Lightening the House by T.R. McClure

I searched the internet for the above term. I discovered how to prevent lightning from striking the house. I also got some sites for home lighting which makes sense, since I am in the process of replacing the outdoor lights on my home. And one about Lightning the Horse. I was looking for information on getting rid of clutter.

Marie Kondo, author of The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up, suggests we ask if an item sparks joy. If it doesn't, thank it for its service and let it go. Maybe I'm depressed, but none of the coats in my closet spark joy, even the ones I wear. But if sparking joy works for you, by all means, try it.

I prefer the phrase "lightening the house". Anytime I take a box to Goodwill, or give books to the library, I feel as if the house is lighter. Such a good feeling, but sometimes it is hard to give something up.

June Saruwatari, author of Behind the Clutter, recommends getting rid of one item at a time. That's more my style. Here are some suggestions.

This year at my writing group's Christmas party our moderator arranged a Yankee swap. Denise brought enough wrapped gifts for everyone in the group. The gifts (except for the five dollar bill) were books. She had cleared her bookshelves. Books she's owned and probably hasn't read for years. But the books were new to us. Great idea. And her house is lighter.

When I announced the game to my family over the holidays, my son in law informed me his family calls the game Dirty Santa. After I thought about it, I realized I'm not surprised his family doesn't call the game Yankee Swap. They're from Alabama.

Each winter there is a coat drive in our area. I peruse the closet. Each year I look at two leather jackets. Genuine leather! I leave them in the closet. This year I asked my daughters if they wanted their ten-year-old garments. They don't. The jackets don't fit me. They are on their way out the door.

I think.

I have a drawer full of jewelry I no longer wear. Not red carpet kind of jewelry, but Christmas and birthday present kind of jewelry. If I took the collection to the jeweler to weigh for gold, I might get a few dollars. Hardly worth the gas. On this one I'm looking for suggestions. What to do with old jewelry?

Last week I saw a news story about leather motorcycle jackets. On the Lower East Side of Manhattan in the late 1920s, the Schott family was the first to pair a leather jacket with a zipper. They called the motorcycle jacket "The Perfecto". The American classic was worn by the military, movie stars, and musicians. Marlon Brando wore a Schott jacket in "The Wild One".


I think of my husband's motorcycle jacket. Shrunk from being caught in numerous downpours on our two trips out west, the jacket has hung in the basement for years. I think maybe the label said either "Schott" or "Perfecto". I feel a spark of joy. I head to the basement.

The jacket is gone. I must have been lightening the house.

As always, enjoy the read!
T.R. McClure www.trmcclure.com www.facebook.com/trmcclureauthor




Comments

  1. Great post! My word for this year is simplify. And one of the things I want to do is simplify my house. The term lighten works well for that, too. I'm not sure the best place to get rid of old jewelry. None of mine is real gold, so there goes that idea, lol.

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  2. We're serious about heading out on the boat this fall, so even though this will be a test year and we're not selling the house yet, lightening the house is on our minds. One way I'm finding to do that is to just not bring in new stuff. What's really broken the shopping habit for me is writing! Since I have my own (non-writing) business, finding time to write is precious, and I don't shop because I actually prefer the time at my keyboard. So as I'm tossing out the jeans that have a hole in the "bottom", I'm not replacing them with two more pairs.

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    1. Good to know I'm not the only one who keeps jeans with holes! good luck with the boat trip. Sounds great.

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  3. I love this, and I love the term "lightening the house." I need to take heed to it! My friend has used her mother's costume jewelry to create beautiful keepsake things for all the granddaughters. It might me something to do or have someone else do. I assume Pinterest would have clues as to how.

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    1. Good suggestion, especially since I am a new grandma to a girl!

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  4. We lightened our house a few years ago when we renovated and I’m so glad we did though I do regret a couple of impulsive discards. My daughters discovered on YouTube a young woman in Japan who teaches you how to fold clothing and ‘neaten’ as well as lighten your home. I was astonished to see my daughter’s drawers afterwards, with rolls of T-shirts etc colour-coded too! The same daughter who tossed clothes on the floor daily when she lived at home! Good luck with the lightening T.R., an appropriate topic for the first month of a new year!

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    1. Thanks, Janice. I guess we're destined to regret some discards.

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  5. Good post--I like the term, too. I'm tucking it away. Love that feeling of boxes in the backseat headed for Goodwill and books in shopping bags headed for the library sale. It's certainly true that the more we have the more we have to take care of. Your planning for your adventure brings back so many memories--good ones, too.

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  6. I agree with you that some things are hard to divest of even if they don't fit or don't spark joy. Maybe it's an old joy of when they did fit. I'm not sure, but we all go through it I think. I fill bags for the veterans group that drop them off at my mail box. That gives me a feeling of helping them earn money in their resale shop. I look forward to someone responding to your question about jewelry. Loved your post.

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  7. Oooo, Oooo, (Shirley waving her hand), I can answer the one about the old jewelry. I just wrote an article about rainy day projects my mother used to have us do. For the ol jewelry, you can break it apart and restring it into Christmas tree ornaments. You can disassemble it and make pictures (artwork) using the pieces (I have a car made of watch parts). Pull beads aparts ad restring them on flexible thread as wine glass identifiers (I forgot the real term for this). There are hundreds of things you can do with old jewelry.

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  8. I never knew what to do with the broken bits of jewelry, either. Great ideas, Shirley and Liz! I have always tried to clear out the kids' clothes as soon as they outgrow them. The sooner they get on some other growing kid, the better. Best, T. R.! Loved your excerpt.

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  9. We always have a Goodwill bag going. Normally in sits in a corner, and I add items of clothing to it as I realize I no longer like a sweater, or our son outgrows something. It certainly does lighten the house! So I like your phrase. :)

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  10. Lighten the house - I love that phrase. I desperately need to clean out, but carefully, due my mother's story.

    My father was a curmudgeon when it came to clothes. Mother would buy him a new shirt, and it had to hang in his closet for at least three years before he would wear it. One day, she coerced him into buying a new suit, and about a year later gave away is old suit. Except, it turned out, she'd accidentally gave away the brand new, unworn suit instead. At least that's the only explanation they could come up with for why it was missing.

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  11. I like the idea of "lightening the house" I wasn't surprised at the other subjects that came up in your web search. Computers don't understand all the nuances of human speech. I always put any clothes that don't fit or don't serve my uses anymore (I guess they no longer bring joy) in a stack on top of one of my closet shelves. Books pile up beside the bed. I'm getting close to another goodwill or Salvation Army run right now. About twice a year I "lighten" I'll have to consider ideas for old jewelry. I mainly throw it away.

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    1. Spring and fall seasons seem to be good times to "lighten". Thanks for your response.

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  12. I can really relate to your post! When my husband and I became engaged and moved in together a few years ago, we had to combine two full houses. We did a lot, and I mean A LOT of lightening the houses :)

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