps.

I probably should have started with the bits and pieces on top but I dived straight in to the contents of the cube shelving. The top two rows are rearranged although the cupboards are currently empty while I decide on what to put in them.

The shelving units were repurposed from our walk-in wardrobe and the spare bedroom. Most but not all of the contents came with us when we moved from Queensland just over 2 years ago. While everything was unpacked and stashed in the various cubes there was not a great deal of thought as to how it was arranged.

I am determined that I am going to assess everything before putting it away. There is no point in hanging onto things for which I have no possible future use. Additionally, I am setting aside the UFO’s (unfinished objects) to work through. However, the first priority is to have the sewing machine serviced. Apart from needing a general overhaul the thread cutter is blunt, the needle threader is broken and the clutch on the bobbin winder is slipping.

In the interest of full disclosure this is a view of the tables covered with piles of fabric which I have hauled out of some of the lower cubes.

It is going to take some time but I am likely to be without my machine for a couple of weeks after I drop it off on Tuesday so I will focus on the sorting without being distracted and tempted to sew something.

They’re Back

Leave a comment

A couple of weeks ago I wrote this post about the ‘new to me’ boots I had purchased.

Well, I did take the old ones to a cobbler in Melbourne to see if they might be able to be repaired. He assured me that he could and that the cost would be $60. This seemed like a very reasonable price to restore an unwearable pair of boots that had seen 6 years of constant winter wear.

Today we were on another jaunt to Melbourne and I picked them up. They are as good as new so I am looking forward to several more years of wear out of these favourites. While buying secondhand is a sustainable option, it is important not to forget about taking care of what you have to ensure that it lasts as well as considering repairing items where possible.

I was also able to drop off the donation of towels which I mentioned the other day. They were very gratefully received and I am pleased that they will be put to good use. I also gave them the two carry bags which I had made as I am sure that someone will appreciate those, too.

After lunch we headed over the river to The Sumner theatre to see ‘Mother Play’. It was both funny and tragic but most all, very moving and certainly not one for the faint-hearted. I enjoy live theatre and this was no exception and it was particularly exciting to witness Sigrid Thornton’s superb talent on stage.

Thoughtful Decluttering

Leave a comment

Last month I wrote this post about rearranging the linen. Once I consolidated the towels that were in a couple of different spaces I ended up with a plastic tub full of ‘spare towels’.

Fast forward to today when I read a Facebook post from a friend about a charity in central Melbourne who provide hot showers and laundry facilities for those who are sleeping rough. They are asking for donations of towels and also washing powder/liquid.

I was immediately sure that the tub of towels in the top of my linen cupboard could be put to better use. I will take them to donate when I go to Melbourne on Wednesday.

Most of these towels came from my mother’s home after she died a little over 4 years ago. They were too good to use as rags or even for animal bedding but I was not sure what to do with them. I have enough and someone else will be able to benefit from them so I am happy with the outcome.

This is the top of the linen cupboard now. There are 2 beach towels.

I am not a fan of decluttering that involves throwing excess stuff in a bin when with a little time and thought things can be moved along to be of benefit to someone who can really use them.

Art For Art’s Sake

Leave a comment

Decluttering and minimalism are all about eschewing ‘stuff’ and some people seem to think that life is bland and missing something without possessions.

Now, I am not suggesting for one moment that I do not have stuff or that I am even a minimalist although I certainly do have less possessions than many people.

Experiences are valuable and mean much more to me than a house filled with possessions. Travel is always high on my list of experiences. Sometimes we travel specifically for art experiences and at other times we find cultural experiences along the way.

Just 12 months ago we went to Hobart for the express purpose of going to an exhibition titled ‘Lands of Light’ by Lloyd Rees at the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery.

We discovered a very different but equally interesting exhibition in the adjacent gallery.

The next few months are filled with various artistic and cultural events. Some are very local, such as the Maldon Portrait Prize which celebrates local artists. We plan to view the entries at a local gallery sometime in the next week. Other planned trips include Bendigo to see the Frida Kahlo exhibition and well as going to the National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne to see ‘French Impressionism’ from the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. We are also going further afield over the next couple of months to Gippsland Art Gallery in Sale to see ‘Turner and Australia’ which explores the influence of JMW Turner on the Australian art scene and the Art Gallery of South Australia for an exhibition titled, ‘Dangerously Modern: Australian Women Artists in Europe 1890 – 1940’.

Of course, art encompasses some many other mediums and we have tickets to several performances over the next few months beginning with our younger daughter’s dance concert tomorrow afternoon. Two live theatre productions round out our adventures for July. Live theatre is one of my great loves and I am looking forward to seeing Justine Clarke in a one-woman play, ‘Julia’ about Julia Gillard, Australia’s first (and so far, only female Prime Minister). The other is called Mother Play which premiered on Broadway in 2024. This version stars on of my favourite Australian actresses, Sigrid Thornton.

The opportunity to experience such diverse cultural experiences is worth more to me than a cupboard full of things.

What about you?

Sorting the Linen

Leave a comment

I seem to have linen in a couple of different locations and I recently decided that I needed to look closely at what I had, and more importantly, where it is stored. The towels and bed linen were mostly in the small linen cupboard in the hallway. I had some tablecloths and less used bed linen and blankets in the large drawers under the bed in the spare room. Tea towels, hand towels and some table mats are in a drawer in the pantry.

The catalyst for my decision to re-evaluate the linen storage was the fact that the spare bed had become a bit of a dumping-ground which included the clean linen needed to remake that bed.

So, the first job was to hang up the coats which were also on the bed and remake it ready for guests at the end of the month. That immediately made things look better.

The bed was one which we bought from the previous owners when we bought the house, however, I can honestly say that I hate it. I like the look of the bed but it is difficult to make as the mattress which is very heavy sits inside a timber recess. I usually end up with scraped knuckles by the time it is made. The built-in drawers in the base are a killer for my back as I can’t get my feet close enough. I am currently searching secondhand option for a suitable replacement.

Meanwhile, I removed everything that was in the drawers in preparation for not having that space in the future.

The revamped linen cupboard – towels, sheets and doona covers.

Some extra blankets in a vacuum bag in the wardrobe. The bags on the floor contain 2 airbeds – one is a single and the other a queen-size.

Finally, I have relocated all the linen relating to the kitchen and dining room to a drawer in the extended pantry. These include tea towels, handtowels, table mats, serviettes and tablecloths.

The rearrangement did not take me too long and hopefully it will continue to work well.