Gulp. It's August, which means I'm in the fourth month of my 4-month purge. I expected that July and August would be productive months, seeing as my husband is home to help. But that wasn't the case in July. I got much less accomplished than I had planned. You see, you can't really just leave two kids sitting around "bored" while you tidy the house for hours on end. Probably should have booked some more camp weeks. Anyway, I'm hoping a few productive days in August will make up for my slow progress in July.
I did manage to tackle this antique armoire in my bedroom recently. The middle shelf is my stuff - shirts, exercise clothing and leggings. In about an hour's time, I got rid of about 3/4 of the stuff you see here on the shelf, plus a bunch of clothing from the shelves in my closet too. If you follow the advice in The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing, then you just keep the items that spark joy. I have to say there are very few items in my wardrobe that still spark joy. I swear some of this stuff is 20 years old.
Anyway, when I was done purging I decided to put my jeans and shorts on the shelf in the armoire. I wear jeans most days and I wanted them to be accessible. I folded up the leftover tees and exercise clothing using the KonMari method (folded standing up) and tucked them in baskets on the top shelf of my closet. The exercise clothes don't need to be easily accessible (ha!).
I guess I inspired my husband, because just today he decided to purge the excess clothing on his shelf of the armoire (at the bottom). He ended up keeping very little of what was there too. I'm also leaving that messy top shelf to him. He tends to put his change and receipts there at the end of the day.
Because this is Vintage Bliss Tuesday, I have to talk for a moment about the armoire itself. We got this at an auction in Hamilton maybe 15 years ago. It's old and a bit cracked and we don't really do anything to preserve it, but I just kind of adore it. It's probably one of my top 3 favourite items in our house. I have no idea how old it is, who made it or where it comes from. All I know is it's staying with me. New items really can't duplicate the character of a great old piece of furniture, can they?
What's your fave piece in your house?
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I think the armoire is gorgeous. I have several pieces of furniture which give me joy. I love the look of the old wood and the patina. I can just picture them in houses over 100 years ago. My favorite is probably our bed which is 100-115 years old. It is a solid oak Mission style bed and very sturdy. Thank you for the party!
ReplyDeletethe armoire is lovely, that would be a favourite of mine too if I had it! Well done on the purging, I absolutely hear you on the cleaning slowing down a bit when the kids are "bored"-- I can't clean out our junk filled spare room when my family is home because they suddenly decide they want to keep the stuff that needs to be purged! Also my husband has the bad habit of looking through the donation bags when I ask him to drop stuff at the charity shop and he decides to keep some stuff, argh...
ReplyDeleteThat armoire is gorgeous! Well done on what sounds like a successful purge! I am pretty sure I have clothing in my closest that is about 20 years old as well... some I am sentimental to or something I think to not have gotten rid of it already!
ReplyDeleteGood morning Joann, it is such a relief when more space 'appears' after a purge! Thank you for Vintage Bliss Tuesdays 46. Appreciate visiting and joining in. Beautiful and so very vintage armoire.
ReplyDeletebonjour!
ReplyDeletequel plaisir de vous suivre!
Hanna
www.journaldunemaman.fr
If I got rid of all the clothes that didn't spark joy I'd basically be naked!
ReplyDeleteMy favorite piece in my house is probably my living room table. It's from appx. the 1930's, is round, has a leather top, claw feet and IT SPINS! I found it in a flea market and when I realized that it spinned I HAD to have it. It was only $50 and then I paid $500 to restore it. Totally worth it even though nowadays it gets covered in yogurt, milk, and little handprints.
Laurie, your table sounds SO cool. I want a spinning table.
DeleteYour armoire is great. I once owned an "armoire," but I called it an "armor." My father made it for me when I was 5. He removed the drawers from an old oak dresser, painted it white, and fitted it with a closet bar, so I could reach to hang up my clothes. I still have it, although it's a little bit short for me now.
ReplyDeleteAs regards the linky party, I linked up an old post by mistake, so you might want to delete it.
What a beautiful armoire :)
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for hosting this lovely linky party :)