About gDonna
The photo is my son and myself. Now days you can get a photo made to look old like this one. This photo was taken when this was the new look.

Harry S Truman was president when I was born and world war II had ended. I grew up in a time when lunch was put in a brown paper bag and a sandwich was wrapped with wax paper. There was no such thing as pantyhose, we wore stockings that attached to the rubbery clippy things that attached to the girdle. Convenience stores were not common and when we took a trip we packed a picnic basket because many places did not have fast food. Highways had places to pull over and stop, some with picnic tables. Read more ....
 

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Comments On Article: Sneaky Clutter

1,731 posts (admin)
Thu Nov 13, 25 8:00 PM CST

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T
12 posts
Thu Nov 13, 25 8:42 PM CST

I too have a quilt on my headboard! I wish my headboard was taller as the bed is against an outside wall that gets very cold here in Michigan

I also have a huge clutter problem. I was making progress on my clutter but then my daughter and granddaughter moved in with me and all their clutter moved in too.

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L
87 posts
Thu Nov 13, 25 9:22 PM CST

Why yes, I have found the way to have a perfectly kept home - hahaha. I can’t even type that without laughing. 
I figured out a long time ago that I don’t like to dust any more than I have to so “usually” am not attracted to what I call dustables.  I’ve also over the years let family know that I don’t care for dustables.  That’s helped at least keep gifted clutter at bay.  
Paper clutter is an ongoing issue.  Why do we have to keep all of this stuff.  I realize much has moved to online, but I don’t like online clutter any better. 
And keep at it I suppose. That’s all we can really do. 
Love the idea of a quilt over the headboard on an outer wall.  Beautiful and practical. 

P
26 posts
Thu Nov 13, 25 9:39 PM CST

No clutter here - we've decluttered on and off over the years and now we have almost nothing left to declutter.  We have done many trips to the trash and treasure market to donate everything we don't need or use, and simply excess stuff that we had in cupboards -  I have also sold quite a lot of things that would be useful for others to have, and only putting a minimum amount of dollars on them or actually giving them away.  We are now down to having quite a lot of space in our home, and I don't 'do' dusty surfaces as we live in an area where dust is aplenty.  I have very few ornaments and the like, only ones that do have some sentimental value or are of personal value, and have sold or donated the rest.  I also gave to my daughters quite a lot of things that came from my mum and these days I'm very happy with my minimalistic home, so easy to clean and freshen up.  I wouldn't go back to having a cluttered home now.  Our main objective was to lessen any burden on our girls when we leave this mortal coil, so we pre-paid our cremations, and have left nothing for them to sort through and wonder why we'd kept it - we want everything simple for them, as I've had the experience of clearing out years and years of stuff from my families homes when they died.  It has also made it much, much easier on us in our older years to have nothing that clutters up our lives.

m
110 posts
Thu Nov 13, 25 10:14 PM CST

I dislike anything on counters or tabletops. It's an ongoing battle. Finally after years I have a bathroom counter completely free of stuff. Except all that space was too inviting and my husband keeps his 2 pairs of glasses in their cases on the bathroom counter now. Never did that before.

My mom used to say children like clean rooms because every time she cleaned a room we kids would go in it and mess it up! Lol. Now my grandkids do that!

I found others in the house would use my clutter to hide their clutter so several years ago I made a real effort to eliminate my piles of clutter.

I use baskets to hold small items. If that doesn't work and it is precious I put it in my curio cabinet. 


J
14 posts
Fri Nov 14, 25 12:16 AM CST

From my Stillmeadow Sampler book by Gladys Taber, which I am enjoying so much : )

The truth is, life has a way of accumulating treasures which you cannot part with and yet have no place for. This is also true of memories, I think. There are some you cannot part with but have no place in your present life.

Xx

M
4 posts
Fri Nov 14, 25 2:39 AM CST

Like Lady L, I hate dusting, it's my least favourite housekeeping job, and I didn't have anything ornamental anywhere until about a year ago, when I was 45.  I looked around and realised that there is no real personality in my home.  Of course, I've bought furniture I like (in the affordable range, unfortunately I have champagne tastes and don't have anything I truly love furniture-wise), but there weren't even photographs on display and never had been.  I've spent the last year trying to add personality and spark to my home, to make it feel cosy to me, and to give my rare visitors an idea of who I am and what I like.  So I've actually been cluttering instead of decluttering lol.  Somebody asked me if I'm a hoarder a while ago.  They'd never even been in my home, I just mentioned I was picking little knick knacks up if I loved them.  I said no, I love a lot of the items that come into my home, I don't collect or keep things because I can't pass them up or let them go.  That's not to say that there is now no vacant surface, far from it, and I've probably bought as much as I'm willing to dust now, but the piles of other stuff builds up around my home and that does annoy me.  A hobby here, papers filling up a chair at the dining table, pencil cases, pens, notebooks over there.  I've gone through stages of realising I didn't have storage, so I spent a couple of years buying storage items, but never seemed to have enough storage!  So I have spent time on and off for many years now decluttering mostly non-sentimental items.  

I also realised for myself, that even if I only use something once a year, then that's something I need in my home.  It doesn't make logical or financial sense to me to get rid of things that do actually get use.  Not everything needs to be in constant use, some things we need rarely, but we do need, and when I want or need to use them, I don't want to pfaff about buying and borrowing the items, I want to grab and use them right away. 

My needs and wants have changed over the years, so I declutter sometimes and re-clutter other times.

Edited Fri Nov 14, 25 2:41 AM by Mel B
37 posts
Fri Nov 14, 25 2:53 AM CST

We live a minimalist lifestyle. We have everything we need, but no decorative clutter. I don't want to spend too much time cleaning or tidying up. When we go to bed in the evening, the apartment is tidy, the dishes are washed and put away in the cupboard, etc. Only then can I start the new day peacefully. We only have a few mementos left. They're in a box in the attic.

I find it liberating that we have free space in our cupboards. This way, we have a clear overview of what we own. It helps us save money because we always know what we have and what we would actually need to buy.
In Germany, you can also borrow more and more things that you only need occasionally. Hardware stores rent out tools and machines, and some libraries let you borrow sewing machines, for example. Is there anything like this in other countries?
Best regards, Sibylle
Best wishes from Sibylle
D
17 posts
Fri Nov 14, 25 6:18 AM CST

About 3 years ago, my husband and I found a large curio cabinet to house all the things that I love and cherish from my family at a secondhand store.  It has my grandmother's China in it, that I use on special occasions, as well as a tea set my grandfather brought from Japan after WWII. I love keeping these things out, but since they are enclosed but still visible, I don't have to worry about dusting them all the time. 

Joanna B- I, too, love Gladys Taber books! 

L
87 posts
Fri Nov 14, 25 7:54 AM CST
Joanna B wrote:

From my Stillmeadow Sampler book by Gladys Taber, which I am enjoying so much : )

The truth is, life has a way of accumulating treasures which you cannot part with and yet have no place for. This is also true of memories, I think. There are some you cannot part with but have no place in your present life.

Xx

The G Taber books are wonderful resources. 

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