|
Post by dayeanu on Sept 20, 2014 15:16:49 GMT -5
She has almost 0 clutter throughout,Daye, I think that depends on how you define clutter. If you define it as empty food wrappers, or items that haven't been put away where they belong, then no--but if you define it as more stuff than you need which gets in the way of cleaning, then your view of it changes. As I'm paring things down in here, I've shocked myself this past month by removing some of my decorative items from my mantel and bookshelves. These are things I really love, so I never considered them "too much"--I really do love all of them. But as I'm getting clear spaces elsewhere, these cluttered groups of things--even though each item is purposeful and loved--look different to me--they look like too much. I was able to donate some of the items, the rest I still can't get rid of so I put them in a storage bin for now. I have to say it looks "less cluttered" now, even though I didn't think of any of those items as "clutter". Diane In much of the house, Mother does have way too much stuff crammed into way too little space. Especially furniture. She has way too much furniture! And figurines. Ok, she just has too much stuff! But in some cases, it's not actually too much quantity. It's too much detail! The clutter is in the details! The majority of her furniture and decoration have lots of details. And much of her furniture reaches to, or near, the ceiling. That means I have to stand on a ladder to clean it. Every gap and crevice needs to be cleaned out, because over the years, dust and dirt have built up in all the little curves and gaps until the wood is white with dust build-up, and the figurines and vases are tinged brown! And the gaps or details are too small to just run a rag over it. Here are some photos as examples: A bed headboard, light fixture, figurine. (The brown on the figurine is not paint. It is accumulated dust.) Her house is full of this sort of stuff. Some of the stuff is maybe 200 years old, and no doubt so is the grime in the crevices of it! My guess is that I will have to clean everything with a damp Q-tip (oil for the wood, and water for the porcelain). Once it is cleaned out, then if it is dusted regularly - hopefully - it won't build up again - at least not any time soon. My ideal house is one with waterproof floors and furniture, and a faucet, garden hose and drain in each room!
|
|
|
Post by larataylor on Sept 20, 2014 15:56:30 GMT -5
dayeanu - Wow. I have some old things, and I like old things, but I can do without too many things that are hard to clean. Early in my de-cluttering here, I found a lot of Hummel figurines here and there. I got them all together, and they were all very dirty. They looked like a bunch of little kids that crawled out of a coal mine. I cleaned up a lot of them, because it was fun, but a bunch still need scrubbing. They're now in my crowded knick-knack case, and I might sell them at some point. It just strikes me as weird that people collect these things and don't take care of them.
|
|
|
Post by dayeanu on Sept 20, 2014 16:01:02 GMT -5
dayeanu - Wow. I have some old things, and I like old things, but I can do without too many things that are hard to clean. Early in my de-cluttering here, I found a lot of Hummel figurines here and there. I got them all together, and they were all very dirty. They looked like a bunch of little kids that crawled out of a coal mine. I cleaned up a lot of them, because it was fun, but a bunch still need scrubbing. They're now in my crowded knick-knack case, and I might sell them at some point. It just strikes me as weird that people collect these things and don't take care of them. :-( I have a house full of lovely things that I haven't taken care of. Cos I'm a hoarder. Lots of hoarders hoard really nice stuff. You always see the ones on TV that hoard trash, used cotton balls, etc. But lots of hoarders hoard really nice, sometimes really expensive stuff.
|
|
|
Post by dtesposito on Sept 20, 2014 16:11:19 GMT -5
Wow, yes I see what you mean--this kind of stuff looks like it would be at home several hundred years ago, in a huge house that had lots of poorly paid servants to clean everything every day.
What style is that headboard? I can't figure it out!
Diane
|
|
|
Post by larataylor on Sept 20, 2014 17:12:09 GMT -5
It just strikes me as weird that people collect these things and don't take care of them. Lots of hoarders hoard really nice stuff. I have some nice things that I've brought with me through the decades, and they've spent lots of time packed up in boxes so they wouldn't get broken. My in-laws had these figurines just sitting in drawers. I think they spent a lot of time on a shelf near a fireplace … that's my theory about the coal-miner look. I have enjoyed buying things when I've had money, but I've been near the poverty line most of my adult life, and those flush times were short-lived. Who knows what I would have collected if I could have? I'm not that great at taking care of things in general, and the more stuff there is, the worse it gets.
|
|
|
Minimalism
Sept 20, 2014 17:14:59 GMT -5
via mobile
Post by dayeanu on Sept 20, 2014 17:14:59 GMT -5
Wow, yes I see what you mean--this kind of stuff looks like it would be at home several hundred years ago, in a huge house that had lots of poorly paid servants to clean everything every day. What style is that headboard? I can't figure it out! Diane I have no idea what style it is. I know that it is older than 1850, because it came here in the wagon train when my great great grandparents moved here. But I don't know how much older. It may have belonged to one of their parents or grandparents. It may have been brand new, or a family heirloom. That branch of my family came here in the early 1600's, so the bed could be *really* old - or not.
|
|
|
Post by larataylor on Sept 20, 2014 17:55:05 GMT -5
I inherited a lot of quilts, hand-made by my DH's great? aunt, I think. So they're really old. I've given most of them to my sister-in-law, who is into quilts. I have one on my bed right now -- it's mostly white, with a barely discernible pattern in faded blue. And I've just realized that this pattern is … swastikas.
This has me wondering about that old aunt and why she would chose that pattern. I'll have to ask DH about her age in relation to his parents and how old she would have been in WWII. My guess is that she made the quilt before WWII … before this symbol had such a bad rap.
But I'm not sure that I want to keep sleeping under the swastikas.
|
|
|
Post by casper on Sept 20, 2014 18:26:34 GMT -5
Native Americans have a very ancient symbol that looks like a swastika except the "arms" go the opposite direction. Check to see which direction they go.
|
|
|
Minimalism
Sept 20, 2014 18:29:46 GMT -5
via mobile
Post by dayeanu on Sept 20, 2014 18:29:46 GMT -5
I inherited a lot of quilts, hand-made by my DH's great? aunt, I think. So they're really old. I've given most of them to my sister-in-law, who is into quilts. I have one on my bed right now -- it's mostly white, with a barely discernible pattern in faded blue. And I've just realized that this pattern is … swastikas. This has me wondering about that old aunt and why she would chose that pattern. I'll have to ask DH about her age in relation to his parents and how old she would have been in WWII. My guess is that she made the quilt before WWII … before this symbol had such a bad rap. But I'm not sure that I want to keep sleeping under the swastikas. I'm not very well versed in antique quilt patterns, but my guess is that it has nothing to do with swastikas. I think I have seen that pattern - maybe it's "drunkard's path?" Look at antique quilts on eBay and you'll probably find it. Speaking of swastikas - when my mother was in the big city hospital in August, she was in a semi-private room with an elderly lady who told Mother that she was from Germany (she had an accent), and that both her husband and father were Nazi soldiers. Both my mother and dad have Jewish heritage. My parents were in their early 20's during WW II. Family members were killed overseas. It was a tense, tense hospital stay. Sorry for derailing this thread..........back to minimalism!
|
|
|
Post by larataylor on Sept 20, 2014 18:42:00 GMT -5
dayeanu - before we get back on the rails - that reminds of my college dorm days, when my room was sandwiched between those of a black South African and a white South African.
|
|
|
Post by dayeanu on Sept 20, 2014 18:42:19 GMT -5
I think what I want is simplicity to clean, more than minimalism. I might be willing to have one or two beautiful ornate pieces that involve intricate cleaning, but not a house full.
I want smooth lines and smooth surfaces. Some of Mother's furniture (like the bed) don't have smooth slick finishes. The wood is not truly rough, but it's not a nice slick varnished finish. The duster or microfiber rag doesn't glide across it. It sort of drags.
I want finishes that are easy to clean. And stuff that can be washed off. (Lots of her figurines and vases are not washable, I don't think) so that is in the forefront of my thinking. Easy care.
I want a white everyday bedspread that I can throw in the washer and bleach. Same for curtains/drapes.
I want ease of cleaning.
|
|
|
Post by lostchild on Sept 20, 2014 18:56:53 GMT -5
I inherited a lot of quilts, hand-made by my DH's great? aunt, I think. So they're really old. I've given most of them to my sister-in-law, who is into quilts. I have one on my bed right now -- it's mostly white, with a barely discernible pattern in faded blue. And I've just realized that this pattern is … swastikas. This has me wondering about that old aunt and why she would chose that pattern. I'll have to ask DH about her age in relation to his parents and how old she would have been in WWII. My guess is that she made the quilt before WWII … before this symbol had such a bad rap. But I'm not sure that I want to keep sleeping under the swastikas. Swatiskas were originally African. They were adopted by Nazis as symbol. That's how they are perceived today but to me you should remember that your aunt made it and you should enjoy it...how many memories do you have that have love in every stitch and I am African American and can say that easily!
|
|
|
Post by larataylor on Sept 20, 2014 19:15:23 GMT -5
lostchild - I didn't know that. I do know that it's a Hindu symbol for something good. And maybe just an old quilt pattern. It's too bad the Nazis gave it a bad association.
|
|
Deleted
Joined: January 1970
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Sept 20, 2014 20:58:11 GMT -5
My aunt was cleaning out my great granmas house and found a ku klux Klan robe and hat. The family never knew about that part of her. And they did live in Georgia.
|
|
|
Post by sunshineshouse on Sept 20, 2014 21:17:23 GMT -5
I love furniture with a story! When I first saw the headboard I thought Gothic or Gothic Revival. I think Gothic is very early 1800's. Of course the early furniture makers mixed up styles as they pleased, borrowing elements from different ones. It is lovely!
|
|