Category Archives: Small-House Living

The Plague of Fast Fashion

By Claire Posted in Clutter, Small-House Living Tagged , , ,

It saddens me to think that young people (maybe you’re one of them) have zero experience with high-quality fashion. Fast fashion has been around long enough now that many young people are only familiar with clothes that look funny after the first wash. They’ve known nothing but shirts that spring tiny holes in them fairly soon after wearing, or skirts or slacks that quickly pill in the lap and thigh areas.

But this used to be unheard of. Our parents and grandparents grew up with quality clothes made out of sturdy fabrics, and they were taught to take care of their clothes, because unless they were wealthy, they didn’t have too many. Now people have closets-full, and Instagram influencers make their living by persuading people that once you’ve worn something, you should move on to the next new thing, which they happen to be wearing today and that you can buy through their links.

So what happens to all those discarded clothes that either quickly went out of style, or have an odd shape or shade from being washed? Well, this article includes stunning photos of where your old clothes go.

What a waste! I’m glad to know that some of these cheap fabrics are being recycled into insulation, but it would be better if they had never wound up there in the first place. Without fast fashion, there would be no piles of unwanted clothing. They would either stay in our closets or be worn by someone who found them in a thrift shop. And they would hold up for a long time, and then they could be turned into cleaning rags.

Instead of closets overcluttered with fast fashion, we’d have closets containing fewer garments of much higher quality that we’re able to wear often. That’s why the closets in old houses are so small. People didn’t have a lot of clothes clutter; they had far fewer clothes of much higher quality. I’d like to see the world head back in that direction.

A New Trend: Cautious Decluttering

By Claire Posted in Clutter, Personal, Simpler Living, Small-House Living Tagged , , ,

I used to recommend getting rid of anything you don’t need or want. If it’s something you don’t want, get rid of it right away and then take your time replacing it until you find what you love.

But that was then.

Now that the supply lines are clogged up, who knows how long your wait will be. You might want to hang on to your old item, hated though it might be, until you can replace it.

Here in the U.S., we’ve been used to finding things easily, because there were always lots of sources for new goods. But now, new isn’t always easily obtainable. For instance:

  • On our furniture search, we learned that many furniture factories are running at a six-month lag, and in the case of La-Z-Boy furniture, up to a year.
  • A young couple we know of decided to buy a new camper. They just learned there’s an eight-month wait for the specific model they want.
  • An older couple we know signed the papers for their new house last February. It was supposed to be ready in August. That date has been changed to December, maybe.

Part of the joy of decluttering is getting rid of things right away and seeing the empty space that results, space you may or may not intend to refill. Now that decision is being taken away from you. If you get rid of something you need, like a sofa or a kitchen table, you may have to go without one for a while.

The Loveseat Saga Ends, Finally

By Claire Posted in downsizing, Personal, Small-House Living Tagged , , , ,

You may remember that just before the pandemic started, we made the decision to replace our large old furniture with smaller pieces, because our old furniture was too big for our little living room. It just didn’t look right.

We started with the tv stand. We had been using our old sofa table as a tv stand, and it looked large and messy, with lots of cords hanging down the back. So we replaced it with small tv stand from Wayfair.com that holds all of our DVDs (though you can’t see them), and we’re very happy with it.

Then the pandemic hit, and for a while furniture stores closed, and then they were only open for limited hours, and furniture was limited because the factories were closed. So we gave up for a while, though I was looking at loveseats and small sofas online the entire time.

A month ago we replaced our living room carpet. Out with the old brown wool, in with a bright cream nylon. What a difference it made! But we needed a temporary parking spot for the giant loveseat to get it out of the living room before the carpet guys arrived. We soon discovered it wouldn’t even fit in our little kitchen! So my husband and son squeezed it through the front door and put it in the garage. Once the carpet was installed, we decided not to squeeze the loveseat back in through the front door, but to sell it instead. So off we went, furniture shopping for its replacement.                                                                                   

Two days and four stores later, we were depressed. We didn’t find a single thing we liked. Everything was big and bloated and made out of cheap fabric, even if the price tag was high. One store was a sea of light gray; boring! So many pieces were uncomfortable. Online reviews often said the same thing so buying a loveseat online was out.

My husband then came up with a great idea; why not get a bench instead of a loveseat? It would be smaller, but would provide extra seating when visitors are here. We both began looking online and it wasn’t long before we agreed that we’d found the perfect bench.

It arrived in less than a week and now it sits in our living room and we love it. Next step: new, smaller recliners and a small chair for the spot by the window.

Placing Things in Appropriate Spots

By Claire Posted in Clutter, Personal, Small-House Living Tagged , , ,

I had just woken up this morning and reached up into my closet for something when I accidentally bumped my jewelry box and brought it crashing to the ground, sending pierced earrings and other pieces of jewelry everywhere, and breaking the trim off the front of it.

Unfortunately, I have a bad knee and couldn’t kneel down to pick up that mess. Fortunately, I have a helpful husband. He came and picked up all the little shiny items, some of which had landed in my shoes or on the floor. He will also fix the box’s trim for me.

But what was the jewelry box doing way up in the closet? Well, I never found room for it on my dresser, and since I dress up very rarely these days, I put it up in the closet, squashed between two big plastic boxes of sheets (flannels for winter and cottons for summer).

I really should keep it on my dresser, where my perfume tray is. But I don’t have much space beyond the perfume tray, which is pretty large and covered with bottles, most of which I don’t use anymore but am emotionally attached to. Each one reminds me of a specific time in my life, so I rarely wear them, but I like the memory each brings back when I sniff one.

Clearly oversentimentality is at play here. I need to reduce the number of perfume bottles, put them on a smaller tray, and put that jewelry box on the dresser where it belongs. I will add that to my to-do list!