I’ll start by saying that I happen to like a LOT of knickknacks and decorative elements in my personal living space. This started when I was a little kid and was sick quite often (thank you, penicillin, for being invented before I was born or I wouldn’t be here to write this blog). When I was lying in bed bored, I enjoyed having pretty and interesting things around me to contemplate.

Recently I moved and in the course of packing, was able to send boxes and boxes of stuff to Goodwill, but still, finding room in my new apartment for everything I did want to keep has been a challenge. I’m not done yet! No rushing these things. (Do the cat plates go here or there? Do I want my Egyptian-themed items on this shelf or that shelf? Endless decisions! See photo below of my Beatrix Pottter/Brambly Hedge/Bunnykins corner if you need an example of my challenges.)

So when I was recently catching up on my back issues of the Oprah magazine, I was delighted to find some quiz questions about clutter. Here goes:

The one thing I’ve tossed and ever missed is….my VCR player and all the VCR tapes. Ditto for my cassette player and tapes AND my long playing records and 45’s and the expensive stereo system I used to play them. I love the newer, more compact digital, download, streaming world!

But I wish I could get back…not really anything. I’m careful when I part with something, to ask myself a lot of questions first. And there’s always eBay, where you can pretty much replace anything, if you’re willing to pay enough. And the other concept I’ve learned over the years is that while a thing may bring up a memory or remind you of a person or good time, that thing is NOT the person or the memory in and of itself. So unless I’m enjoying it for itself, I don’t need it. Well, with a few exceptions. There’s always an exception, right?

The one place in my life that’s always messy is…we used to call it the “skinny table” in the hall – the first flat surface inside the front door, where things got put, dropped and flung. My dining room table is also a receptacle for paper-based clutter, and one kitchen counter serves the same purpose. I’m trying to do better in my new place. I gave the skinny table to my older daughter for one thing!

I’m most motivated to declutter when…I’m about to move! Or unpacking from moving, because I’m starting with an uncluttered blank slate. Or if I get really frustrated because I can’t find something and the clutter is stressing me out.

What would you like to make more space for in your life? More Veronica Scott book covers! No, seriously, I’m pretty content, writing away in my knickknack-y space, with my two cats. I could be persuaded to make room for a serious romance in real life, versus in the pages of books, but that either comes your way or it doesn’t. I enjoy my family and my good friends and telling my tales.

So, how about you? How’s your clutter condition these days?

This is my oldest knickknack, which I’ve had since I was 7. We were on the annual summer vacation to Maine and had stopped for the night at a motel in Brattleboro, VT. My Dad bought this for me at the gift shop because I was missing my own cat at home and then he and I went rowing on the river under a cool old bridge until dinnertime.