Life After Decluttering – Upstairs

 

For six solid months, from December 1^st through May 31^st, I have been on a serious decluttering journey.  I got rid of much more stuff than I had ever imagined I would when I began this adventure.  I have taken three full truckloads of items to donate to the thrift store, given away a ton of stuff on Facebook, to friends and some neighbors, set out more recycling bins stuffed full than I can count as well as a few very full trash bins at the curb for collection and even loaded up my truck and hauled a good sized load of yard debris and junk to the dump.  It was a lot of work, but now I’m so very happy I did it.  My home feels “lighter” now and in many ways so do I and my mind is much clearer as I navigate through my days, an unexpected bonus.

 

To look at my bedroom it doesn’t appear that much has changed.  For the most part I’ve kept a pretty minimalist bedroom for nearly ten years now so the majority of the work I did in there was to go through the closet purging clothing, shoes, linens and a lot of sentimental items that had been stored and ignored for ages.  Sentimental items can be tough, really tough, but once I was done I felt much better.  I no longer have sentimental items in my bedroom closet, just clothes.  The linen closet holds only the sheets and blankets I use on a regular basis as well as extra cleaning supplies, laundry supplies, bathroom supplies and toiletries which have also been pared down to only items I use to take care of my home.

 

The bathroom appears the same as well, however the cabinet under the sink holds a lot less stuff than it used too.  I keep four bath towels, four hand towels, a few cleaning supplies and a few extra rolls of TP under there.  The drawers contain four wash cloths and only the items I use on a daily basis to get ready for bed or to start my day.

 

The second bedroom upstairs is the guest room and also my new sewing area.  I gave away the captains bed that used to be in here because it was dark and really heavy making it difficult to move and clean under.  The drawers were too shallow for much storage and it proved to be a waste of space as well.  I replaced the bed with a new metal platform frame that can be folded and stored and a new mattress.  After decluttering I had three empty under the bed storage containers that fit perfectly underneath that now hold all of my fabrics.  All organized, easy to get to and a much better use of the space underneath the bed.

 

I removed one of the bookshelves from this room and placed it in the downstairs hall closet.  This opened up a space for me to add a small sewing table and a much more comfortable chair for me to sit in while I’m working.  After decluttering my sewing stuff I was able to neatly organize what I had chosen to keep.

 

I added a new ironing board and a new Rowenta iron to this room.  My old ironing board was a bear to open and close and my previous iron had an automatic shutoff, however it would shut itself off while I was using it and I found that rather frustrating.  As I age I find my eyesight isn’t what it used to be so the brighter spare bedroom makes for a much better and more comfortable place for me to sew and work on my vintage doll rehab and repair projects.  It has been a very good change.  The closet now holds only the extra linens for this room, my post pandemic TP supply, a small collection of board games to play when I have company and the gift wrap organizer.

 

The upstairs portion of my home is extremely easy to clean and maintain and I spend very little time doing so.  Each room serves its purpose very well while the clutter free spaces make it all feel really good.  I’ve truly been enjoying the changes I have made and I honestly don’t miss any of the things I got rid of.