As I work my way through my decluttering and cleaning list, I keep finding new projects I want to do. Like, I finished clearing off my workspaces and now I want to clear out the rest of the kitchen. It feels so good to hit the areas of the apartment that drive me nuts that I don’t want to stop there. This time, even if I don’t get to any other rooms, I want to have one that I can walk into and feel like it’s complete. The kitchen seems like a good place to start because it’s small, and also because buying food and letting it sit in a cabinet is a habit I want to rid myself of. So far in the past week we’ve gotten through a can of soup, 2 half-empty boxes of pasta, a bag of lentils and one packet of boil-in-bag rice. There is still a bunch of stuff in there–pilaf mixes, instant mac and cheese, dried kidney beans, various canned products ranging from pumpkin to black bean soup to coconut milk. Despite wanting to have some food stashed away for an emergency, I think we need to get through what we have and then start fresh with long-term and bulk storage in mind.
Anywho. I’m still pleased with the progress I’m making. It feels so very nice to see tangible results, so even though it’s slow-going things are staying manageable. Hot damn.
Next up to finish, the bookshelves in the foyer. I’m almost done, but not ready for after pictures so instead here is the before. I’m not sure how much better the after pic is going to look but it really is much better in person.
If I was a better declutterer, I’d have all of the tchotchkes cleared away but alas! I’m just not a minimalist.
I’m having so much fun with these pictures! It’s like having y’all over for tea only I don’t have to host or make tea or nothin’.
Thanks for sharin’. I love snooping in other people’s houses! 🙂
the funny thing is that I’d freak out about having anyone over with such a mess but I’ll totally post pictures of it on the internet. Craaaaazy.
Jen, you don’t have to be a minimalist. You just have to be selective. As Peter Walsh frequently said on “Clean Sweep,” choose to give meaningful things a place of honor; don’t just toss it on the heap! Your kitchen counters look great.
I actually do love much of what I have displayed. It photographs horribly, but I like most of the vignettes I’ve created. There are just a handful of things that have gotten stuck up on the shelves and I haven’t taken the time to evaluate how much of that I really like and want to keep 🙂
The minimalist thing is a joke in my family–I come from a long line of folks who like ornate decoration (I am by far the most minimalist of all of them) and they are fond of talking about their minimalist phases with tongue planted firmly in cheek.