February. Extreme Home Purge Month

It looks like February is going to be  Extreme Home Purge month at the Veldkmp home this year.

Henry and I will be celebrating our 30th anniversary this fall and although I have purged and purged over the years, somehow I've still managed to collect more stuff  than will fit into our little bitty house.

Partly this stems from the fact that money has always been tight for us. For years I had a wish list as long as my arm of pretty things for my home and garden if only the funds were available. Which meant that when things did come our way whether new, used or gifted, we held on to them.

Henry and I both have an eye for re-purposing and more and more 'things' came to live at our house. . . .  Because we might be able to use it one day. . .

Occasionally extra money became available and things from the wish list were purchased.

But It's been nearly 30 years!  (gulp) Even on a tight budget you can collect a lot of things over that many years!

At this point in our lives I would be hard pressed to come up with a wish list at all. The odd plant, a few photography accessories but. . . that's about it.

I have been faithfully purging over the last few years and brought in an organizing expert this summer when my friend Joyce gave up a few of her precious holidays to help me out.

It was marvelous. But it didn't go far enough.

It's time to get extreme.

I love old houses and spend time at Fort Edmonton every spring, summer and fall admiring them and a way of life from long ago. It all seems so so much simpler.

I'm always amazed at how little space entire families had. Spaces that were beautiful none the less.

Have you ever wondered why old houses have so few closets? It's because they had so few clothes.

I've been reading old Lucy Maud Montgomery  books and many of them talk about the pride women took in their skills in home keeping.  In creating good food and a comfortable home. (Jane of Lantern Hill being an excellent example)

I want that for my home.

But all my 'stuff'' keeps spilling out of corners, off shelves and down from my cupboards.

I've decided to take a page from the past. I will be going through every room in the house this month, getting rid off absolutely everything I don't either use regularly or is so beautiful I can't bear to give it up.

I started in my office/workroom today. As I type I am surrounded by things I thought I could never bear to give up because I might find a use for it someday. Oddly, I'm not finding it hard at all.

Keep an eye on my Facebook page because I'm going to be posting things for sale or giveaway all month.

I'm tired of being weighed down by more than I need. It's time to live my life with just enough.

I was going through pictures on my old laptop trying to decided what to save before I bring it to the recycle depot. I came across this picture of me with my sisters Tamara and Lisa at a wedding. It's my all time favorite and I thought I had lost it!

Me , Tamara, Lisa

Why is it my all time favorite?

How could it not be?! We're all glammed up, a professional took the picture and that mischievous look on Lisa's face is classic!

Here's my favorite of the two of them. . .

Hmmm. . . this might just be a fun month after all!