Honest Simplicity

my winding road to a simpler life

Month: September, 2014

Controlling the Garage Clutter

Garages are meant to store vehicles, right?  It also makes sense to store other items there such as tools, bicycles, folding chairs, and trash cans.  I get that, but when did we decide to designate the garage as a permanent storage space for household stuff?  I’ve seen plenty of garages that can no longer accommodate the cars they were meant to store.  Rather, the cars are parked on the street, rain or shine.  Does this describe your situation?  If so, you are not alone.  Do you want your Read the rest of this entry »

Keepsakes

At our house, each of us has a plastic bin labeled “keepsakes” which we keep on a shelf in our basement.  Periodically, I revisit my stash of old birthday cards, letters, and other mementos so that I can weed out the items which no longer pull at my heartstrings.  This takes time.  Once I open the bin, I get lost reading old letters (yes, actual snail mail) and reminiscing.  It is interesting to spend time getting reacquainted with my 15-year-old or 21-year-old self.  I enjoy having letters to reread, but I don’t feel that I have to keep them all.  Letting go of letters and newspaper articles won’t magically erase those events from having happened to me, right?  Of course not!  After about an hour of sorting through my sentimental papers, I was able to toss a great pile into the recycling bin.

goodbye pile of keepsakes

goodbye pile of keepsakes

I even threw out a journal (big step for me).  Oh, did I forget to mention that I have an entire separate bin of journals?  What I was able to do was downsize my two boxes into one keepsake/journal bin. Read the rest of this entry »

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