Wednesday 10 August 2016

Weeding.

Now that I am beginning to return to normal, although still not fully mobile, I am seriously beginning weeding.   Not the garden I hasten to add.

There is nothing like having a Professional decorator in to completely re-decorate a room to make one conscious that there are a lot of things in said room which really do not need to be there - and are not going back (this may need some serious negotiation with the farmer)

On the wall, alongside a large picture, which I love, are two hats - one is the farmer's panama trilby which he used to wear when the weather was hot.   As he has not worn it during the twenty three years we have been married, I think we can now consider it superfluous.  The other is a sombrero he bought (and wore) during a trip many years ago to Texas, when the weather was extremely hot.   He has not worn it since our return and it immediately joined the panama trilby on the wall.   So does it really need to be kept?

On the other side of the picture there is a mask I made to go to a masked party about fifteen years ago.   It is pretty but when I took it down I realised it was dusty and was now rather tatty.  

The walls, already coated with two coats of emulsion paint look far too pristine to have anything put on them other than the five pictures and the beach huts wall hanging I made.   So the weeding has begun and will also take in what is actually standing on top of the furniture.

And why stop there?   I have a pile of old picture frames which are well past their sell-by date - they can go too.   I am seriously considering then weeding my bookcases.   Three of them, crammed to bursting point and many of the books old, unread for many years and really no longer useful.

And so it has begun - in my mind at any rate.   This hoarding must stop - the weeding must begin.   Watch this space.

26 comments:

Derek Faulkner said...

A very good idea Pat. Many of us hang on too such stuff for far too many years without actually handling/close looking at it until situations like yours today make us realise what a load of dusty old junk we're stupidly hanging on to.

Beverley said...

Get rid of it. It all requires dusting and moving so streamline the house and make cleaning easier, freeing you up for the things you really want to do. Good luck, I am also married to a hoarder.

Rachel Phillips said...

Do it. If you don't, somebody else has to.

Chris said...

Good for you, Pat! It really is the hardest thing to part with "old stuff". There always seems to be a reason to hang on to it.

Margaret Butterworth said...

Please post a photo of your wall hanging!

Joanne Noragon said...

It's really not that difficult, I discovered. Even so, additional weeding was required when we moved here, and not just mine. Two young ladies discovered they really did not need to continue owning everything they had ever owned.

Wilma said...

Rachel has it right. You will feel so much lighter once you let go of "stuff" you don't need or value any longer.

donna baker said...

If only I had learned the spare and frugal equation many years ago, I wouldn't have to be lugging around heaving packing boxes and things to sell in my booth. Pretty much, nothing is sacred, except for a few things. It does feel good letting go. I just wish all my efforts would start to show.

Mary said...

Pat, just know you are definitely not alone.......AND that you are one of a huge group of women married/living with a man who although perhaps not a true hoarder, is getting close to being one! May I introduce my husband who can't let go of anything, and stockpiles new supplies "just in case". Can you hear my sighs of despair which just may become screams of anger if he doesn't sort through and dispose of his stuff soon!

Glad you're getting better dear.
Mary -

coffeeontheporchwithme said...

Oh I am a big fan of getting rid of things you don't need anymore. My husband, on the other hand, keeps things "just in case". There has been more than one occasion when he has utilized something he kept, I think just to prove me wrong! All I know is I don't want my kids to have to go through what I did when cleaning out my mother's home. -Jenn

Cro Magnon said...

I wish I could go around 'weeding'. Our house is desperate for some, but a certain person wouldn't allow it.

Librarian said...

It feels so good, doesn't it, to reduce the amount of "things" surrounding us, leaving only those things we really need or which mean the most to us. I did a lot of that in April of this year when I was swapping my bedroom and living room around, and they both had to be completely emptied of their contents.
Happy weeding, and I am really glad to hear you are better!

Maria said...

"Weeding" is disintoxicating. I am glad you are feeling better.
Greetings Maria x

A Heron's View said...

Start with your own personal effects first Pat, then be the decent person that you are and allow the Farmer to make his own choices.

Heather said...

It is astounding how things just accumulate without us realising. I have had several weeding sessions but still it happens. It is so satisfying when things have been rehoused in a charity shop or elsewhere. It seems to be energising too.

Unknown said...
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Minigranny said...

Every time we moved house in the past we moved a huge amount of stored stuff from one loft to another! It was a shock when,as we were downsizing, we actually went through the boxes for our last move and discovered what a load of old junk we had been taking with us.

SandyExpat said...

Lots of interesting comments to your post about weeding your stuff.

I have been working at this off and on for a couple of years. Our children have let us know they are not interested in any of it! So this week I "weeded" out 12 big bags of books that we donated to the ladies auxiliary hospital who have a huge book fair each year. It is very freeing to see them gone.

Last time our son was home he said "what is going to happen to all the stuff you have on the shelves" in other words get rid of it! I don't think young people collect ornaments or such do they nowadays - there homes really are quite clutter free. Maybe that is a good thing.

Frances said...

I join Margaret in requesting a photograph of your wall hanging.

I did my last major clear out when my apartment was painted several years ago. You've inspired me to have another look around to see what might no longer "need" to stay.

Please don't overdo this enthusiastic weeding while you are still sort of fragile. xo

Simon Douglas Thompson said...

You know, I've never been to a masked do, think it would be right up my street too. I love play acting and dressing up, even though I pretend not to.

jinxxxygirl said...

I do my absolute best to only keep what i LOVE.....and could not do without... If i don't LOVE it and if i cannot think of where i'am going to put it then it does not come home with me... That and the fact that we have moved twice in the last 4 years has really helped in the weeding out... Its funny too how perceptions change over time... something that felt oh so important and desirable to you several years ago you find now you can let it go......People beat themselves up too much about keeping too much stuff...there is a time and season for everything....... Good luck with your weeding out Pat... sounds like a good time to do it...Love to know what color you picked for your walls! Hugs! deb

angryparsnip said...

Super Super Idea ! Sometimes very hard to do. but easier when you are redoing a room.
Can not wait to know what your painted the walls and what you have tossed.
Yes, please show a photo of your wall hanging.

cheers, parsnip and thehamish

Sue said...

I can't imagine Farmer wearing a sombrero!

Gwil W said...

You know that old building at the top of that field you were after planning permission for . . . chuck it all in there for now and if you haven't needed any of it in the next 12 months you know it can all definitely go.

The Weaver of Grass said...

Thanks for your suggestions. Most folk seem to agree. My son called this afternoon and after going through what I was throwing in the dustbin in the morning, took some of it home, much to his wife's dismay. I shall have to do it in secret in future.
Will post photographs of said bedroom tomorrow.

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