The Never Ending Story

And you thought that one day the whole house would be cleaned, never to be messed up again?  How I wish that was true for me.  It really does seem to be a never ending story, so I keep removing items from the household, avoid buying anything we do not really need, and I fortify my mind and body to do more.  Or, in simpler language, I psych myself up to clean an area I have let get out of hand -- Again.

While we have been doing the first week of the November 2015 Kitchen Challenge, I have been sorting out my dining/office/craft room.  I was working on the old kitchen, also known as the breakfast room, but it ended up being a repository for things I had to get out of the way in the dining room.  Actually, it started the other way around.  I have been in this process of throw away, give away, rearrange, and I am happy with what I have in the dining room right now.

I did not take a picture of the dining room before this time, but it was unpleasant.  I had sewing things out that were not being used, because I did not even want to be in that room.  My sideboard was piled high, because I kept setting things there.  I have a great word for it: Yucky!  It looked awful.   And, I couldn't dust, because there was not any point in dusting the mess that I kept walking by.  I felt overwhelmed by it.

Here are some pictures.  I haven't done anything special to the dining table other than dust it, because I need to cut out some curtains.

November, 2015

October, 2014

If you could see the plates, you would see that they have blue, orange, red, green, and yellow in the design.  I see a rolled up wall hanging in the left corner; but quite frankly, this is an undecided item for me, which I cannot quite bring myself to let go.  I keep thinking I may have someplace to put it someday.  I could bring myself to give it away to someone who really loved it.  So yes, I do have things I am undecided on giving away.  I guess I will have to put it in the cedar chest or a closet.

On the Left:

I am so proud of my craft corner.  It has been vacuumed, dusted, and reorganized.  My paints and other small items have gone into drawers.  I used to have other things in those drawers, but I threw away the things that have been there for too long, put some Christmas towels in a giveaway bag, and I put the Christmas hand towels I wanted to keep in a closet with other towels.


 On the Right:

That is my poor breakfast room table that got things piled on it again;  however, I have been setting my timer and it is almost cleared.

Here I am viewing the breakfast room into the kitchen.  Can you see I was dusting?

The picture below shows a work in progress.  I moved my coffee maker, and I don't like the way this looks.  However, the important thing is it is clean.  While I have been working on other areas, I continue to work on the kitchen.  I am keeping up with it.  How are you doing with yours?  Do it as you go along every day, and it will be easier than letting it pile up.

Finally, I want to say a word about older kitchens versus newer kitchens.  If you are anything like me, you admire the gorgeous kitchens in magazines, as well as those featured on the internet.  The house I lived in prior to this one had beautiful granite counter tops and everything in it was new.  It belonged in a magazine.  Due to circumstances beyond my control, I had  to move.  I missed that kitchen, but I was very sick when we lived at that house and it was hard for me to clean. As lovely as that whole house was, I did not enjoy it when it was messy and cluttered.

Simplicity is the key.  
If you have all kinds of gadgets and no room for them, it merely ends up being frustrating.  If your house is full of things you have not used for years, you are doing yourself a disservice by surrounding yourself with clutter.  





Finally, this week the November 2015 Kitchen Challenge continues.  We are building habits.  Each day, I will post a new challenge on my Facebook page.  Join me at Fatigue, Creative Decluttering, and a Better Life.