Big League Decluttering

I'm on a decluttering high, intoxicated with the feeling of freedom of having eliminated several big items from our home.

 In the past six weeks we've sold two directors chairs, an antique wall mounted telephone, our 4' x 8' oak billiards table, given away a large china cabinet to a very loving family and gotten rid of the two loveseats from our living room.

"What will you sit on?" my mother-in-law queried. Sit? Who has time to sit when there's so much fun to be had decluttering? Okay that isn't quite accurate, let me explain. My (ever wise) husband and I were re-evaluating our home. We tossed around questions like:

• What do we need to be able to do in the spaces (rooms) of our home?
• Are we really fully using what we currently have?
• Is there a better use for that space?
• Is there anything that we need to be able to do that we cannot currently do because of space limitations?

We tried to forget the labels that were currently attached to the rooms (bedroom/living room) and keep our minds open about what certain rooms could be and how they could better serve us.

The Living Room

For a few years I had been dreaming of finding/buying/renting a commercial space where women could come and be creative and be pampered at the same time. Women's Summer Studio It seemed that every time I made an enquiry about a building that was for sale, there was already an accepted offer on it. It happened often enough that I wondered if I was heading in the wrong direction.

My husband suggested turning our main living area into a big art studio. I was really, really lukewarm about the idea, "But it’s our living room." I protested. "Yes", he agreed, "and the dogs sit on the furniture more than we do. Besides its big and light filled and has high ceilings and big windows...."

And that is what happened to the loveseats.... out they went.

The Billiard Table

We've had a very lovely oak billiard table in our family room for ten years. When our children were teens it got used quite often. But recently, with our children grown and having homes of their own, the table was seldom used.

What we found we were needing however was a larger dining area. Without a formal dining room and with an ever expanding family, dinners in the kitchen were becoming crowded. What if we sold the pool table and turned the family room, which is a few steps away from the kitchen into a dining room? Hmm, there's a thought ....but we didn't actually have dining room furniture.

But sometimes the universe just seems to conspire to make your dreams reality. It just happened that my cousin was moving; in her attic was a lovely dining room set that had belonged to her parents, complete with six chairs and a hutch. Perfect.

In came a dining room set.... out went the billiards table.

The Kitchen

Yes, we still have a kitchen but decided that a large china cabinet was taking up too much space, if not in reality then at least visually. My mom had loved that piece from the day we brought it home. We called my parents would they be able to take it? Yes. Wonderful. The china cabinet moved across town.

Remembering that space is just that space.... it's very liberating to imagine how different areas of our homes may be able to better serve our needs and our lifestyle.

Thank you for visiting My Turquoise Kettle Life today.

Wishing you an uncluttered day,
Sandra