Saturday, September 10, 2016

Restorative home.












The days are so very short here. We have glimmering moments of the summer days of our youth, when the air is crisp but the sun is warm. Football days, I call them, because that's what they are and what they should be.

I'm overwhelmed by all the things I want to get done. This is a constant state of my life. I read an article about the level of stress a woman carries and its connection to her material possessions. The study asks its participants to verbally describe their home as if they were giving a tour. The number of words used to describe a cluttered home and a restorative home were noted, then compared to the cortisol levels of the women who used them. Not surprisingly, the women who had cluttered homes, or described them as such, had higher levels of the stress hormone. This makes so much sense to me.

So, I am dispossessing a great many things. I am not a person who does this easily. I started with my closet and instead of hauling it all to Goodwill, I took several of my smaller sized career pieces to a friend. It felt very hard to do at the time, but the fact that she appreciated them so much fueled my refining fire. Now I look at my closet and wonder why I didn't take more.

I am working now on my craft space and the boxes from our old house that probably should have never made the trip in the first place. It is stressful for me, but I had this realization that the craft space would be so much more lean if I would just DO the project that I set out to get done in the first place, instead of just hoarding the requirements. Then instead of storing yards and yards of fabric and batting and thread (and, and, and) I could store a quilt, on a rack or on a bed, and bring beauty to my home instead of clutter.

A restorative home. Yes, please. To be continued...



7 comments:

  1. Amanda...this is not an easy process, but it is a healing one. Give yourself time to take each item and be honest be yourself about keeping it or passing it on. Hoarding, and I am guilty of this myself, is a disease in my eyes. It spreads so quickly that we must be vigilant at all times.

    A restorative home...I like that :o) mari

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  2. I find that it takes a couple of go throughs to clean out spaces. I have yarn that is over 30+ years old that was my mother's. I was going to sell it and then just couldn't. Such a struggle but it's a tie to my mom and I can't let go. However, I have donated probably two to three hug bag fulls over those 18 years that I've owned it. So I am making progress!!!

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  3. I loooove this. (Also, please feel free to dispossess yourself of wardrobe items at any time.)

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  4. I very much come from a family of collectors, I've been feeling the need to cull but not really in the mind space yet. Good to know that there are people in the same mindset to de-clutter their home and life. -Sierra

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  5. oh I am SO right there with you. trying, trying, always trying, and sometimes even succeeding (somewhat) in clearing things out and just letting some s*&t go. it is so hard to do but every single time it feels SO good!

    also- I LOVE that fourth photo, with the reflection in the water. it is beautiful!

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    1. also I love the word- dispossess. not one I've really used or heard much, but such a positive and gentle sounding way to describe clearing out.

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    2. It is just that. And it feels more in control to me, too.

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