taking advantage of the freshness factor
The “freshness factor” phrase gets tossed around in workplaces .. new employees with enthusiasm and fresh eyes can lead to new ideas and approaches.
I’m using it here in this context: I just moved into an apartment I am very jazzed about. I have energy, inspiration, and momentum. It’s new and fresh and this is a state that will not last forever, so I must take advantage. I want to get this home exactly the way I want it.
As we all know, I am experiencing a different relationship with things and possessions after this house-emptying summer, and this current reacquaintance phase with my just-liberated storage space items.
I have gotten a huge amount done, outside of the standard hard work of packing and moving. I have already created a wall of boxes of things to give away, which two friends have already pillaged. I have two large drawers full of things I’ve set aside to sell on eBay (to fund my dinnerware purchases — that is another blog post entirely). Kitchen is put away, Bedroom is getting adorable and cozy (and yes, it’s where the magic happens); everything (sort of) fits into the closets. One offsite storage space is totally closed, one is pending.
And this could be where I rest on my laurels, get complacent, start to overlook the little areas of disorganization. But no. I’m going deep. I want less stuff. I want to live smaller in lots of ways. So begins my usual overanalysis:
Furniture: All good. I appear to have the right amount and size of things to fit comfortably in my apartment. There is a couch, two lamps and a small table in the storage space which will be dispatched to charity.
The tchotchke issue: I have a beautiful teak hutch with three shelves. I have a 8-cubby Expedit unit, which I will donate one cubby space (12″ x 12″ x 12″) to display tchotchkes. If I can’t find room in those spaces for things (and this includes occasional/nonfunctioning dishware, toys, cute little useless dustcatchers), out they will go. Exception: I am putting the best of my robot collection in a small box intended for cold storage, and there is another small box of family nostalgic items not suitable for display, that is also intended for cold storage. There are still several boxes of crap to go through, and space is already running out in the allotted spaces, so this is going to get brutal.
The paper issue: Returning to me after several decades in my mother’s garage are several boxes marked “LETTERS.” I kept every fucking card and letter I received for many, so many years*. I have many family photos and a Groupon for digitizing. I have a big box of my mother’s address books. And rando office clear-outs shoved into boxes. Some family papers and all of John’s files. Magazines! I just took four boxes of business/old files stuff to be shredded. I have a half-empty large metal filing cabinet. My task is to cull everything so that it can all fit into the filing cabinet. Oof, this will be a fun one.
And the books: Wow, so many heavy boxes marked “BOOKS” jammed in my closets. Shit. I’m donating one more Expedit cubby and a small bookcase to the cause. All others will go out, out, out. Exception: my teenage diaries and family yearbooks/ephemera — I will allow two small boxes of that stuff for cold storage.
Things made of textiles and/or leather: Clothes/shoes are still in garbage bags in my closet! I feel overwhelmed. I’m between weights so everything’s too big or too small and so my motivation to get it hung and arranged is not there. I have no idea why I’m balking at getting rid of a majority of the pile. I’m in that weird girl state of I HATE EVERYTHING I OWN IN MY CLOSET (whether it fits or not). Time to get it boxed up and donated. Bleah. Oh, and extra blankets/linens/pillows/quilts (I know!) need the heave-ho.
TO DO LIST! now with no caps:
- rescue mission pickup is january 20: add to that wall of boxes to give away before then. be brutal and be strong!
- offsite storage space: move stupid table to my home (temporarily); have salvation army pick up the rest directly from space before february 4 (cutoff before i have to pay rent on the space for feb)
- closet: hang up/put away clothes, stow shoes, figure out linen storage, purge purge purge (becky get on this, it’s not that hard)
- kitchen: toss all spices (now 3.5+ years old); get new spices
- put up artwork: if you do this, hambox, you’ll have more closet space and we know you like that
- get tchotchkes under control: must be out of boxes and displayed or ready for giveaway (or ebay if really good) by january 20
- books: unboxed and put away or given away by january 20
- papers: go through and purge or file away. this is a rough one — you can have until march 15 for that one
- photos and videos: must be organized and given to digitizer by march 30
- ebay stuff: must be listed by the end of january
- trade a too-tall ladder for a shorter ladder: someone will want to do this with me? right? via craigslist?
- offsite office: bring plants and other boxes of stuff home to mama
GADS WHAT ELSE
Some linx:
- 12 items you probably own too much of – apartment therapy
- 12 more items you probably own too much of – apartment therapy