Discardia on the way to Breathing Room...

Much of this is on its way out the door...yes, it IS a mess.  Eeek.

 
So.  Here is where I am now...Discardia on the way to Breathing Room.

Getting rid of things via eBay is time consuming and kind of complex, but that's where some of this stuff is going, anyway--I just need time to list the antique teapot, enamel coffeepot, 18th C. style mules or leather slippers, virtually unused.  Books will be offered to a friend before being listed or given away.

(The bins on the floor are full of artwork, both original and prints I offer in my Etsy shop, Cathy Johnson Art & More, so they stay, but I'd love it if I could find a place that wasn't right out in the middle of everything!)

 

I'm delighted that a dear friend is more into elegant reenacting than we are, now, and he and his camping buddy are taking a fair bit of stuff away.  A big copper cistern for water, a tin biscuit baker, a BIG folding table...gone and welcome!  It's good to know a friend will be using and enjoying them instead of tripping over them, here.

The pile in the other photo includes a bag of art supplies to give to my sketchcrawl buddies...didn't have enough of them show up this time and we forgot the bag in the car...and the current giveaway box, which will go out probably today.  And a heater, and antique books with illustrations I need to scan in my copious spare time, and extra shipping boxes, and...

Yep, it's a mess all right!

My beloved husband is in the basement creating his workroom and simultaneously getting rid of a bunch MORE stuff (why, exactly, did we put two old computers and a monitor down there?), and moving the workbench out of the back room (along with the big folding table) will give us a lot more open space THERE, so we can organize, clean out, and GET TO THE BOOKCASE.

(He was just wishing he'd thought to shoot a "before" photo, so he inspired me to DO so!)

All this stuff served its purpose, in its time, and I'm grateful, as Breathing Room suggests.  It can go to a new home, or recycle, or the dump, with my blessings.  And I won't have quite so much stuff in the way, and will indeed have more room to breathe, both literally and spiritually.

Simplifying is not always simple...

Getting rid of our too-many possessions--things we no longer want or need, clothes that don't fit us or our lifestyle, duplicates, things we've tried out but didn't work for us, things we've outgrown, physically or emotionally, hobbies we no longer enjoy--is a long process, for me.

And no, this tiny set didn't take up much room...but I didn't use or need it. 

Long, but necessary, and freeing.  I feel lighter and less encumbered.

How to go about it can be problematical.  Do I try for "the perfect recipient"?  Someone who needs or would most appreciate what I'm passing along?  (My, that process will slow you down!  It's lovely when we nail it, but it takes a whole lot longer...)

Do I take a box of unused art supplies to school, or our sketchcrawl group, or give them to an artistic friend, or someone with children who enjoy creativity?

(Yes, sometimes all of the above!  I've got a box hatching now for the sketchcrawl artists...)

Sometimes we take a box of miscellaneous things to our family gatherings and hope they'll fill a need; housewares, bedding, tools, clothing.  My youngest godchild looked stunning in a dress that just didn't work for me--too short, too clingy...

Sometimes--frequently!--we take things to a charity resale shop that will even unload the car for us if asked.  It feels good to benefit them while clearing out our space so we can breathe, and so there's room in closets and drawers.  Today, a box of miscellaneous things (we needed 4 thermoses...why?), last week a few books...

A heavy bag of clothes I don't wear went there recently; my closet already feels roomier, and I thought I had DONE this not long ago... 

I hate shopping, so buy online most often...and if I'm paying attention, return things that don't work in a timely manner!  Guess I didn't need those after all...

Then there's the jewelry I've made when I was in my  polymer clay phase...I've sold some, given away some, some is in my Etsy store, and I still have three big glass-topped display cases from when a shop in town carried my work...they closed a couple of years ago...

Pottery supplies...I no longer have access to a kiln, so Joseph took those to the basement for me.  I haven't quite given up on that one!  Pottery is practical alchemy, and I love it.

But then there's the table loom in the attic...a friend wanted it but we haven't made connections.  In two years...

Fabric I'll never sew...happily much of that is perfect for my beloved niece Jenny Hearn, who supplements her income by sewing for RenFaires and such, so off more of it goes as we dig through our attic stash...

Books I've read but won't read again, books on hobbies I no longer have time (or interest) for...and oh dear, books I MEANT to read, but didn't.  (Books are hardest for me...Amazon resale, sometimes, giveaway sometimes, but oh dear Lord so many, MANY more...)

Sometimes I sketch those things I've had trouble letting go of--so I still have them in my journal but I don't need them taking up room in my home--OR in my head.

I still have two of these--I love the M-86 from Hero and the little Noodler's pens, but the middle one has gone to a new home...along with a lot of my other fountain pens...

I am keeping those things I use frequently--ink pens that work, that glide, that make marks I like.  The others go.

Watercolor palettes that I use and depend on, and that are light enough to travel.  (At this age, I consider carefully the weight of my tools and equipment, often weighing them on the postal scale before packing for a trip.)

Paint colors I love and that do what I want them to--I'm not tempted by the latest triad, the tricksy new color, the faddish, interference colors and all.

Brushes that feel good in the hand and make the kind of marks my soul needs--like dancing.

Clothes that fit and flatter and suit my elusive and somewhat quirky "style."  COMFORT is essential, at my age, but I don't care to look like the iconic Walmart shopper (not that I even own a pair of pajama-bottoms...)  I don't care what's in, or proper, or "right for my age"...if I like it and it's comfortable, it stays.  If not...out.

Shoes that don't hurt, feel good, and offer just a bit of support--those definitely earn a place in my closet.  I just recently found some wonderful Japanese sandals that I've just lived in this summer...so more of the others go in the giveaway box!

Kitchen gadgets I actually USE get to stay; kitchen gadgets as "decor" are edging out the door.  I have an eclectic collection of old knives that are definitely part of my life as sometime cook.  They work, they hold an edge, they feel good in the hand.  Others?  Long gone.

And of course I need to "have an accord" with my husband; when I'm seriously into giveaway mode, nothing is safe!  He recently took a little camera back out of the box...ooops...

And yes, sometimes I list on eBay--look for Katestreasures or click the link.  Vintage ink pens, a big watercolor box I haven't used in an age, reenacting gear I no longer use...

And of course the books and CDs we publish via our small company, Graphics/Fine Arts Press, like this one...but then that's a whole different kettle of codfish.  We don't want to run out of those!

But oh my, listing/selling is a pain in the patoot!  Shooting photos, writing descriptions, packing things up, shipping...happily I am seeing that light at the end of THAT particular tunnel!  (Or so I tell myself...)

We haven't tried Craigslist, but sometimes Freecycle is a good option--list it and they come and take it away!

Except...when they don't show up.

How do I decide what goes and what stays?  Sometimes it's easy.  Sometimes the recycle bins are full to overflowing.  Some things I wonder why I kept them at ALL.  Sometimes I put things in the giveaway box, and take them back out, and put them back in, and...

But as a general rule, I keep things that are needful, useful, or that feed my soul.  

So Discardia remains satisfying and feels like progress, however glacial...and Andy Couturier's wonderful A Different Kind of Luxury continues to inspire me. I have lived with a whole lot less...and I am aiming for that fresh, open place again.

Life's Little Ironies

Isn't it ironic that in search of simplicity--my ongoing Discardia and all--I seem to "need" more books about simplicity?  (Mind you, I have books on the subject I bought in the 1960s...and 70s...and...)

I am terribly tempted by "A Handmade Life: In Search of Simplicity"...and just got Breathing Room recently.  And glad I did.


And absolutely LOVING Andy Couturier's A Different Kind of Luxury:Japanese Lessons in Simple Living and Inner Abundance.

A lifelong interest in Japan, China, and India and other ancient cultures makes that one a natural...combined with the simplicity and creativity of the people in this book, I find myself drawn to ancient craftsmanship all over again.

Making tea on my little pottery majmar from Morocco, cooking in our tagine, binding books, culturing food, growing a garden, printing fabric, hand sewing, making my own art supplies...

And so, I am treating myself to reading breaks daily.  And find myself more and more inspired to get rid of excess Stuff.

Except books...

I am, however, going to be crowded out of house and home, and finding time to read all this is problematical.

Not to mention time to listen to my various meditation CDs...

Ironic.  Yes.