Friday, March 16, 2018

Motherly Advice....Streamline your space...Calm your mind...


I avoid decluttering for the sake of it.
 
Now and again, one or the other of my favourite bloggers will have a Decluttering Challenge. I avoid them like the plague. I am the sort of person who becomes attached to my 'stuff', and every time I get enthused about tossing a few things, I suffer terrible grief and remorse afterwards. I still almost cry when I think of the time I threw out my Nannas button tin. Sob...

So this leads to lots of stuff, and I just have to be in the mood for a cleanout to do something about it.

I usually try to motivate myself by buying a treat, and then sternly telling myself I cannot have it or use it, until I've done my declutter.

This week, I had a couple of treats in store for myself.

First of all, a new gold and white keyboard, mouse and mouse mat for my computer desk. Look here they are....


Both are available at Amazon.com here.

I would have also liked a white monitor, but that will have to wait for now.

Meanwhile, that was the kick I needed to clean up my desk, which up to this point was groaning under a mountain of un-filed paperwork, pens and pencils and various other bits and bobs that just never found their way to their real home.

Now I always believe the Universe provides, and I'd been wanting a Ghost chair like this...


...since forever. I have a glass computer desk and I just knew this was the right chair for me. Well lo and behold, as soon as I'd tidied my desk area, one turned up at a local thrift store for $20. Thankyou Universe.

Now these are usually styled with a white faux fur throw rug over them. This is because the acrylic isn't the most comfortable thing to sit upon for long periods. The throw feels very luxurious by comparison.

 
But being that I don't go around making my own life difficult, as I've mentioned here and here, I chose instead to have a soft cocoa coloured throw, sourced at IKEA in the clearance section for $45 some months ago. It's been on my daughters bed, but sorry kiddo, it's mine now!

 


Now the funny thing about a good tidy and toss, is that suddenly things you don't normally notice are cast into high relief. See above that dreadful tangle of cables and cords. Well...now it was annoying me. Ahhh...it's a curse, I tell you.
 
None of the recommended solutions for cable tidying were relevant here as they all involved hiding a wire basket or channel of some sort under the surface of the (timber usually) desk, and my desk is glass. So then I decided to just put a screen in front of the cable and cord mess to hide it. A fire screen sprung to mind but upon searching, I realised that they're just a framed picture on feet. I had a framed picture...no feet...but it fitted nicely under my desk, effectively hiding the cords. Not a Man solution, but a good Woman type one!
 
As time goes on, I know the Universe will provide me with a more suitable screen...perhaps something also white, that would be nice. I'm patient.
 

 
Meanwhile we're looking better than we were. I have my DIY Chanel art on the wall, an Eiffel Tower poster purchased in Paris in 2008 in front of me, another Eiffel Tower print at my feet to hide cord clutter, a Ghost Chair with lambswool  throw, and gold and white paraphernalia on the way.
 
Total cost? About $40. And much peace of mind achieved.
 
 
 While I was at it, I also tidied our bookcase. It's now a haven of tidily organised fiction reads, sandwiched between two ends of cookbooks, anthologies, and Aromatherapy tomes.


Serenity Reigns.
 
I find that when I do a decent declutter...by which I mean tidying and tossing that which is no longer useful NOT discarding family heirlooms...I feel lighter somehow. 
 
I also feel more motivated to tackle other tasks, as if my brain has had a Spring clean.
 
What about you?
 
I can't wait for my new keyboard, mouse and mouse pad to arrive now. I've earned it!
 
...Mimi... 



9 comments:

  1. Mimi, I can't believe you got rid of a button tin! Ouch! I still have my old tin that mum had. I rescued it before my sister threw it out as she was getting mum's house ready for sale. Later on I realised she must have thrown out mum's handwritten recipe book :-( My sister likes decluttering.

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    1. I know Chel. I could kick myself. So many memories in that gold and black tin. I don't even know what it was originally. Probably a biscuit tin, but I've never seen one like it anywhere. Silly me. Sigh. As for throwing out your Mums handwritten recipes...well...gulp...and sigh again. Mimi xxx

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  2. Ohh I love your computer area !My laptop usually sits on my knee , and our dinasaur computer did sit on a glass table of rectangular shape,but we put the pc away and moved the two glass desks upstairs to our office and one is my craft table and other holds the office work centre /printer.
    Good sourcing of the the ghost chair ! You are a pateint gal :-) well done !
    Ive tried all sorts of decluttering styles but I remain the cluttery type of my father's culture.I tweak here and there and try to keep on top of it all .
    That is a fancy gold keyboard ! enjoy ! Love Maria xxx

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    1. Maria, I've entertained the idea of succumbing to Laptop-dom, but I think it would actually annoy me...lol! I love my little computer corner. It's one of my creative havens. I am a somewhat cluttery person too, but do not want to be one of those people who leaves clutter to their family to sift through when they're gone. So as I move towards my 60s, I also move towards a bit of a minimalist look. It's a big step! Love, Mimi xxx

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  3. Mimi Inlove your space. I am on a mission too here at my place. And I agree.... you know there will be a generation with no family heirlooms as they were all tossed. I have my Great Great Grandmas silk crochet, dresses Nan made my Mother, letters Great Gran stashed in her Bible... down to the smocked dresses my girls wore. But out go many random things that are just a waste of space. I also have tossed things Ive regretted! But a calm work space is so good! Currently I have no desk so I am working on that! xxx

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    1. Thanks Annabel. Yes, I find it sad that heirlooms are no longer considered treasure. It's all about digitizing everything, but that's just not the same as holding a piece of family history in your two hands. Sad really. I love that you have so many such treasures. I do too, so the loss of one button tin shouldn't bother me. But it does nonetheless. Like I said...it's a curse (but also a blessing!). Good luck with finding your own desk corner...Love, Mimi xxx

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  4. You've made that corner a very cosy place to sit. Cables are a pain, however, wireless was more painful I found so I returned to cables. You solution to covering them up looks good in the photo. You will find something that will be perfect. I found a small chalk painted timber table at a garage sale today for $5.00. I'm going to put my printer on it and get rid of the not very lovely grey melamine storage cube that mine sits on and see it's an improvement. Not much lost if it's not.
    Enjoying all your new posts. Have a great week. Janiebabe xx

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    1. Hi Janie. I think it's important to have little corners of creativity in the home. How else does one escape the hubbub of life? We can't all flit off to a desert island twice a week, now, can we? Yes the framed pic is a good temporary solution. Unfortunately, it does look temporary, so I'm still keen to find a fire screen that I like that fits my budget. I found a beautiful one with needlepoint white lilies, but it was out of my price range and a pickup only from somewhere a long way from me anyway. That's okay. I know from experience that if I'm patient, one will find ME. Your table sounds like one of those ultimate finds...a simple thing for next to nothing, that makes such a difference. It certainly sounds an improvement on your cube...lol! Wishing you a lovely week too Janie. Mimi xxx

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I love hearing from you! I always respond to comments, so don't be shy! Mimi xxx