Friday, January 8, 2016

The Big Purge (and whether you're an Inny or an Outy)

We're home now--to rain. Thank goodness the drought has broken. And now we're in the year they're calling Sweet Sixteen, my thoughts are turning naturally to the Big Purge (that sentence seems all wrong somehow).  For an article on how to best start, I interviewed two of my go-tos. Organizing stylist, Angela Hoxsey, owner of House in Order says to start with the stuff on the floor and go clockwise.  No, no, don't go to the drawers just yet (full article here)

Angela Hoxsey, organizing stylist. Love this huge photo of M. behind her, don't you? Photo by Robb McDonough

You might remember that I've interviewed Angela before and I told her that my husband and I were opposites. I like all the surfaces clear, am a veritable Monica about that. To the extent that I actually give away all my books (I read about three a week) and when I do online video classes often I can't concentrate on what they are saying because I'm too focused on the shelves behind them! 

But my drawers are a mess.

"Oh yes!" Angela said. "You're an Inny." I'm tidy and seemingly organized on the outer, but a secret mess on the inner.

My husband is an Outy who doesn't mind a bit of stuff on the benches but has tidy drawers (oh er missus).

Here's the evidence.

My desk. Oh yes, it seems like I'm a tidy person

What lies beneath...Detritus includes: report from pest guy, three(!) empty sunglasses holders, three cameras, (one underwater one not developed from goodness knows when), five photos of Tallulah, business cards from restaurants where we ate an on the Camino which I'll likely never see again, old letter from my Auntie Doris who died many years ago (I just love just to see her wobbly handwriting every time I open the drawer) appt, reminder from vet from many months ago. And the rest.


Compare and contrast: The Hubstar's drawers:





The second person I interviewed was Chad Olcott who owns Mulberry's Home in Oakland--love how calls himself a "decorator" so old school --said his best clear-out came last year when his house was photographed for the SF Chron. He took out the little stuff--pictures on the walls, everything on the surfaces. Each of the littlies had to earn their way back in. So his advice is: imagine a newspaper or magazine is coming to your house.

Chad Olcott says take all the littlies out. Now they have to earn their way back in. 


The constant thing we have to purge is--you would not believe it--costumes! What's yours? Because we have so many themed fundraisers at the three schools the kids have gone to, we have accumulated what turned out to be a carload of costumes. We did this purge in late August.

My glamorous life all bagged up



Good! All cleared out. But since then we have actioned three more costumes...

Speakeasy party: Over-Donatella-ed it on the tan, not terribly Twenties


Tacos and Toga 50th birthday party. Anthony and Cleopatra, the greatest love of all time...or just two people in really bad wigs?

Space party: We were the two faces of Keith Moon (The Who drummer) Only two people got it. There was no prize for most obscure get-up, dang it.
Keith Moon as the Queen
Keith Moon as a rollerblading nun. Now do you geddit?


So it's back to commandeering the boy in the upstairs corner room to take them down to the garage to store.

There was actually a third box just for the wigs


What's your groundhog day of effluvia? (Wow, this blog post really took a strange and messy turn, just what you'd expect from an Inny, innit?)


35 comments:

  1. If only I could do the full on minimalist, life would be simple. But yet, I have money burning a hole in my pocket. I seem to collect socks. And I only wear them maybe four months a year. That and an incredible number of hi lighters...and I am not an editor, nor a writer. Oh, and with the cows now visiting quite regularly, I now collect cow pies.

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  2. Read Angela's column in the Napa Valley Register all the time, pity I can't follow her advice!!! Love the giant Marilyn.

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    1. I do too , and it reminds me of another huge blown up photo I saw of a old actress I saw in a house up your way, which I wrote about

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  3. I'm an inny and an outy. Basically I'm messy. But, I do go through my stuff every now and then.

    Once, I had to make room in the garage for F's motorbike, and I threw out a load of stuff from my married life that I'd moved lock stock and barrel into my single life house. It did me a world of good actually.

    I've also done the same inside, but not for a while. At the moment, I have a lot of F's stuff added to mine while he's in furnished accommodation, so it's even messier than usual chez moi.

    I love my cleaner!! She does wonders every week.

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    1. Agree to the finale, ours in the most important person in our week

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  4. Is it possible to be both an inny and an outey? 'cos I think that might be me.....and I long to be minimalist but I'm so sentimental I find it hard to discard.......and did you both wear the wrong cleopatra wig on purpose? oh what a silly question.......x

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    1. That is really endearing. I cannot throw away any drawing the kids have done or even broken pottery so its all there in the effluvia of Mt Vesuvius cupboard

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  5. BB, I want those cow pies for the heaps...

    Oh, your desk surface is just breathtaking! Mine does not resemble that after a clean.

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  6. I am a completely outy!!! I don't want to squash stuff on and if i stuff it in drawers then i never do it i have learned so i leave it out everywhere and if it is in it is neat. People think I am bipolar in my house keeping because some bits are so organized or it's on the floor and chairs. Then someone comes to visit and then the piles get messed while making room for them to sit. it could be chaos for my mind if i wasn't so UNOCD.

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  7. I think I am a inny like you! Cookbooks creep in, socks, stupid sale purchases. I am applying new rules around purchasing anything this year as I think North American consumption is so ridiculous. As for costumes - that was good I think - spending $ on memorable experiences is always wonderful and I totally love the Keith Moon thing!

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    1. Which reminds me I must give away my cookbooks, I like reading them and aaahing over the photos but I never make the recipes. I just get friends to tell me recipes, if it can't be said in about three sentences I won't make it sadly

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  8. I love the costumes. I still regret giving away some of the costumes I made for my kids when they were little, in particular a really spectacular red dragon costume for my daughter. Oh well, every bit of not-beautiful or unused stuff left our house last year when we moved out and then moved back in for our renovation. Best way to de-clutter but I don't necessarily recommend it.
    I do have things just as I want them though and the house is very easy to clean and tidy. Fortunately the things I like to buy to decorate/read have a limited time use, candles and flowers and newspapers, so the clutter has not accumulated again.
    Hope the Purge-and-Org goes well XO

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    1. Wow, Dani, that dragon costume deserves being framed and put on wall in pride of place!

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  9. I'm an inny, the drawers, cupboards and closets are routinely beaten into shape. But the clutter else where can sometimes be overwhelming.
    Our walls are covered with my husband's paintings and I always hope that's all anyone notices.

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  10. Love his painting of those skunks thru the woods

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  11. Jody, My hubs and I are like you. I have to have my home clutter free and surfaces especially, but my drawers are a mess. Max's desk is a nightmare and his drawers are all orderly...So what does that mean exactly? We compliment each other? Lol. I have a whole ton of crud to purge and this week my goal was to make a space in the garage for my car and sell a couch, 2 rugs and a chest. I was stuck home with a sick kiddo, but happily purged all items through NextDoor and met a bunch of lovely people that way from my hood too. So this week wan't a total wash. I'm really in a slump this time of the year so cleaning out is keeping me busy which is good. Hope you had a good holiday. Your pictures were so pretty!

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    1. Thats interesting about NextDoor, we give everything to the cleaner and i think she distributes to extended family or sells. Im too lazy to sell things.
      Have not jumped on NextDoor as am worried about excessive inbox stuff. As it is Im trying to slip out of a few groups on FB and cannot seem to do it. Just when u thought u had got out they bring u back in...,

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  12. I loved this and AM DEFINITELY living on the WRONG side of the TUNNEL!!! How I would have LOVED TO DRESS UP for a themed PARTY!
    YOU KNOW EXACTLY WHAT AND WHO IAM.........don't need to tell YOU!
    THANK YOU for your LOVELY COMMENT on MY BLOG!!!Brought tears to me eyes!REALLY!!!!
    PS.Love the fact you have kept the AUNT's letter..........THAT MEANS SOMETHING!!!We can all tell A LOT from that little fact!

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    1. You totally need to be on this side! We need you too for the capes and tiaras to inject some glam into the proceedings

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  13. Oh my - that was enlightening! I'm an inny and the hubs is an outy! Actually he's an inny and outy! Well I never!

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  14. I love this post and I love the comments! I've got some kind of split personality thing going on re: neatness, I hate to put anything away until I know where it's going, but I have to clear off surfaces in a hurry to get any "real" work done. The older generations of women in my family were reluctant to dispose of anything that might be useful if rationing, unemployment, or a sudden need for riding clothes or ski pants or a costume, should arise, so I'm afraid some of my habits are inherited. Last week I bought a fountain pen so now I'll be able to use up the bottles of fancy ink that I received at Christmas - secret Santas have a lot to answer for.

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    1. Wow fountain pens! How fantastic, takes me back to penmanship classes with our old wooden desks with the inkweels. I think we might have taken turns to fill the bottles...where we only five? I get nervous giving my 11 year a ballpoint

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  15. I'm an innie - such an innie! Except for the books. I can't seem to give those up although I'm a lot more discriminating in what I buy nowadays. I brought the Magic of Tidying Up (sorry, can't remember title and as I'm 'working' no time to google…) and it threw me into the pits of despair. I like her categories approach to sorting but holding every, single item in my hands made me feel tired…

    Loved your Keith Moon costumes by the way! x

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    1. Wish u were at the party u wld have got it!

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    2. Yes i did the konmari too, tho only the rolling stayed w me, and i still tidy my bag tho not every day, liked the only keep if bring joy itherwise its bad blood everytime u walk in wardrobe.
      Put my stuff in color code tho not sure that is her
      Apparently shes written another and its a bit over the too about loving yr stuff and making friends w it.

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  16. Seems I'm an inny and to the casual eye tidyish. But oh my word - open a drawer and see the spilt powder, smeared mascara and smudged lippy. I'm too old to be a slut.

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  17. Lord knows what I am. I think I'm a piler: if I can't decide what to do with stuff I pile it up neatly but rarely chuck out. You're right about the threat of visitors coming: that usually jolts me into action.

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    1. For me visitors mean everything migrates to the mudroom, but it does make me think abt thetchochkees

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  18. I'm like you: organized surface and it's all about what lies beneath. You are clearly a fun family with all of those costumes. I have too much paper: greeting cards, business cards, note pads. I can't resist a good piece of paper! Xo

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    1. Me too, but I don't think of that as clutter (ha! guess we make our own rules..)

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