I finally got around to some Spring Cleaning this week that was obviously long overdue.
One of the things that stood out to me while cleaning out one of our corner cabinets is how many candles and flower vases we have accumulated over the years.
We have not burned a candle in our house in a few years (except during the occasional power outage), yet we never seem to throw any of them out, and we kept receiving more as gifts. There are now no candles in our house.
While the vases have gotten some use over the years, there were many that were just taking up space. I think we ended up throwing out close to 20 vases.
I like the feeling of getting rid of stuff that is rarely, if ever used or looked at.
We plan to continue the purge over the next few weeks.
When I mentioned to my wife and son that I was going to start this decluttering, I said the only things safe in the house were the two of them and our dog. Everything else was up for discussion.
I know the hardest thing for me will be trying to decide which, if any, of our kids’ school projects to keep and which to toss. I know there are many that we have not looked at in years, but I have trouble getting rid of them, and all our kids are now in their 30s.
I’m also helping that the house purge coincides with a weight purge. I’ve heard of the freshmen 15; I wonder if there is a thing called the COVID 10.
In the meantime, I’m keeping my fingers crossed that there are no power outages in our future, or at least not until someone gives us a candle as a gift…
*image from FTD
The argument for getting rid of vases is how much room those suckers take up.
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they certainly do, and as a result. I’ve freed up a decent amount of cabinet space. Unfortunately, I am sure it will be filled up in no time with something else…
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Good for you, getting rid of all that clutter. It sucks doing the work, but it’s so nice having all that cleared up space.
My favorite charity is our local thrift store. I give my junk to them, and we both benefit.
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I think most of my stuff is below thrift store quality…
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You can also rent a dumpster.
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we plan to do so in a couple of weeks!
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I too have been on a long process of decluttering. One of my hardest projects was what to do with all the treasures I had saved from my now adult children. I finally decided to take much of it and put in a large ziplock bag what belonged to each child and then gifted it to them privately so they could take home. This way they could look through, reminisce, and decide if they wanted to share some items such as old school report cards with their own children. It has been fun to hear them commenting with enjoyment about some of their findings. Now their childhood treasures are with them. I too feel your pain about candles. Enjoyed your post.
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That’s a great idea about giving your children’s treasures to them to make the decision. I am sure ti would create a fun conversation with their own kids. And yes, candles were everywhere…
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I think you are tempting fate by getting rid of the candles!
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fingers crossed! 🙂
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I had to dispose of a lot of stuff when I downsized a few years ago. I solved the problem of my sons’ childhood souvenirs by passing them back to my sons.They are neither lost nor destroyed… just not here 😉
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I like that solution, although two of my sons do not live close by…
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Just load them up or box them 😉
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that sounds like work! 🙂
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It’s a good feeling getting rid of stuff – until you start looking for something and can’t remember if you’ve thrown it out or not. 🙂
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maybe I should write a blog about everything I throw out and everything I keep – that can serve as my official record… 🙂
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I have also been doing a lot of spring cleaning, Jim. We also get candles as gifts and I don’t keep them either. As SA gets loads of power failures, I give them to people who need them. We have a generator. Your wife and son are lucky they are safe. With my boys writing on-line exams, I think they might be the first to go this week [hahahaha!].
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We’ve thought about a generator – if we were going to stay in our house another 10 years, I think we would have bought one. Maybe while your sons are writing their exams you can clean out their rooms… and if you still need space after that, then they are fair game as well 🙂
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Now I know what to give you as a gift on the holidays. I wonder if they sell candles in bulk?….🤔 Great post, as always!
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thanks, Brad, for your thoughtfulness. I’ll be thinking of you when I write “Return to Sender”… 🙂
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I am known for my purging skills and for ‘putting things back out in the universe.’ when I moved last year, I only took things that I really loved or needed with me, or 1 of something not 7. it’s a process but sounds like you’re on your way. best of luck to the family.
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thanks, Beth. You should hire yourself out – seems like such a skill is in great demand these days!
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Snap we are working through the house it was the dining room today and tomorrow one of the kitchens..Purging as we go..Good exercise though we will sleep well tonight and have earnt our sundowners…I haven’t that many vases I did purge before we came here…:)
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That’s the same sort of process we are going through. And it works different muscles that I’m not used to using, so I was a little bit tired afterward as well. And a nice cold beer was my reward!
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I would love to have a bit of a tidy, but sorting stuff goes hand in hand with taking bags to the charity shop or stuff to the council rubbish tip for recycling, but they all closed in lock down! They have opened since, but we’re still isolating. I thought you were going to say your threw out all the vases and then received several bouquets of flowers. I have three vases I inherited ten years ago that I would never part with, but it was only this year it occurred to me I could actually put water in them and use them for my Mother’s Day flowers!
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We are taking it slowly. And as for the vases, we have saved a few that were special gifts, so we’ve got a place to put some flowers!
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You are very industrious, Jim.😄 I think you will have no problem staying busy whenever you decide to retire. Not making any suggestions.
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I’ll be busy wasting time when I retire! 🙂
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Good choice. 🤣
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Power outages are common here… well, aside from the occasional scheduled maintenance, when a storm hits, there’s bound to be an outage. If you don’t want candles in your house, you better have some emergency lights available, at least.
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Sounds like candles are essential items for you!
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Those candles look gorgeous ❤
And it's truly hard to get rid of anything that bring back memories.
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yes, it is the memories that make it hard to throw things out…
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We need to do this, but I lack your courage and determination…good job!
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Hopefully the momentum continues – there’s lots left to do!
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When I send flowers for Mother’s Day or a birthday, I’ve stopped getting the vase.
My mother used to have a ton of them.
It’s just a waste of glass once you have two or three of them.
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Exactly; you only need a couple. I’m sure your mom loves getting the flowers, even more so without the vase!
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