Good Bye Old Pilot Guest Room
Okay – maybe that title is a bit of a stretch. Technically, it would only take a leap and a jump to get this room all set for some pilot guests again.
The room looked like this when I started:
It doesn’t really look like much of a project, does it?
Well HA! :) The dresser and closet were conveniently closed up tight in those before photos.
But now, oh dear friends, now…
They’re totally empty of old movies, random leftovers from guys gone by, one bazillion metal hangars, sand art paintings, and just all sorts of general stuff.
Everything that’s left in the room is labeled. I have a plan.
An older guy down the road can even use the beds as guest beds in his house. How perfect is that? I slapped on a label. He’s getting the full hookup, right down to the alarm clock.
I know it’s not a huge overhaul. But I’m all about celebrating the little victories around here. Sometimes it’s so easy to ditch stuff. Other times, you stop and stare at it like you just don’t know what to do.
I know you’ve had that feeling before!
Decluttering a space that belonged to someone else is easier and harder all at the same time. It’s easier because I have no sentimental attachment to any of the things here. They don’t have memories and stories for me. As it’s time to move to the more modern aviation supplies, however, I’m at a complete lost. I don’t know what’s important. I don’t know what’s needed. I find myself doing silly little tasks that are in themselves very helpful. Take down a poster here. Peel off a sticker way over there. Walk all the way over there to put one little trinket in the donate pile… In the big picture, those tasks just are not so effective.
So I pause. I wonder:
- Where can I find some big strong men with time to spare? I have some beds to haul down some stairs.
- Who wants that little brown couch/bed thingy under the mirror?
What’s the weirdest thing you’ve ever stumbled on while decluttering? And… why not? Do you want a brown couch/bed thingy?
July 18th, 2011 at 6:08 am
Once, helping my grandparents de-clutter, I found Rentenmark they’d picked up much earlier in Germany–already a defunct currency when they visited, I think, it was the transitional currency after the horrific inflation of the early 1920s. That and an old road sign from some small town in Pennsylvania….
July 18th, 2011 at 8:13 am
My grandfather was an engineer who supervised the design and launch of nuclear submarines. At home, he saved/hoarded anything that could be used as a replacement part for a broken something else later. His basement workshop was a sight to see. Weirdest thing he saved: the large, thick plastic ball from roll-on deodorant bottles. (Remember those?) He had a bucket full of them.
The best our family has been able to come up with is that he was thinking he could use them for some sort of ball bearing project…otherwise, we really don’t get it. He was a very smart guy. He installed remote controlled curtains, an intercom system and central vacuum through their entire house (and their motor home) by himself. No idea what those plastic balls were saved for, though. I think the rest of us probably just don’t have his vision.
July 18th, 2011 at 9:32 am
When we bought our current house, my husband went up into the attic to see what we could store up there. Well, he found tons of random stuff! Tiki torches, beach balls, other random party supplies. We did not keep anything, but I suppose the previous owners had a thing for themed parties :)
July 18th, 2011 at 9:03 pm
Katie, I have so been enjoying these recent posts though I haven’t commented. :)
July 21st, 2011 at 6:38 am
I have a little bench that I have had forever. I’ve repainted it at least three times. It doesn’t “fit” any where in our house. . .and it didn’t at our last house either. I don’t know why I don’t just get rid of it. I guess I just love this little bench and am hoping that someday our life with wrap around this bench, just like my heart has. ~ Perhaps this is the nudge I needed to get rid of the precious little guy.