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lhamo
10-21-12, 4:42am
I believe I have succumbed to the curse of too much storage space.

I did a major declutter of the kids rooms, today. Got rid of a humungous bag of clothes that are too small for them (they will get recycled by the building cleaning lady), another bag of shoes, set aside another smaller bag of practically new/barely worn clothes that friends might want, and have another set of school uniforms to offer to people. I have set aside some of the better quality/less worn stuff from DS to see if DH wants to hang onto it for DD (I thought that was better than just getting rid of it without consulting him -- he's away for work this weekend). I also got rid of some old stained pillowcases and sheets with holes in them.

But in spite of that progress I am still a bit annoyed with myself because while sorting through the linens I realized that in spite of the decluttering effort I still have 26 spare pillowcases! We have lots of pillows on our beds (at least 2 per person), but that still means I could change every pillowcase in the house three times without washing the old ones and STILL have extras. And that is even after getting rid of some. AAAGH! I was going to get rid of more, but as I was putting all the bedding back in the storage space we have for it (drawers under DD's bed) I realized there was plenty of space and we don't need it for anything else, so decided to just keep them. I won't have to but more pillowcases as long as I live, I guess.

I am actually terrified about filling up all the storage space we have in this apartment. When we moved in we had to make a second trip with the moving truck because all our stuff wouldn't fit in one truckload (part of that was poor loading skills on the part of the movers, but still. And that was with virtually no furniture of our own. After we got everything unpacked, we still had tons of empty storage. But it has gradually been filling up over the 3.5 years we have lived here. There is no way I want to move it all, especially not to another city or continent. MUST GET DH ON BOARD WITH DECLUTTERING! He is a serious packrat. The utility room is a disaster area partly because he insists on keeping nearly every box that comes into the house. Plus all the styrofoam packing material. The cupboards filled up long ago, now we have stacks of boxes. And a ton of crap from his office that he promised me over a year ago he would send back to them but still hasn't.

I know lots of people struggle with not enough storage space, but the opposite is almost as bad because you just aren't forced to deal with stuff piling up until there is so much of it its overwhelming.

At least I feel like I got something done this weekend. Also filed backstanding insurance claims and mileage requests for flights we didn't get credit for, and figured out what we owe the local hospital for treatment earlier in the year. Crossed a large proportion of the stuff I had put on my mind dump list earlier this week off -- nice feeling! But 26 pillow cases -- still trying to get my brain around that one....

lhamo

Rosemary
10-21-12, 7:35am
Maybe you need more pillows :D

We tend to accrue pillowcases because they outlast sheets.
Is there something else you could use some of them for? Storage bags for out-of-season clothing? I'll be there's a blog somewhere devoted to making things out of pillowcases - or if not, maybe you could start one! :D

Mrs-M
10-21-12, 9:02am
http://emoticoner.com/files/emoticons/smileys/over-react-smiley.gif?1292867649

http://emoticoner.com/files/emoticons/smileys/stop-sign-smiley.gif?1292867681Lhamo! No more pillowcases... http://emoticoner.com/files/emoticons/smileys/teehee1-smiley.gif?1292867687

http://emoticoner.com/files/emoticons/smileys/swear1-smiley.gif?1292867684Cussing at department store that sold you them all to you!

You know, you can always blame it on your DH! http://emoticoner.com/files/emoticons/smileys/zhemademe-smiley.gif?1292867706

goldensmom
10-21-12, 9:19am
Are the pillow cases white? With Halloween looming, I’m imagining a herd of toddler ghosts.

Mrs-M
10-21-12, 9:36am
LOL, Goldensmom!

Zoe Girl
10-21-12, 9:57am
Dang it, I needed and bought pillow cases yesterday. Too bad you are on the other side of the world. I was totally shocked at the price, I wanted a little lace or something since I have quilts my g-ma made and a set was $30!!!

So maybe you DOO really need those, or they can be sold on e-bay. Go figure

Jilly
10-21-12, 10:30am
Quilt
Make a doona cover
Pillowcase dresses for everyone in the building
Child-size, full body puppets
Napkins
Tote bags
Hot water bottle or ice pack covers

I cannot be the only person who loves that everything is going to have a new life somewhere. And, when I see this kind of bounty, all I see is free fabric.

lhamo
10-21-12, 5:44pm
In my defense, I think I probably only bought about 1/3 of them -- either as part of sheet sets or at Ikea, where they cost about $2 each. There were a bunch we inherited from a friend when she moved, and then a bunch more that the previous owners of our apartment left behind. Those are fancy -- Ralph Lauren, et al.

I've still got a couple in beige/light brown, and one set of light green that matches a bedspread, but the rest are all white. I put the ugly print ones out yesterday.

And please don't encourage me to get more pillows -- I LOOOOVE pillows! My ideal sleeping arrangement is two pillows under my head and at least two extra to throw my legs over.

I think I must have been channeling my love of pillows into the pillowcase purchases....

lhamo

Mrs-M
10-21-12, 5:53pm
Ah, well, Lhamo... I'd select the best ones out of the bunch (your favourites), and utilize those pillowcases as regular use ones, while reserving the others for emergencies, etc.

SimplyL
10-21-12, 7:39pm
I've seen some really cute things done with extra pillowcases. If you weed back through and decide you have spare you could go without, you could make a window treatment with it.. and pillowcase dresses for little girls are another idea :) I actually picked up a grouping of 10 pillowcases at a large Goodwill center. They're so pretty, different Shabby Chic style floral designs, one is a beige/white floral print.. all different yet in same style/color family. When we moved a large, white bookcase into the main living area. I have baskets that conceal supplies and threw a pillow case over each one as a cover. I think I paid (per piece it broke down to) .50 cents.

Now, in our townhouse, I only have 1 pillowcase per pillow (always in use) and same goes for sheets - period. I just do laundry while the family is at school/work. :) My MIL has a huge linens closet and is always taking in sheets, blankets, pillowcases, towels from other family members. That closet is my personal *you know where*. It's too much, however, she is accustomed to guests and likes to be prepared.

Rosemary
10-21-12, 7:48pm
Nothing wrong with using as many pillows as make you comfortable. DH and I have 4 each. Excessive? It would be if we didn't use them, but we do.

goldensmom
10-21-12, 8:33pm
Okay, now on a serious note (as opposed to my ghost comment), our church participates in a program that makes dresses from pillowcases. If there is a church in your area that participates in the program, I can tell you from experience, a donation would be much appreciated.

http://www.littledressesforafrica.org/blog/

awakenedsoul
10-21-12, 8:45pm
That's interesting that you have too much storage space. That could be dangerous. I have an old house with very little storage space. I think that's good. I just saw Peter Walsh yesterday at Oprah's event. He was really good. He inspired me to come home and declutter. I threw out a trash bag of old papers, CD holders, and calendars. It felt great! I cleared out a couple of drawers and fixed some droopy bottoms on my storage benches. Filled up a bag of clothing and wrapping paper to donate to the Salvation Army. I love giving stuff to them. I only have one tiny closet. I guess that will be a blessing when I move. Clutter is an interesting subject. It really does weigh you down...