With the return of the senior daughter from Copenhagen, where she has been attending Danish Fashion Week, my thoughts are returning to the sorting out of the house.
It is unlikely that she will be too involved with this now, as there are exciting events unfolding in her life, but I will from time to time force her to help, before she finally returns to New York.
She has been instrumental in focusing my mind on this problem, and has been very inventive.
Before Christmas, she wrote about the habit we all have of hoarding lovely presents and also her press gifts, and not actually using them up - and I also wrote that I was now using some such things, instead of lining them up prettily on the shelf in the bathroom
I have expanded this practice, and very fruitful it has proved. I have unashamedly re-gifted such things, I have trawled through drawers and cupboards and sold unopened toiletries and bottles of scent on E-Bay, had a wonderful time with the hoarded bath oils and scented candles, and given a lot of good things to charity shops, including good but old bedlinen to a homeless charity.
She and I have been through all my clothes, many of which were too big for me as I have lost over two stone in the last 18 months. I am a terrible hoarder, always putting things away "in case they come in useful". To a point, this is exactly what has happened. We have furiously E-Bayed piles of these clothes as well as giving them to charity. And - delight of delights, there have even been things, some years old but once much-loved, that I can now wear again.
The moral of this story is that out of heartbreak comes positivity. I have had to do all this because my philandering husband has refused for some time now to pay me a penny in maintenance. So - I have had to be inventive in order to pay the bills. So far I am doing rather well - just how many clothes/possessions does one need to live one's life? Not so many - and it is good to also help others whilst cleansing one's own Augean stables.
Today I am going out in my late aunt's woollen-lined Aquascutum raincoat - which must be at least 50 years old. And very good it looks too after a visit to the dry-cleaners!
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5 comments:
the vintage raincoat sounds fabulous! I was very impressed with the recommendation of giving bedding to homeless charities when I saw it on LLG and will definitely be doing that and asking my parents to in future. I agree, sometimes a clear out is cleansing- I'm a terribly hoarder and find it painful in some ways but when it's done you do feel really on top of everything.
@rose Hello to a fellow hoarder! Yes - a clear out is very cathartic.
WHERE are all your lovely dogs?!
Well done you, it sounds like positive things are happening all round, I think 2010 will be a good year for you.
XX
Hello there - dear friend of your senior daughter here, I've met you a couple of times, a while ago now, but glad to have found your blog and so very proud of you and everything you're doing. Lots of sunny love on this rainy day! xx
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