Beep beep

I forgot to mention a couple thoughts in my post yesterday, not that anyone's missing much.  When I go to places like the antique show I was at yesterday, it still surprises me a little that people are willing to deal with me on an adult level.  I'm saying this because I grew up going to antique collectors' swap meets and such, and my dad used to sell old toys at them, so I'm used to browsing on an epic level.  When you're a little kid and looking through Beatles memorabilia or 80-year-old teddy bears, no one expects you to have money in your pocket, but no one thinks you're going to steal either (which I never did, it's like cursing yourself) so I was pretty much ignored or indulged.  I usually had about five to ten bucks that my dad would give me but I would wait until the last minute to buy anything if I could afford it.  So when I go to these things now I still expect the same treatment.  It's a little weird when people aren't shocked that I'm going to try to bargain like an adult.  And I'm a little surprised that it's ok to do it, and that people don't act like I must be broke.

The other thing is I wanted a nun's bedroom more or less, it's funny but that's how I pictured it before I put it all together.  I just wanted the essentials back in it.  I once saw a picture of Marguerite Duras' (NOT a nun) bedroom and thought, that's what I want.  Just a bed and a chair and a dresser.  It's like what I mentioned before about my friend who didn't want anything in his room that didn't belong in it.  I've been waking up for years surrounded by stacks of CDs, books, clothes and furniture and I want no more noise in my visual field.

Regression Therapy

Sometimes before things get better, they start to look worse than they did after you did all that work to make things look good.  Such is the case with the basement area, which has had a slight temporary setback while I tried to figure out where a shitload of things are going.  I've even sold books and got rid of furniture from the area and it still looks terrible:

The Salvation Army came Thursday and picked up more furniture, this time mainly from upstairs.  I had that little twinge I get when the furniture disappears from view: there's still so much to do.

One of the lessons I've learned while doing this job is that you shouldn't confuse organizing with decorating.  Trying to work out an aesthetic scheme, while you are simply trying to figure out where things should go and what to keep, is a completely separate task.  Yes, things start to look prettier when they aren't bursting off shelves and covering the floor.  But if you try to work out color schemes and space planning at the same time as the decluttering aspect, you might be taking on too much at once.  Keep a notebook to record your ideas along the way.  And I think I've said this before: refrain from shopping for a whole new look with containers and shelves or design accents, because you might not be sure what you need until the worst is over.

That said, I'm trying not to put any pressure on myself about this.  The holidays are here and I am behind on everything to do with presents and the usual planning. That said, I had a mini holiday party this evening where everyone complimented me on how nice everything looked in the living room.  I had to confess that a lot of stuff was hidden in the other rooms behind closed doors.  I should have taken pictures of my snack buffet table, before everything got eaten!