Possessions

I’ve always lived in small spaces. Compact apartments to this tiny cottage. While I would never be considered a minimalist re: home decor and furnishings, I’ve generally managed to avoid the hoarder aesthetic.

Now that Ten has begun emptying the kitchen cabinets in order to begin the demolition part of the renovation, I’m seeing that, pottery-wise, I’ve got WAY TOO MUCH STUFF. Mind you, it’s all lovely stuff with sentimental value BUT… We live in a wee cottage and I’m feeling crowded.

It’s well past time to review and sort my belongings. I’ll start making piles to:

• Give away
• Donate to shelters
• Deliver to Goodwill

and

• SMASH—pieces to be broken up and used in future mosaics

When I was 22, done with college and the carnival, I moved to Boston with a duffel bag and a backpack. That’s it. I had a camping cookware kit, clothes, a book or two, sleeping bag and a spare pair of shoes. It was enough to hold me over until I quit couch surfing and got a place.

The first furniture I bought? A cot, lamp and a cheap aluminum easel. Cardboard boxes served as tables. Trash/sidewalk picked boards and cinder blocks were my bookshelves. Since then I've accumulated an awful lot of crap—some worth keeping and a lot NOT.

With my myriad moves, I’ve had regular opportunities to review and purge. That’s in the past though. I’ve lived here in Valhalla for almost 20 years and am long overdue for another thorough purge-a-thon. Not just the kitchen either.

What to toss/donate/give away? How do I decide?

There’s the ‘does this spark joy’ approach. The ‘have I used or even seen this in the past year’ method. The ‘am I deeply attached to this’ process. Some decisions are easy—they fall into the ‘why do I even have this’ realm.

I’ve bought and made a shit-ton of tiles in my adult life. They all still spark joy (really!). One way to declutter is to use all those little ceramic art pieces in a kitchen backsplash mosaic. Sure, the glass tile look is gorgeous+ but why not use what I’ve already got?

I’ve come to a place where, instead of owning a bunch of belongings, my possessions now own me. That’s fucked up. Letting go of non-essentials (and I decide what is or is not essential) is important. It frees me up, gives me more breathing room. This is the way…and shit.

Your home is living space, not storage space.
~ Francine Jay

Living smaller is a relief.
~ Margareta Magnusson, The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning

Some people believe holding on and hanging in there are signs of great strength. However, there are times when it takes much more strength to know when to let go and then do it.
~ Ann Landers

This applies to both people and things.