Things have been a little quiet on the tea front lately, but yesterday I enjoyed a delightful afternoon tea with a friend and one of her other friends at a little tea house in the area. With my pot of jasmine and their Earl Grey, we enjoyed cucumber sandwiches, chicken salad, samosas, and more. (I wish I would have thought to bring my camera!) It was a fun change of pace from the coffee in paper cups that is typically imbibed during dates with friends. This morning I am enjoying Tazo's Berryblossom White with my little dog stretched out by my feet, gnawing on a chew toy. His devotion is quite endearing.
I am slowly continuing my thinning-out project: pictured are a few items that have made their way to Goodwill. I had had them for a long time, and I found myself wishing that I had been taking more pictures throughout this decluttering process to remind myself of the progress I've made. The crazy floral tin was bought at a thrift shop during college in Vermillion, South Dakota; I began making the afghan in 2001 but never finished it and by this point no longer like the color choices I made or have the patience for it; the old lamp I bought at a garage sale in high school and after nearly twenty years of not having rewired it, it seemed time for it to go, hard as it was. I ended up keeping the marbles because they were so pretty to photograph. These items in particular carried memories with them.
Do you have any decluttering tips?
11 comments:
It's always hard to let go of items, but taking photos is better than hanging onto things you no longer want. I had a lamp very much like that one that I also let go a few years ago, after deciding it was easier to get rid of it than rewire it.
Your afternoon tea sounds perfect. And with dear friends, it's even better. Happy tea Tuesday.
sorry no decluttering tips ... I am sentimental and like so many things!
good for you clearing out some ... I do donate things often but more seems to come IN the door for some reason!
Samosas with yummy tea and sandwiches sounds divine!
Happy T to you!
oxo
sounds like you had a lovely time with tea! I am slowly getting rid of things too and often take pictures! detachment is not easy for us but thank God that He is merciful.
I would love to find your lamp at the goodwill :)
My best decluttering tip is having a monthly pickup at our house. We have "the blind" come once a month and I always have something to give them .... And my husband enjoys the tax writeoff .... I had a garage sale ONCE ... Never again!
Your jasmine tea yesterday was a good choice (over the Earl gray!) and berryblosom white sounds yummy too!
I have an old Mason jar on my desk with my husband's childhood marble collection in it. They make a nice little decoration!
I go in cycles, where I buy stuff and then purge it, buy and purge, etc. I am trying very hard not to become like my parents and grandparents who never threw anything away!
Keep what is truly meaningful and let go of what is mediocre. Declutter in small doses, one closet, one drawer at a time.
The tea time sounds lovely!
I have the great pleasure of editing an organizing blog located http://adamsorganizing.webs.com/apps/blog.
I agree, keep what you love, Goodwill the rest.
You are inspiring... I've been slowly (and I do mean slowly) decluttering.
Good for you on the cleaning :)
Lovely tea house, happy t-day.
I'm so glad you kept the marbles! We recently got a large old collection of marbles and they are awesome...worth keeping, I think! I think they'd be beautiful to photograph...maybe I'll try it. Thanks!
I'm just putting the kettle on to make my morning pot of green tea :) What fun to look at your photos and read your words while the water is heating.
My mom had that very same colorful tin--not sure what happened to it, but it brought back lots of good memories.
We live in a very small house, (five of us) so we are constantly having to give away THINGS. We just don't have space for a lot. So, I keep a bag right by the front door, and drop something small in it almost every week. Everyone does. Clothes that don't fit, or things I stumble across while I'm putting other things away: books, dishes in the very back of the cupboards, etc... If we haven't used something in the last year, then we look at it very hard, from all angles, considering whether it's something we might still need or use later... If not...
I'm so glad you kept the marbles! We have a large box of them and they are constantly being used and played with. Same with the wooden blocks.
Last thing--and sorry this is getting so long! Many of my friends have lost all of their belongings in the last few years because of the devastating fires we've had here in Santa Barbara. They are consistent in saying--find a way to catalog and preserve your photos. They are really the only things that can't be replaced later on... So, keep snapping those gorgeous shots!
Post a Comment