cimorene

Wax had two weeks off and we decluttered massively. We have ADHD and both tend not to throw things away but we also, you may remember, still have tons of stuff from Wax's mom, who died right before the pandemic and who owned two homes. We did get rid of some of it already of course, but there was a lot left!

Here's the accomplishment list:

dining room: From MIL'S china cabinet we removed a tall stack of serving dishes we don't need and two full storage bins of potentially valuable stemware and china and vases we don't want, and a half box of non-valuable ones to donate. The holiday dishes now fit in the normal china cabinet in the kitchen, minus the servingware, which are too big to squeeze in the bottom because it's full of cake and pie pans. We want to get rid of the giant cabinet, but if we can't convince one of Wax's brothers to take it, we'll have to sell it. We also removed a 19th century bridal chest that had been full of shoes and a raggedy wicker chest that had been full of slipcovers and throws from under the dining room table, so you can actually sit at it now! The shoes have been trashed, donated, or reintegrated into our regular shoe storage, and the antique chest is on display in the living room. Most of the fabric was trashed or donated, but the slipcovers are going to be washed and dyed.

kitchen: we got rid of tons of damaged plastic food storage containers, emptied the pantry and washed it and covered the shelves in shelf paper, and threw out all the expired loose leaf tea (the tea things now take about half the space).

entry hall and stairs: we completely saturated the wallboard with enzyme cat piss cleaner in the cleaning closet under the stairs where the cat litter box was. And the closet is still airing out, pending further spray. We also decluttered a bunch of recycling under the stairs and put winter boots into some big storage tubs which went up to the attic.

enclosed porch: we removed every single thing, ripped out the smelly sheet vinyl floor, and washed the walls and floor. We brought one of the original plywood kitchen cabinets from the 1950s down from the attic and put it there against the wall full of tools and rainboots, and it and the sideboard are both completely covered with Wax's plants (she has a problem).

living room: removed a papasan chair (lovely but too big: will try to give it away - it's sturdy and so comfortable but has some dog tooth marks along the base) and a humongous workbench that was in use as a plant table, and the room seems so much bigger now! Also threw away like two garbage bags full of 'bunny linens', old towels and fleece blankets cut into pieces that we use as padding the shelves and cubbies in the bunny cage.

library/Wax's work from home office: one wall is lined with Ikea Ivar shelves and the opposite wall had the enormous Ikea Norden drop-leaf table against it, with one leaf out for her computer desk. This took up nearly the whole room. We decluttered so much stuff from the shelves that she was able to clear space to put her monitors and keyboard on the shelves, with the space underneath cleared for her feet, and the room looks amazingly open and welcoming now. The table is still in the same place with the leaves folded down and is now nice and narrow. Apparently narrow drop-leaf tables like this are called "gateleg" tables?

attic: we decluttered all the stuff stored there, threw a bunch out, and repacked it into stackable clear plastic storage tubs.

We've also been to the town dump twice with Bernie the ancient Citroën Berlingo (the smaller size of white van man van: he used to belong to a storage company) stuffed with garbage and have filled, to date, three cardboard moving boxes to donate.