Now…honestly, is it time to purge your closet?

So…I am now HAPPY to report, that I might have the opposite problem of consumerism now! (Although no, I’m not even at my 30 day mark yet so knock on wood!)…But today I was watching an episode of “Hoarders” which I am not, never have been and never plan to be. When I was younger my siblings and I used to “collect” things that were part of a “collection.” I guess maybe that made it easier for people to know what to buy us for Christmas and birthday presents? I mean, they are not really so useful to me now and I’m not even sure what to do with the collections.

Ok off topic a bit…NOW I do NOT have collections except for those that serve a purpose or are being used as “accent pieces” or art. For example I collect insulators (those are the turquoise round glass things you see in antique shops a lot). They used to be hung on telephone poles before whatever nonsense is up there now (and or it’s underground in a lot of cases too). These are pure decoration. I place one on a stack of books (or use two as bookends), or I use them in groups for a “pop” of color. Also, I collect ONLY ANTIQUE GLASS ashtrays. These are SO BEAUTIFUL and I have them all around my house to “hold” little miscellaneous items (in my bathroom, my bedside table, the mantle in the living room, my “jewelry counter” and bookshelves. The only glass ones are VERY decorative and beautiful and really add a rich “touch” to the space you use them in.

I realize now that if I were to collect anything else I guess it would be shoes or something like I know some women do, and hey, at least they are useful I mean I girl’s gotta have the right pair of shoes for every occasion, dontcha know?! However, I like to keep my closet area free of “collections” and for this reason I try to (at least once a year) PURGE my closet, and I mean like boxes of stuff! Well…hey obviously if I have THAT much to get rid of every year then MAYBE I was buying too much in the first place right…? Yeah, probably! Just today for example, I had done laundry and was hanging up my shirts. I realized that I hadn’t gone through my closet in a while! I found at least 20 items (sweaters, shirts, jackets) that I DON’T wear anymore. I can’t even give you a rough date as to when I MIGHT have worn them. So THAT means they GOTTA GO!

So, thanks to my friend and roomie from college, Michelle, I learned a lot of organizing tips for my closet and have been using her methods ever since (for over 10 years now!) So tip #1 is to go through and purge your closet at least once a year which I already discussed, but there are a few more things that REALLY make your closet look so much nicer with little to no money spent.

Tip #2 is the buy all the same hangers (for types of clothing). For example, I have all white hangers for shirts, tank tops, cardigans, jackets etc. However, for skirts and pants I invested in some nicer wooden hanger with clips to keep them hanging nicely and visibly in my closet.

Tip #3 is to try to organize your clothes by type and by color. For example, all tanktops together and then group by color. This helps you quickly know what you have, and allows you to quickly find a type or color of clothing quickly.

Tip #4 is to invest in the little “organizing” hacks for your closet. A couple I have are a shoe rack (over the door), an over the door purse, jackets, hats hanger, and a scarf organizer. That is ONE thing I DO have a collection of in my closet. SCARVES! I can’t get enough, but they have to have just the right look AND feel. I can walk by and see a scarf I like, and I’ve got the “touch” mastered, where I know exactly if it’s the “type” of scarf I’m looking for or not!

And finally, tip #5 is to keep your “dresser drawers” JUST as organized as your closet. For me, the drawers used to “hide” the mess, but even though I can’t see it till I open it, it’s time consuming to have to “rummage” through things in your dresser drawers. Make sure to purge these as well, including socks etc.

I really wasn’t even PLANNING on doing this tonight, but when you get the URGE TO PURGE, make sure to go with it! It’s a tough process sometimes deciding to give things away you “like” or “want” but that you don’t wear so make sure your mind is ready and willing! I always think about the next woman to get what I’m giving away (as I always donate to Goodwill) I don’t have anything high end enough to even BOTHER with selling…and honestly if I DID I’d probably be rich enough that I wouldn’t want to take the time to try to “sell” my stuff anyway. So, after about 45 minutes, I have another few bags of clothing, shoes, and purses to haul out!

It feels good, I love being able to do this!…so BACK to my original comment (from above) of having the opposite probable of consumerism…I am now CONSTANTLY looking around my house, my room, bathroom, closet, cupboards, drawers, garage etc. to find ANYTHING that I don’t need that I can get rid of. I look in my hallway cabinets for example and I don’t think I have used anything in there since I moved into my house over a year ago (or before that!) I mean…where do you draw the line of, year I used that once and it’s useful so I HAVE to keep it so that I don’t have to buy another one in the future!? That’s kinda tough but some things are just OUTDATED. Another couple examples are my old 10 megapixel camera. It was a good camera (great) like 8 years ago! Now, I don’t even use a camera, I just use my iPhone…and also I have a nice inkjet printer that was “really good” at printing pictures from your digital sim card but NOW I don’t even print pictures but IF I do it is WAY cheaper to send a few off to Walgreens or Costco to get them printed than spend $$$ on that DARNED ink! Heck no! So those are two things I’ve been keep around, and not using for a LONG time. Just because they cost me quite a bit of money “back when” I bought them. But hey, I just don’t need them, and MAYBE they will be useful to someone else so why not just give them up?

What is your dream backyard?

Mine is a Spanish/Mediterranean inspired one! And I REALLY want it to be a reality! I am working/starting from nothing (almost)…but I’m thinking that there is a chance I can TRY to get it looking somewhat like what I want…

Of course, there really needs to be a fountain, preferably large with ornate tile detailing…but I could probably do with something smaller as long as it was also colorful and elegant. Maybe I could do a DIY fountain!

Hmm….that back/side fence…it’s only 6 feet tall or so…and the community I live in is only about 9 years old, so not too many of my neighbors really have matured vegetation/trees to block the view of one another. (I take that back) my back neighbor had 3 LARGE pepper trees that hung half in my yard and half in theirs. Turns out I guess they were not “doing well”, and the owner got rid of them in September! Don’t let me fool you though, I was “upset” that I had to trim it so much and had all its “mess” all over my back yard…but it did look more like a jungle than a house in a “subdivision”. So BE CAREFUL what you wish for, because sometimes I wished it wasn’t there and that I didn’t have to “deal” with it, but now it’s GONE! So…I was thinking HOW am I going to block my neighbors ASAP? Trees don’t grow overnight…and I thought…

A pergola! The one I have pictured below is a great idea to put along the entire fence line…and the idea of growing anything up/around them sounds very appealing. I’d definitely like to have some grape vines for some free and delicious grapes, but I’m also fondly thinking of wisteria SMELLING wonderful! I wonder, can I get a jasmine plant to grow up a pergola? I LOVE the smell of jasmine!

Okay, so that leaves me with my “floor” space. Right now, half is a boring stamped concrete and the other is a “patch” of grass that is honestly super ridiculous. (Especially when we have multiple well maintained community parks with much more grass, play structures, kid-friendly water features and the like). I’m going to keep my “future kids” out of my backyard design at this point. That means…I REALLY don’t think I need a patch of grass. It serves no purpose other than to cost me $ and wasted water to keep it “looking nice” which I can never quite figure out how to do anyway, half is green and half is not! To save $ I was thinking I should leave the stamped concrete (it’d be AWESOME to stain it though!) As for the patch, it’d give me another 15×8 feet minimum for “floor space” if I got rid of it! So, with that idea, I was thinking I could do a simple brick or rock design and with the same “stain” as the concrete so that they tied together but were “different” spaces.

Also, I have a back corner where two CRAZY like 8 foot tall rose (trees!) are growing (which sadly to say I’d like to get rid of). Roses are not pretty enough for me to want to deal with their thorns and the nasty critters that like living in them, so that when you DO want to cut a few to put inside to “liven up the place” that they start coming out of the woodwork! Yuck! I’m going to post them on CL in case anyone wants to come dig them up and try to replant them as they are 9 year old quite matured rose bushes that I’m sure someone could appreciate…just not me. Instead, I’d LOVE to make a “built in” fire place in that corner. My two simple white Adirondack chairs could go right in front of the fireplace.

Something I also need, or THINGS I need I should say, are LOTS of pots in different sizes of various colors. These need just be “set” out along the edges everywhere and next to any piece of “furniture” I have outside…that leaves me to my final huge spending idea (yeah yeah not to mention to fireplace I already talked about! Hahaha) But…I’d like a SECOND pergola to hang from my backdoor out over 80 percent or so of the old hardscape. This could grow more food/vines/flowers whatever…but super simple. Also, important to note, I would have it be about 8 feet (nothing crazy tall) and a BEAUTIFUL fan would be hung in the center, this is where I could put that second sitting space. As for now, I’d be “frugal” and use what I have, a small four chair outdoor wicker/glass patio set…which needs either a touch up of paint in a color, or a dark brown…and some CUSHIONS in COLOR!

Just writing this is making me excited. It’s too bad it still January. However, maybe some of the “building” could be done during the “winter” we have here? It stops raining mostly after February, so only a little bit left to go until I could start working! Best idea for me is to get FAMILY AND FRIENDS to help…and “PRETEND” like we are on an HGTV show! Having everyone “put up” in the local hotel for a few days, rewarded with bbqs and homemade lemonade! Sounds good to me! PLUS-families ALWAYS bond when they have to “work” together…mine does anyway!