It's a good thing I don't subscribe to a minimalist
decorating style! Why, you ask? Well, let me tell you...
My mom recently passed away quite unexpectedly (she
was 83, but the week before Christmas she was fine, and by the
end of the first week in January, she was gone. That's unexpected!) Anyway, due
to her passing, I now have more stuff than I ever thought possible: Two houses,
two cars, three dogs, and two packrats' possessions.
How do you go about sorting through a lifetime of possessions
and deciding what you do and don't want? Hey, it's me--remember? I love
everything. Some things are pretty easy to dispatch to the sale
pile. For instance, the odd medieval-esque accessories that were in the living
room. I think mom bought those at a furniture store in the 1960s when she and my
dad bought new furniture for this house. Those were the days before we started
to travel, and before we acquired all kinds of personal, memorable decorative
accents. I've always thought those things--two porcelain knights, a couple of
wooden ships (looking like drawings I've seen of the Pinta, the Nina, and the
Santa Maria!), a faux-old globe, and a small cannon--were so out of place in our
house, and didn't seem like something my parents would have liked. I guess they
went well with the mediterranean style of the house.
Yes, those were easy to part with. My mom collected cow
creamers--those were tough. I couldn't get rid of them. I just packed them in
boxes, except for a few that I really like. I cried just packing them up. I kept
blubbering, "I'm sorry little cow" every time I put one in a box. I haven't even
tried to pack away any of her thimble collection, or my dad's carved bird
collection.
I have gotten brave enough to change some things. The living
room/dining room will become a dining library. I barely eat at the table and no
one ever comes over--so the dining room, and yet another living area, are
totally superfluous. My dad's study will become my studio. It's not big enough
to house my books too, and I don't want to make the living room into my studio
because it's right in front of the house where everyone could see my mess when
they walked in. And, there's not a good window for ventilation in the front of
the house--necessary for jewelry-making.
Well, that's all for now--wish me luck as I go over to my old
house this evening and pack up another load!
Below, a picture of my messy "new" den. You can see that I'm dealing with a massive quantity of "stuff." Every room is just like this! (and you can see Poquito made a surprise appearance too)
