Panoply 2022: It's a Wrap!

It's time to collage all my blog posts for 2022 as a final step before closing the book, figuratively and literally, on 2022. This blog is primarily my personal journal, and my final step each year is to have all my yearly posts bound in a yearbook style format using Blog2Print (no affiliation, I just love the product and service). 

I only blogged 24 posts (counting this one) in 2022, the same as 2021. Perhaps that's my new norm. It is my hope, though, that there is entertainment and inspiration within these posts for you, my readers. My blog is non-revenue producing by choice.

Panoply 2021: It's a Wrap!

Once again the Christmas decor is packed away, and now it's time to collage all my blog posts for 2021 as a final step before closing the book, figuratively and literally, on 2021. Soon I'll have all my posts bound in a yearbook style format using Blog2Print (no affiliation, I just love the product and service). 

I only blogged 24 posts (counting this one!) in 2021. That's even fewer than last year. I suppose I didn't feel I would be entertaining or informative enough to sustain your interest, so 24 it was. Plus, I found myself super busy by late summer with another move!

Miscellaneous Musings No. 20

Hello, my friends. Time for another musings post from yours truly. Please don't be offended by anything written here. It's just the way my little brain turns, and every now and then I need to spill through what has become a series. This is Miscellaneous Musings No. 20.

I've actually seen people write solely on the subject of decorating with branches. Well, here ya go. I even threw in a spider lift since it's so appropriate for fall and Halloween.The pin oak tree (above and below) is was on the corner of the lot of our new home, and it is was very precariously positioned over both our slate roof and the city electric wires overhead (the wires I deplore, but it's an old neighborhood). Here was the emotional state of the tree this past Tuesday:

I have plans for the corner, and hope to have them in place by next spring when the soil is amended, after the stump is gone. I also have an interim plan. More to come.....

Graphic signs are often another popular subject seen and written about as trendy. Here's one for you, in case you can't remember what this part of your house is....PORCH. (Full disclosure: upon blowing it up, it says Welcome to Our PORCH).

More Kroger math spotted in the grocery store since my last musing: 

Oh yea, I'll take Charmin for $7.00 per square foot, please. Puh-lease.

From the organization files....here's an easy way to tote clothing short distances, you know, Beverly Hillbilly style. Just fill a yard waste bag of your hanger clothing, then wrap the ties over each side of the hangers, tighten, tie and go. Then, later, you can re-use the bags for their original purpose. Hey, worked for me in moving, and later with my little landscape I'm about to take on.

This next one is both gross and funny. I am notorious for getting rocks and tiny debris in my socks/shoes as we walk, which causes me to have to pause and take my shoe off, empty it, and go on. Recently, we went to a nephew's wedding and had to walk from our parked car to an outdoor garden venue for the celebration. Thank goodness I didn't take my shoe off there! When I got home and took my shoes off, this is what I found:

My interior lining completely deteriorated on my bare foot! These are Franco Sarto shoes, and I bet I've only worn them less than a half a dozen times. Problem is, I never wore hose with them. I had to peel that stuff off over the trash can before ditching the shoes. Notice the farmer tan line at the ankle...

Here's one from the purging files....as most of my longtime readers know, we downsized two and a half years ago from a nearly 5,000 sq ft home/landscape garden to just under 2,200 in an urban condo. We got rid of ALL of our yard tools but one little tote I kept (and leaf blower that won't even touch that pin oak!). Well, we just moved into a 2,900 sq ft home with small landscape. Easy enough to manage....if one had the right tools. The best part? We gave our lawn mower to the guy who we are now paying to cut our grass. We did manage to negotiate rakes, hoses, and a few other things from the sellers we had previously purged, including those yard waste bags I mentioned earlier.

I'll leave you with views taken a couple blocks from our urban dwelling...

...and from just one block from our newest home...

...just crossing the river once again.

This is what I feel like after this past month of moving:

Thanks for your visit. Please send someone who'll clean for me. 

Rita C. at Panoply

Blog Refresh, Email Subscription Update

I am one who thrives on organization. When Blogger announced it was eliminating Feedburner as its email subscription service in July, I knew I needed to do something before the rush. 

Miscellaneous Musings No. 17

Welcome to another instalment of Panoply Miscellaneous Musings. These are a collection of random thoughts from a racing mind, quirky things noted around me, and sometimes just life imponderables. I have a category devoted to these on my blog because, well, it's how my mind works. To know me is to know I typically have many tabs open on my computer and my brain at any given point in time. You may want to grab a drink, as it's been awhile since I've compiled them. The length proves it. So, here we go with Miscellaneous Musings No. 17.

When I created my Thanksgiving tablescape back in November, I told y'all I had a story to tell about the Juliska salad plates I used. Try as I might to eliminate dishes stored in this downsized living, I ended up with 12 of these when my intention was to have 4.

A scam seller attempted catching me in his web on eBay after I ordered these on a Buy It Now transaction. The scammer sent me a total of 3 sets (of 4 plates each) when I paid for 1 set. The seller later sent me an email (in poor English), trying to get me to send money for his [intentional] duplicate shipment to an email outside of the eBay official account (a huge red flag!). I contacted both eBay and Juliska directly. Without going into the dirty details, the seller had apparently tapped into the Juliska wholesale customer database to fake orders under bonafide [business] customer accounts for drop shipments. The eBay representative confirmed fraudulent activity and told me the seller would be handled (no further details). Juliska told me to keep the dishes, but encouraged me to only purchase from authorized Juliska dealers in the future. Turns out the 3rd set ended up back with its rightful Juliska independent distributor after reaching out to me with the shipping address the fraudulent seller had provided. I still have 2 sets, the eBay seller has not been blocked, and I will not be buying other than from authorized dealers. Lesson learned.

Speaking of tablescaping, I saw a great video on a Facebook group I'm a member of, Tablescapes and Tablestyling. It was on competitive tablescaping.

Although I really enjoy tablescaping, I didn't know the competition of such was a thing. Back in 2017, I first noticed our local ReStore sponsoring a tablescaping competition with local small business participants using their items, which would be donated to ReStore afterward for resale. It was great! Winner had bragging rights and all the participants had the opportunity to promote their business through use of items they typically offer for sale.

ReStore Tablescaping Competition 2017

Besides the video and what my local ReStore sponsored, I found another article about competing with themed tables from Apartment Therapy (click on link, here).

Besides dishes, textiles (mostly throw pillows) have been a major weakness for me since the downsize. I read somewhere that throw pillows are stuffed animals of grown women. LOL. Truth! I take comfort in the fact that a girlfriend told me she currently has 15 new ones stored in her basement her husband has yet to see. 😂

My attempt to control the space which throw pillows can consume is in buying Hefty vacuum seal plastic storage bags (no affiliation) until I decide which ones will be purged through my next yard sale. I don't buy pillows anymore unless they have zip closures so I can pull the forms and store them flat. In the collage below, you can see how easy the storage is. The bottom left frame are some of the many no zipper pillows I have vacuum sealed.

The purge still continues, even though it's been almost one year since we moved (which has flown by). Just this morning Mr. P. asked me what I was doing with the four area rugs rolled and standing in the coat closet (top L frame of collage below). Likely, I'll be selling those pictured in the yard sale, too. I thought I'd use them, but haven't. It's just so much easier cleaning wood floors without rugs.

I have at least five or six smaller hooked wool rugs (holiday) in the storage unit, too, not to mention other small rugs I moved and am storing at the loft.

Sigh.

January seems to be the month everybody gets on the bandwagon for purging / organizing. I guess I'll be re- re-organizing. I have one closet in the loft that I call my household closet. It definitely needs re- re-organized, even though it's gone through at least a couple iterations already. What you see pictured below is about one-third of the actual size (R & L sides store nearly equal amounts). Love those high ceilings, but all those boxes you see stacked on the floor have still not been gone through since the move.

Speaking of purging, when you find money or uncashed checks, let me caution you about trying to cash them. We found two last year, one of which cost us a returned check fee after cashing (later waived by our wonderful bank rep) due to its age. Even though both checks were over six months old, one issuer apparently enforced the timeframe, one didn't.

Also related to purging, and this one's important to note! From Time magazine, please read this article. You may want to pin it (from the original source, of course). It tells why you need to make a "When I Die" file, and it's never too early!

Out and about in our neighborhood.......
Our capitol building is undergoing some major structural repairs and this is its current look:

It kinda reminds me a huge Jiffy Pop popcorn pan - remember those? - but most residents around town call it the giant condom. Maybe so, but it doesn't seem to keep bad politicians from proliferating.

You've heard how Southern mamas put bows in their girls hair, right? This Blessed Virgin statue was spotted along one of our walk paths in the new neighborhood.

We occasionally drive through the old neighborhood and walk there when we have errands to run in that area. I still can't bring myself to walk past the house, just drive by. This past weekend we drove by and there must've been over 100 Canada geese on the riverbank. Ugh. I don't miss chasing them at all. One former neighbor sent me a video of the geese crossing the street, told me she missed us. 🙄  I memorialized the geese at the loft, did you notice? It was part of my Christmas decor, at the front door. That lighted floral arrangement is a resting Canada goose.

Can't miss the chance to share my granddogs. Two under two and one spoiled rotten. Can you tell which is which?

If you're on Facebook, there was that 10 year challenge of pictures of yourself. I didn't post it, but this was me, 2009 and 2019.

While we were away in early December, I was in the bathroom and noticed a short hair, either an eyebrow or from my crown, that grazed my face, which happens fairly frequently. I actually don't brush my hair, just comb it after washing, and then run my fingers through it with water each morning. Whoa! That hair was attached, and was on my chin! Baby fine, but still, that was a first! Geez, I'd always heard women talk about that, now I guess I have that to add to maintenance. That's one thing hypothyroidism has not left me without (thin hair). Even my hairdresser said to me, "I thought people with hypothyroidism didn't have eyebrows?" Not this chick.

From the imponderable files......
Are you like us, and basically use the heels of loaves of bread as freshlock mechanisms and never use them much or at all? They're kinda like the bookends of bread books, aren't they?

Lastly, random thoughts at bedtime....this is so me.

Source

If you stuck with me this far, I so appreciate your loyal readership. Drop me a line, anytime. I'm open all night...well, my mind pretty much is, anyway. If you want to see my other Musings, here's a link that lists them all, here.

Oh, and don't forget to come back on January 15 for a special edition of the Traveling Tote. It's our 5-year anniversary, and we've got a great giveaway. You're gonna love it!

Postscript to publishing: I didn't even realize when I hit publish on this post that it was exactly seven years ago on this date that I started my blog!

Rita C. at Panoply

(A special thanks to Rebecca from Zucchini Sisters' Celebrate Your Story #214 for featuring this post!)

Sharing: Pieced Pastimes, Best of the Month, Happiness is Homemade, Love Your Creativity, BNOTP, All About Home Common Ground, All About Home Follow the Yellow Brick Home, Inspire Me, My Wee Abode, Thistle Key Lane, Bluesky at Home, Make it Pretty, Celebrate Your Story,French Ethereal SYS, Delightsome Life H&G, Katherine's Corner TFT, Grace at Home, My Thrift Addiction

Panoply 2019: It's a Wrap!

Well, I've packed away all my Christmas decor, and now it's time to collage all my blog posts for 2019 as a final step before closing the book, so to speak. I'll have all my posts bound in a yearbook style format using Blog2Print (no affiliation, I just love the product and service).

I only blogged 24 posts (counting this one!) in 2019. That's a testament to my year of downsizing (and the fact that I was too busy to write about the action I was in the midst of). The theme of downsizing was definitely the center of my universe in 2019 and a recurring theme throughout the year. What you'll see below is a photo collage of each of my topics this past year, with individual post links below the photos if you're so inclined. I boldfaced one or more of my favorites in each category.

Home & Garden

Welcome! Our Urban Dwelling; July Garden Memories; Cozying Up the Condo; Christmas Home Tour 2019: It's Christmastime in the City

Travel: Tales of the Traveling Tote

Tales of the Traveling Totes #18: Urban Renewal;  Tales of the Traveling Totes #19; Tales of the Traveling Tote: Fun in the Sun; Tales of the Traveling Tote #20 and a Giveaway; Tales of the Traveling Tote #21: Fall in Utah's National Parks

Tablescapes

Purple Passion Fire and Ice Tablescape; Spring Blooms Tablescape; Embracing Summer: Pineapple Delight Tablescape; A Patriotic Tablescape: Celebrating Freedom, Always!; Tete-a-tete Summer Tablescape on the Balcony; Feline Fondness for Fall Tablescape; Tutu Fun! Danse Macabre Tablescape; Forest Walk Thanksgiving Tablescape; Black Tartan Plaid Holiday Tablescape

Miscellaneous Musings and Organization

Downsizing: Tips on Purging, Organizing; Top Tips as We Gather Together; Miscellaneous Musings No. 16

Panoply Antiquing

Panoply Booth Displays: Purging Household Items; Panoply New, Vintage Finds

All of the categories of my topics are pulled from my main menu. If you click on each of those topics at the header of my blog, you'll see the list of the posts pulled for each of the categories. It's just another way of keeping things organized.

Reflecting on the major push of downsizing, purging and organizing, I am happier with fostering less material things which, looking back now with 20-20 vision, had me feeling a bit overwhelmed. My Panoply sisters and I are even purging in our antique booth spaces at this writing, and hope to have a fresh start in 2020. So, even though shopping will still be happening, it will be with more of a "just in time" versus "just buy it" mentality.

I so appreciate each and every one you, my readers, and love the friendships struck through blogging. I hope those of you who read but don't always comment will feel welcome to do so anytime. I always try to visit blogs if you have one, and try to respond by email to comments. It's rare that I can't figure out who the commenter is or that I don't have a contact to reach you, but if so (and you're no-reply commenter), I'll leave a response on the post. I'm really looking forward to hitting 2020 with optimism and enthusiasm. I hope you are, too.

Happy New Year!
Rita C. at Panoply

(A special thanks to Suzanne at Pieced Pastimes: Saturday Sparks Link Party #356 for featuring my annual wrap up post!)

Sharing: Pieced Pastimes, Best of the Month, Happiness is Homemade, Love Your Creativity, BNOTP, All About Home Common Ground, All About Home Follow the Yellow Brick Home, Inspire Me, My Wee Abode, Thistle Key Lane, Bluesky at Home, Make it Pretty, Celebrate Your Story,French Ethereal SYS, Delightsome Life H&G, TFT, Grace at Home, Vintage Charm

Top Tips as We Gather Together

Are you starting to feel a little overwhelmed with planning and executing holiday entertaining? Whether you're entertaining a few or a few dozen guests, the key to having a successful go of it and a good time is to be prepared. Today, I'm sharing my "Top Tips as We Gather Together", practical tips for entertaining at home, especially through the holidays. As one of several bloggers joining our host, Amber, from Follow the Yellow Brick Home, you're in for a slew (that's a lot!) of tips and ideas, whether it's decor, crafts, recipes, traditions or reflections, for Thanksgiving and even holidays beyond. If you've just come from Carole's blog, Bluesky at Home, you know exactly what I'm talking about! 

All of these tips I'm sharing consistently made my life a whole lot easier as I geared up for hosting big events in my home (guests up to 40). I'm simultaneously sharing several of my favorite past fall tablescapes (with original links back as the caption to each photo). While I'm reaching into my archives, the content remains relevant now. My hope is that one or more ideas may inspire you, whether it's an organizational tip or table styling idea, so you can host with the best of them, and have fun too! Sharpen your pencils, readers, class is about to begin!

1. Coat, please. If it's coat-donning season, why not empty your foyer coat closet and use it for guests?  Hangers are inexpensive to buy (or free), and leaving your own coats on a bed or portable, folding clothes rack allows you to let guests feel welcome (and useful, hanging their own coats) right at the door.

Richly Rustic, Romantic Autumn Tablescape

2. Rely on the numbers. Ask guests to RSVP by mail (if formal), email, text or phone call by a set date. Plan groceries accordingly, and a seat for each person with a table (snack tray or drink table, if necessary) and coasters. Set the tables you have, and then make utensils readily available at the buffet line for those who will take seats elsewhere.

Pale Palette Fall Tablescape

3. Plan an organization chart for the meal or buffet. Pull out all serving dishes in advance (at least a couple days in advance), making sure everything will fit, whether on your table or on a buffet service. Also important to consider is where electricity will be necessary for crockpots, roasting pans, coffee makers, etc. It's important to have a good flow when serving a large number of people. Using paper teepees to label items being served on a buffet is helpful.

Pheasant Merriment Tablescape

4. Do as much of the food preparation in advance as possible. Have as much food cooked, baked and/or in serving dishes in advance as is possible. I even have a sister-in-law who prepares her turkey one day in advance! That way, your last couple of hours prior to guests arriving is just in heating things up and setting things out. If family members help with some of the dishes, try to have them deliver those earlier in the day, where they slide into the fridge or coolers until the evening heating and serving.

Fall Tablescape: Cornucopia, Canyon, Currier, Color!

5. Don't forget to plan space for the drink station, appetizers, and dessert bar. It is so much easier to let guests serve themselves drinks, apps, and desserts, if not the meal itself (buffet style). Plan a bar set with glasses, ice, mixers, etc., and have a cooler (indoors during inclement weather, or outdoors with better weather). Keep ice in the cooler and a towel at the ready for drying up drips, and on a tile floor in case of mishaps. This makes mixing and mingling much easier, while you handle last minute prep tasks.

England Crown Ducal 'Atlanta' Autumn Tablescape

6. Is that my drink? If you're using real glasses, try using wine charms, ribbons, or some other type of identifier for each person's glass to minimize confusion and keep drinks organized. If using cans or bottles, consider koozies that guests can write their names on and take with them. This would make a great take away for guests!

Impromptu Merriment Table - Fall Flourishes

7. Plan for cleanup. No one likes the overwhelming task of cleaning up after an event, so plan for it. For food trash, consider two cans in the kitchen, one for compacting, the other for food waste that doesn't go in the disposal. If using cloth napkins, keep a basket in the laundry room where they can be dropped and laundered later. Invest in a few plastic bus tubs (utility totes) where dirty dishes, utensils and glasses can be rinsed, separated, and stacked until guests leave, or even until the next day.

Forest Walk Thanksgiving Tablescape

8. No butts about it! If there are smokers in the group, have a designated smoking area outside at the ready, with either ashtrays or a sand-filled pot for the butts.

Feline Fondness for Fall Tablescape

9. Privacy, please....Most people don't wish to use the same towel as others before them (gross!). Do everyone a favor and leave the towels as pretty decor. Buy a supply of disposable, fingertip towels as an option for guests to use once and toss. Provide your guests with the option of a simple can of your choice of air freshening spray in a decorative basket so they can be comfortable taking care of their business.

Fowl and Feather Fall Tablescape

10. If you provide take away 'thank yous' for guests, prepare and have them ready and waiting near the front door as guests leave. If your event is casual enough and you offer leftovers, make sure you save your reusable plastic containers leading up to the event, or purchase an assortment inexpensively beforehand. Chinese takeout cardboard containers are also a nice alternative.

Ironstone, Transferware Fall Tablescape: "Meat and Potatoes" China

Oh, and one last thing: plan time for holiday fun! All work and no play makes for stressful holidays. Make sure you make time for yourself. Have fun, turn on some music, get out and enjoy the sights and sounds of the season, and relax with friends and family! Or, take a nap!

Feel free to pin from this post so you can refer back to it for organizing your own events or for table ideas. I invite you to leave your comments here on my blog, and feel free to add your own tips for entertaining at home in your comment.

Next, Shannon at Belle Bleu Interiors follows me, and her style is beautiful, see for yourself! Then, check out all the other links below for all the participating bloggers' ideas!

Rita C. at Panoply

(A special thanks to Rebecca of Zucchini Sisters' Celebrate Your Story #208 for featuring this post!)

Sharing: Pieced Pastimes, Best of the Weekend, Happiness is Homemade, Love Your Creativity, BNOTP, All About Home Common Ground, All About Home Follow the Yellow Brick Home, Inspire Me, Tuesday Turn About, Make it Pretty, Celebrate Your Story,SYS, Delightsome Life H&G, TFT, Grace at Home, Vintage Charm

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Downsizing: Tips on Purging, Organizing

When sharing our recent move into a loft condo, I promised I would offer my personal tips on downsizing in terms of purging and organizing. That's my topic today. Even if you aren't contemplating a downsize move, this strategy might help for any sort of necessary organization project, so you may want to bookmark or pin it for future reference. It's taken a while to just organize my thoughts and finish this post, and it's a bit lengthy, so you may want to even read it in sections (which I've separated for your convenience).

If you remember Steve Martin's movie, The Jerk, you can probably relate to this clip, "All I Need". It's a good parallel to downsizing.

My strategy before packing for our downsize was two-fold: a serious purge and organization of what remained, what I needed. We downsized more than 50% of our prior square footage. While some of these points may seem elementary, they're written for those who really don't know where to start. They do NOT include steps toward getting a house ready to list for sale; rather, they begin at the point where a house is either already on the market or sold.

Draft a Timeline, and Sequence Your Tasks

*  Once the house is available and ready for sale, wrap your mind around the possibility of going into contract right away and get busy right away. Time is of essence. Our house was never even on the market when it sold!

*  Negotiate the closing date and move out dates with your realtor(s).

*  Draft a timeline, blocking off certain tasks by certain dates to meet the schedule of closing and vacating your property. It may help to start by looking at your end date and work backwards. The point is, no matter how drawn out or compressed your schedule is, try to schedule and work toward key events with intention of reaching your goals!

*  Be prepared to either purchase boxes, bubble wrap, packing tape, and even plastic tubs for the downsizing effort. If you know of someone who is moving during your timeframe, by all means recycle from them or, if you buy, try to pass on to someone else who may be moving soon (ask family, friends, or post 'Free' on Craigslist or Facebook yard sale).

Moving Supplies

Get Inspired, Measure Twice, Purge Once (or Twice or Thrice!)

*  Your new space will undoubtedly inspire you (or else you need to question your decision to buy!). Before your new space is under contract, it's a good idea to visualize how you will use the space. Get busy in deciding what will go to the new space, what will need to be purged. Taking a careful look at the seller's furnishings is also good, as you may want to negotiate some of those items into your contract. This process may be fluid at first, but will soon take shape more definitively.

*  Style, structure of your new home can influence your choices. The age of our building (originally constructed in early 1900s) and modern design of the seller's renovation to the loft interior sparked a leaning toward straight lines and the Art Deco aesthetic, both representative of a modern look (but with vintage flair). I knew we had many furnishings that would already work in this style.

*  Size matters. Measuring all the wall spaces in your new space is crucial, and goes hand-in-hand with taking measurements of your current furnishings to see what and how pieces will physically fit. High ceilings or low ceilings can determine scale necessary to balance a space. High ceilings can accommodate larger furniture more easily, as an example. Try to roughly sketch it out so you can get a feel for the fit of things. I lost a lot of sleep going through this exercise repeatedly, juggling furnishings in my mind and on paper!

Size matters, functionality is important!

*  Functionality is important. In a downsize, it is critical to have things in their place and a place for the things you choose to take. This may sway your decisions in the pieces you decide to keep. The more versatile pieces can be, the more attractive they become in trying to make work for your new space. For example, a bookcase can be dish or linen storage, and a china cabinet can be linen storage. Or, a small stool can become table surface or even extra seating.

*  Color preferences can also steer your choice of furnishings. You may like the seller's color choices and it may steer you to want to change your furnishings, either with slipcovers, which room will hold which furniture, or by purging and buying replacements. Or, you may want to change wall colors in your new home to go with existing furnishings that you choose to take.

Before (top) and after (bottom) of Master BR painting

*  If money is no object and you have no reservations in purging what you already have, a new home may be your opportunity to just go with another style of furnishings completely, simply for the sake of change.

Basic Principles While Purging: Math, Matters, Motivation

You may be doing some purging of items in anticipation of your home selling and finding your new space, but once you have your new space under contract, it's time to get serious. A few things you may want to keep in the forefront of your mind when trying to make decisions in purging:
*  Do the math. Make an equation of the square footage of your new space to the old space. Ours was 2,275 new space to 5,000 former space, or 45% (2,275 / 5,000 = 45%). Translated to purging, I told myself for every 2 of most things, I needed to purge 1. For multiples, using 10 sets of dishes as one example, my goal was to purge 5.

*  Determine what's most important, what matters to you in a smaller space. Is it style, form/function, or beauty? Base your purging decisions on what is most important to you. Storage was important to me, and versatile functionality of pieces was equally important. Beauty sometimes took a backseat when an item was too big, or not in the style we anticipated using in the new space (our master bedroom furniture, though I loved its style and storage, was just too big for our new space, so we purged it).

*  Start purging with something that easily motivates you. It will spark your inner energy and, hopefully, keep you enthused. I started with my clothes and shoes first.

Easy targets for purge jumpstart: clothes and shoes

Okay, we've skimmed the surface, and you now have some basic things to concentrate on while purging. Let's dive deeper!

Purging, Organizing by Category vs by Room
A lot of professional organizers say the best way to pack and purge for a move is to go room by room, and that makes sense to me for kitchens and bathrooms. For most rooms, though, I have an alternate proposal: do it by category. Examples of this would be: clothes, paper, books, linens, games/toys, dishes (if you have a lot of sets like me), to name just a few. A few of my justifications for purging, organizing by category:

• Purging by category allows you to pick one that's easy for you to get started so you can see quick results and jumpstart your motivation to continue. My wardrobe was an easy starting point. I still had 20 yr old work clothes (that fit), and now was the time to bless others!
• Purging by category allows you to see the size of various collections. If you decorate with like kinds of one category of items (hello vintage purses, transferware dishes and pictures!), and they're scattered among various rooms, you'll soon see my point. It makes sense to gather them from ALL rooms before you begin the purge and organization. 
• Once you move, you may not choose to use all the same items from one dwelling's particular room to the next dwelling's same room, or you may repurpose a piece of furniture in an entirely different way in the same room.  Pictured below are various porcelains & other small decor items I gathered from various rooms and separated by take, purge, and store.

Purging by category: gathering small porcelains throughout the house first

Keep, Donate, Sell or Gift - the Actual Purge

You have decisions to make, and your timeframe may have an impact on what route you go.  Here are some options/venues for purging to consider (and I used all of them):
* Selling outright. My choice venue for this was in my established antique booth spaces. I limited selling only vintage or antique items, nothing contemporary. For more detail on that front, see this post. Consider selling contemporary items via Facebook yard sale, Craigslist, or local newspaper. If you have the luxury of time and good weather, have a yard sale. I chose not to waste my time schedule on selling through other venues besides my booth spaces. I have participated in yard sales, and that begs for another post of lessons learned. I'd be happy to oblige if anyone's interested in my tips for yard saling.

* Enlist family and friends for items you want to gift. My two married daughters and one niece were willing and anxious to take furnishings, and they coordinated a move to help each other and get it all out in one day. I also "strongly encouraged" my daughters to take some sentimental things such as their coming home outfits from birth and those outfits from their one-year old portraits.

Family truckloads day

*  Take family and/or friends up on offers to help you through the nitty gritty of purging, organizing, and packing. One of my sisters helped me continuously for nearly six weeks, two days a week, six hours each day. She helped me through indecisiveness on what to purge/keep (she would resort to the  "does it bring you joy?" question only as a tiebreaker), helped me drop off donations, and gladly took carloads of items each time she came to help. 🤣

*  Call a donation site to take items you want to purge that family & friends don't want. Additionally, each day I worked through boxes, bins, drawers and cabinets, I filled my SUV and dropped off a load to various donation locations.

Donation move day

*  Rent a storage unit to move things you really want to keep (after purging!) but won't have room to store in your new abode. It makes sense to organize and store seasonal decor such as Christmas and other seasonals this way, as they are not typically used year round.

Storage Unit Storage

*  Schedule and see the major move to your new home through. It's important to be there and note any mishaps right away. Additionally, if your move is to a reasonably close location, you can make many small moves yourself, accomplishing many smaller moves before, during, and after the moving company does their job. This also allows you to re-use tubs, boxes, paper and bubble wrap!

Professional move day

*  Engage a consignment business and/or an auction house to take what furnishings you don't want to move with you, but would like to sell. Bear in mind the percentage take for these businesses runs anywhere from 30-40% typically, and the most likely scenario is you receive your share of proceeds once the items are sold. Outright purchasing by an auction house is not typical. We scheduled this move after the major move to our new abode was complete. Alternatively, you could opt to have the sale hosted in your home (consignment). I chose not to go this route, mostly because our home was already sold. I did not want the risk of damaging the house interior or outside grounds with traffic of buyers coming and going. I've seen it too many times as an antique dealer who frequents those sales.

Chart Your Daily Progress

*  Keep notes on what you accomplish. In a downsizing effort, it's the ultimate reward for a list-making nerd to look back and see that proverbial list totally crossed off! It can be as simple as using a monthly planner and noting total hrs and subject worked on, or detailed descriptions.

Charting daily progress

*  Better than notes, take photos! I have a gazillion before photos of my house, garden and storage, but if you don't have those already, take photos of your rooms, even cabinets and drawers, before you start your project. Each time a move happens, big or small, take photos so you can see the progress. Sometimes it didn't feel like much of a difference for me, even when big loads were going out! However, I assure you, eventually you will see the huge difference in the befores and afters!

Empty House, Exterior after final move with auction house.

Take Breaks

Seeing your daily progress several days in a row allows you to take time off, guilt-free. It's a necessary thing to recharge your motivation for the duration of the project. Everyone is different, but when your bones and muscles ache, you're losing sleep at night, or feeling overwhelmed - those are all signs it's time to take a break. Dinner with friends, a night out with your partner, a day of reading, or doing nothing at all are all good suggestions to turn down the busy meter.

Dinner with Friends

A Night Out with My Honey

Accumulated Magazine Subscriptions through the Moving Project

Finish the Project, Celebrate!
Once the move is completed, it's important to finish the job entirely.
*  If you have a garden, consider digging up a few plants for transplanting at either your new home or a family member's (if you have little or no gardening space). Pass along plants can prove to be both sentimentally and agriculturally important. 

Pass Along Plants for Daughter

*  Do a final cleaning of the house and garage. Getting to the end point is cathartic! The trash was put out, and my sister & I celebrated! My husband and I also celebrated by going on vacation after the big move and the last load (with the exception of the auction house load out) was out of the house.

Celebrating the end of the project with my sister

Summary
Our downsizing effort took a full six months. Throughout all of this timeline, I was purging, organizing and packing daily. In an attempt to help those of you who may find yourself in a big move project scenario, I've outlined several points I went through to meet our timeline. Whether you're cleaning out an estate, downsizing your own home, or know someone else who is, I hope this has helped you. Looking back and summarizing, these are the key points I wanted to share with you:

• Draft a Timeline, and Sequence Your Tasks
• Get Inspired, Measure Twice, Purge Once (or Twice or Thrice!)
• Basic Principles While Purging: Math, Matters, Motivation
• Purging, Organizing by Category vs by Room
• Keep, Donate, Sell or Gift - the Actual Purge
• Chart Your Daily Progress
• Take Breaks
• Finish the Project, Celebrate!

Thanks for your readership, always. Feel free to leave your comments on this subject. They're certainly welcome.

(A special note of thanks to Marty of A Stroll Thru Life's 510th Inspire Me Tuesday for featuring this post and to the readers of Liberty's B4 and Afters and Shelley's Calypso in the Country's "Best of the Weekend" for showing most clicked interest in this post!)

Rita C. at Panoply

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