WEEK 17. さようなら

I've enjoyed reporting on my project of tidying-up my home and my life and I hope readers have also enjoyed reading these blogs.  Unfortunately, I have to take an indefinite break from posting.  I wish you well on your own path.

[The title characters are in Japanese in honor of Marie Kondo and mean 'good bye'.]

WEEK 16. THE MISSING MONK

The head on the tall monk comes off.

I don't know where I am in the chronological order suggested by Marie Kondo. But I've moved on from kitchen equipment to what I call 'linens'. Although I don't think I have any of these items actually made from linen, that is still what house-keeping books call them: sheets, pillowcases, blankets, towels (bath and kitchen), washcloths, and so forth. I decided to start working on the items in my 'linen' closet and in a cabinet under one of our guest bathroom sinks, which has a lot of miscellaneous towels.

It's amazing what you can find in a place you haven't looked at in a long time. Under the sink I found holiday hand towels, plus various containers of sea shells collected on vacations, plus an item that my husband hadn't been able to find for several years. It is the tall ceramic monk in the picture. He bought the set while stationed in Germany many years ago. The little monk mug we had on a bookshelf but we couldn't find the taller one with a removable head. I have no idea why it was stashed away at the back of a sink cabinet. Perhaps one year I set up a Christmas scene on the bathroom counter and when putting the items away I decided in a post-Holiday deranged state that it would take less room if kept in that room. They are Goebels, sometimes known as Hummels.

I also rediscovered some curtains I inherited from my mother that I can't bear to get rid of. In the picture is a very wide one, about six feet long. I also have three smaller ones about two feet wide, featuring an angel, a horse, and an unknown object, possibly a misshapen sailing ship. All the windows in our house have blinds.  We don't have any curtains or draperies. If anyone has a suggestion on what I can do with these curtains, please leave a comment with your ideas. I'd also like to know the name of the process used to create them. Is it knitting, crocheting, tatting, or what ?

                                                                                                                                        

What process was used to make this curtain?

Of course, I've wandered fairly far from linens—although I guess the curtains might be included in the subject. But what about the towels I found. First, I put all of the Holiday towels in a box, labeled in big letters, so I could easily find them. Did I discard any? What do you think?

And I didn't discard any of the worn and raggy towels or wash cloths because they are now in the rag box under the utility room sink. At least they are now where they can be used up and then thrown away.

The area under the bathroom sink is now organized and nothing is hidden. It includes a set of decorative mirrors I need to use or give away; containers of sea shells I will send to grandchildren, a box of holiday towels, clearly labeled. And of course extra 'bathroom tissue.'

I know I mentioned a linen closet at the start of this post, that will have to wait until next week.

WEEK 15. HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Many cultures start a new year by cleaning out accumulated clutter. And after a wonderful gift-glutted season I have even more reason to get rid of items that no longer bring me joy. But I still have the Christmas decorations to put away. I know everyone else in the word has already done this. But we have a tradition in our family to keep them up until after two special birthdays. Our first child was born on January 6, Epiphany. So we started keeping decorations up until after his birthday. Of course the Catholic church decided that Epiphany is now celebrated on the first Sunday after New Year's Day. It doesn't make any difference to our family of free thinkers since seven years later (including two other children) our fourth and youngest child was born January 8. To keep life fair, we extended Christmas decorations until after her birthday. At least we get our money's worth out of the work of setting up the trees, wreaths, garlands, candles, nativity sets (three large and three miniature), which take several days.

Some bowls I need to 'triage.' The heart one isn't mentioned.

This year as I put items away, I hope to use the Kondo method to try (notice the word, try) to reduce the number of them. I foreshadowed this problem in Week 10, when I mentioned the number of decorated trees we favor. Oh well, while I wait for January 8 to be over, I'll continue the work started on my kitchen for Thanksgiving.

I did reduce the store of gelatine bowls in the garage (mentioned in an earlier blog). My daughter read it and said she wanted one as she was going to have a retro Christmas dinner. So it's now in Oak Park, IL. Unfortunately, I increased the number of mixing bowls. I had bought a set of stainless steel for a gift, but then discovered a nicer set of plastic bowls that also included a measuring cup and a colander which I wrapped up instead. One thing about mixing bowls is that at least they stack so don't take up much room.

My problem with bowls comes from ceramic, glass, and silver ones. I just counted thirteen:

   a Victorian style, pressed glass on a stand (from my mother's living room);

   clear glass with silver rim and smaller bowl for dip and teeny bowl for toothpicks (wedding gift);

   old-fashioned red with white interior (mother's kitchen);

   1940s cream with pastel flowers (mother);

   four clear glass with varying design styles, including a tied basket;

   a large yellow, red and blue Mexican style;

   large, flat bowl with raised ceramic vegetables around the rim (gift);

   two silver bowls for 'fancy' parties (wedding gifts),

   and a heavy wooden one for tossed salads.

If your eyes are rolling, wondering why I'm listing all these, its because I'm sure you also have lots of bowls tucked away in your cupboards and drawers and maybe even under your bed. You don't realize how much of anything you have until you either put them all together (as the book recommends) or you list them. I found these not only in the kitchen, but dining room buffet, linen closet, and on some bookshelves. In fact as I'm typing this I looked up saw--yikes, another glass bowl, filled with my husband's matchbook collection.

In my case, these non-mixing bowls serve different purposes. So it isn't just a matter of whether they give me joy but whether I no longer need them to fill a purpose or if I can stand to give away items my mother used when I was a little girl.

Marie Kondo acknowledges in her book, that sentimental objects are the most difficult to discard. She gives various rationales for allowing yourself to discard them. You would think kitchen items are the most easy to get rid of, but they can hold lots of memories. No wonder one of the most successful advertising campaigns used the slogan, “Nothing's as loving as something from the oven.”

WEEK 14. CHRISTMAS VACATION

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to Everyone.

I have to put my tidy up project on hold while I deal with all the wonderful duties associated with a family Christmas. I hope to be back to discarding after the first of the New Year. So look for the next installment on Tuesday, January 5, 2016 !!!  

WEEK 13. KITCHEN KAPERS

Do Too Many Utensils
Spoil the Broth?

In many cultures, thirteen is bad luck. I hope this week brings the opposite. Good luck to everyone.

Last week I gave up on sorting books and went on to what Marie Kondo calls komono, 'miscellaneous things'. I can't pile all these objects up because in my house, and most non-Asian houses, they must number in the thousands. So I will focus on one subcategory at a time.

I'm not a realtor but I recognize that even kitchens have prime locations and only the most used and useful items should be taking up prime space. Other items can be placed on the 'other  side of the tracks' to be brought out when necessary or even discarded if they no longer spark joy.

Or in my case, put in garage cupboards to wait for the final ride to the charity thrift shop. Right now in the garage cupboards I have gelatin molds. Nobody eats gelatin desserts or salads, but their products can look pretty so I keep them in case I want to make a beautiful, shimmering, ruby red Holiday side dish.

To make sure useful objects relegated to the garage are not forgotten, I have a list of them on the inside of a kitchen cupboard door. My list now reads: six large and sixteen individual copper molds, two ceramic casseroles with lids, crème brulee torch and four ramekins, cookie making stuff, a Santa Claus mold, four flat sea shells for baking (remember those), thirty-six tartlet pans, snail shells and holders for escargots, and two tin pie plates. 

None of those items, except the crème brulee torch, has been used in years. Ms. Kondo would insist I get rid of them. BUT I have the room and I do like to cook, so I will keep them a little longer. “Don't do as I do, do as Marie says.”

On our kitchen counters I have five decorative crocks stuffed with important kitchen utensils. I laid them all out, and planned to keep one of each and put the others, where else but the garage. My husband, who also likes to cook, came along and I asked if there were any he used and wanted to keep on the counter. Out of twenty-three utensils, three went to the garage. Hmmm.

Before I went on to the pots and pans and dishes, I decided to work on the pantry, which consists of two lower corner cupboards, which I call round-abouts, since they have of two tier lazy susans. The one by the sink and work counter holds pastas, rice, soups, baking supplies. That cupboard mainly just needed cleaning and rearranging. All the products will be used.

he other cupboard is across the kitchen and contains coffee supplies, snack items (cookies, crackers, and nuts), a backlog of jams, and pie fillings which I buy on sale and then forget about. I also found two cans of cranberry sauce, I guess from last Thanksgiving, and since I have a bag of frozen cranberries in the freezer, also from last TG, I need to pay more attention to 'inventory'. According to the use by dates, these items will still be good to use this year. I hope my friends who are coming for TG dinner will not read this blog.

Several years ago when I was reorganizing the kitchen, I put labels on the dishware shelves. As time went by things were put in different places and the labels no longer made sense, so that was something I redid to reflect what was actually on each shelf now.  If only people would pay attention to the labels when they put things away.

In addition to serving bowls and platters, I have 'everyday' plates of dark blue which I just read make food look unappetizing. So I guess they should help us lose weight. LOL. 

 I moved our 'good' wedding china, plain white Haviland with swirled edges that I bought so they would look good on different colored cloths, from the dining room buffet to the kitchen cupboards so I will use them more often. At one time I collected 'vintage' plates with different floral designs. (Remember my 'vintage' Christmas books from a previous blog?)  I stopped searching for different plates when I had twelve. They are now in the family room cupboard that I cleared out of magazines. I am working up the moral courage to discard them. But I still like them.

That's my downfall I like everything. I need to become more discriminating.  I wonder what Marie Kondo would say to someone who says she likes everything.

I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner filled with friends, family, and good food. And maybe a less few objects this year! 

WEEK 12. SO MANY BOOKS, SO LITTLE TIME

Thanksgiving covers from last week's blog
about magazines.

At one time I collected vintage Christmas books, such as The Twelve Days of Christmas by Miles & John Hadfield, published in 1961with beautiful illustrations. I bought it in Mona Mia's Antiques at 1200 Decatur Street in New Orleans in 1990 for five dollars. I know because I use the receipt as a bookmark. I stopped collecting Christmas books when I realized I had too many to display properly during the festive season. But how can I discard these books that still give me pleasure?

I also have more than 125 cookbooks. This does not count books about food, like the memoir, French Fried: The Culinary Capers of an American in Paris by Harriet Welty Rochefort. Just holding any of these books not only makes me happy, but makes me want to open it up and start reading. Not the best thing to do while trying to simplify your life.

In The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up, the author recognizes that books are one of three hardest things to let go. She describes asking a client to “Please start by removing every book from your shelves and putting them all on the floor.” The client argues that it'd be easier if they were kept on the shelf so the titles could be read. But Marie insists each book must be held so the owner can decide if there is a spark of joy.

She devotes ten pages to books, explaining why they are difficult to discard but why they can be discarded. In my case, I hope I can discard some but I know it will be hard. Yvonne, a good friend, once gave me a beautiful, purple tote bag featuring a quotation from Thomas Jefferson that she said described me, “I cannot live without books.” Using e-readers, I-pads, computers, and phones to read books is very efficient and easy. And as I stated on Day 1, I first read Marie Kondo's book on my phone, but eventually had to buy a paper copy. I think most bookaphiles (bibliophiles) love to hold a real book in their hands. You can smell the paper and ink on them. You can flip back if you forgot someone's name, or need to know what town are they in now. You also can turn to the back cover to answer the question, who on earth wrote this? All much easier with paper than electronically. But real books do take up room.

A friend who retired to a much smaller apartment in a retirement community, showed off her only bookcase. I felt like crying for her, although she seemed pleased with the fact that she would have room for less than thirty books. For me, that's one shelf.

I do have paperback mysteries and other fiction that I should be able to discard easily. But I'm not always sure I've already read the book and I'd hate to discard something I haven't read yet. Because my memory (for minor details!) is not too great, I've started to write in each book where and when I bought it and how much I paid for it or who gave it to me. Then when I read it, I also add the date I finish reading it. If you need help, I recommend it. It refreshes your memory. I do it in pencil so if I do give the book away, I can erase this information.

For this project I can't possibly detail all that I'll have to go through.  I'll just focus on my collection of mysteries and start by piling them all together as the author suggests.

Well, I tried.  I am a failure. Each time I pick up a book, if I don't feel a spark of joy, I feel a very strong desire to sit down and start reading it as the only way to determine if I can discard it.  I can't work on this project right now.

If you are reading this, I'm sorry if I let you down as to this section of the project. Books are going to have to wait until I have gone through every other category. The next one, after papers and books, is komono which in Japanese refers to miscellaneous items. Marie Kondo points out too many people live surrounded by things they don't need, 'just because.' She lists the groups under this heading on page 106. Kitchen goods/food supplies is down at number nine on her list of ten. But since Thanksgiving is next week and I only have time to do one item, I will work on that one to get ready for the biggest food holiday of the year. Since I do enjoy cooking, it will be interesting to see what I discard. I have opened up some cupboards by discarding many magazines last week. The picture that accompanies this post are of food magazine covers that featured Thanksgiving turkeys. I kept all of them.  

WEEK 11. MAGAZINE JUNKIE

I am a magazine junkie. My undergraduate major in journalism school was magazines—other options at the time were newspapers, TV, or advertising. I still love these periodicals. They are useful, easy to flip through, and have beautiful pictures. A picture of food (or beautiful sunset) on Facebook or your cell phone can't compete with a richly colored double page spread in a physical paper product.

Although I'm supposed to be ready to tidy up my books—after postponing that category for papers—I decided it would be best to clear out my saved magazines. I thought if I cleared out some room by discarding them, it would open up more space for the books I wanted to keep. My magazine library focuses on three major subjects: food/entertaining, decorating, and travel. These subjects and these publications still bring joy even though most of them are hidden away in cupboards that I only open when I'm cleaning.

My really secret vice—well not so secret anymore—is that I have the first twelve years of Traditional Home magazine. And I have moved them from large suburban home to post children condo to retirement home, and from Illinois to Wisconsin to California. But I did promise my husband that our cross country move would be the last time I moved them. I also have lots of old Gourmet issues and now that it's defunct, who knows, my collection may be valuable. [See previous blog comment about paper maps. I sometimes live in a dream world.]

I discarded very few magazines, but I did a great job of reorganizing them so I could fit other things in the family room cupboards. I did discard twenty copies of the New Yorker from 2003. I was never going to sit down and read the interesting and well written but very, very long articles. I was saving them to while away a rainy afternoon, but it never rains in southern California. The cartoons were still funny, but after a few laughs they had to go.

My saved food magazines include Bon Appetit, Gourmet, Cooking Light, and Cook's Illustrated. Every year about this time, I bring out their November issues and put them on an easily accessible shelf so I can thumb through them for Thanksgiving ideas. When our children were young, I always hosted the family TG dinner and sometimes had twenty-one family and friends at a series of tables that extended from the dining room into the living room. Now I'm lucky to have six to help eat the turkey.

I also set out all the December or Holiday issues of the food magazines, and those of Traditional Home, New Mexico, and Phoenix Home and Garden. Not only do they inspire me with pictures of others' decorations, but these issues expand my own experience of the happy season.

have not been the best tidy-upper according to Marie Kondo's expectations. Some of us are not able to let go of everything and live a minimal life. But I do think my life and its objects are coming under better control.

One problem she does not address in her book, is seasonal gifts. I have started collecting presents I want to give family and friends for Christmas. They are now spilling out all over my office, which I had just cleaned of unhappy papers. Eventually, I will set aside a time to wrap and mail them but in the meantime, they are taking up space.

Next week I hope to start on books. I know I won't finish them in one attempt. And I'm afraid they are going to be like my magazines. It will be hard to find any that don't bring me joy.