You Don’t Love It and It Doesn’t Love You, Release It

Moving from a home I had lived in for over twenty years helped me de-junk. Still, I had too much clutter. I was fortunate to get help from a relative and another friend who were naturals at organization; they actually enjoy doing it! I started the daunting task in the storage shed then moved to organizing the house. My master-organizer friend helped me sort items in three categories:
● Trash

● Keep

● Give away

Sorting through my treasures and deciding what items to keep and what items had to go was painful. Fighting the thought “I might need that someday” that was stuck my brain, I waded through “stuff.” My cousin said, “If you don’t love it and it doesn’t love you, its time to release it.” This phrase helped me donate some of my neglected treasures to charity. Out went the comb-binding machine and boxes of binding combs, away to an acquaintance went my oak drafting table, chair and drafting arm, and to EBAY went my drafting templates and supplies. I was surprised and pleased how many others needed the things I had held onto, and I have not missed the clutter. It's amazing how much easier it is to organize when there is less to organize. Now my motto is: If something comes in, another item must leave and this usually works.

I have found the ancient proverb “cleanliness is next to Godliness” has merit. I believe that a tidy home allows positive energy to flow more freely and is not so frustrating to look at. If anyone needs help or ideas for reducing clutter, my daughter clued me to the website http://www.flylady.net/ a great site for packrats or some of us that just need a little help.

Titanic to Luxury

After the bathroom was saved from sinking into the crawl space and was put back together, I replaced the chair railing, baseboard and much of the bead board. I used pine bead board to match what was already in the room. I took more work because of the knotholes, but it has more character than MDF. I painted the room the same beige as some of the other rooms in the house and painted the trim white. I ordered a cast iron claw-foot tub from California and had it installed. I chose chrome feet and fixtures because according to a Victorian-plumbing expert, brass was not used much until the 1930’s and after. Besides, brass is harder to maintain. I chose a new tub over an old one that would have had to be refinished because my plumbing expert said the original finish of a tub is fired at a much higher temperature than a refinish is and the finish would last longer. Sometimes finish on a reconditioned tub can sliver. I ordered the tub and fixtures through a plumbing store that gave me free shipping. They loaded it into my pickup and away I went. It took a couple of burly men to get the crate out of my truck when I got home. Cast iron is heavy, but is so nicer than man-made material.

I did not like how the shower curtain hung down blocking the view of the rest of the room, so I bought cafe curtain tie backs, painted them white to pull the shower curtain back against the wall when not in use.


I found a ceramic shelf to install on the wall at the front of the tub for shampoo and other items. I bought a soap rack on EBAY for a fraction of the cost of the same item at a bath store. I also repaired the window ledge and installed a plantation blind.

Ahh - now candles, scented bubbles and a hot bath in a claw foot tub. Luxury at last!