Tag Archives: Coronavirus

Second Thoughts About Decluttering

By Claire Posted in Clutter, Simpler Living Tagged , , , , ,

Yes, I know I said this time of lockdown is a good opportunity for decluttering, even though most thrift stores are closed and there’s nowhere to donate our unwanted clutter. But some items in the news have given me second thoughts.

JC Penney’s has been in bad shape for quite a while and now they are shutting down. Ditto for Neiman Marcus.  Yes, you can buy clothes online, but thanks to the virus, supply lines are down and inventory has been greatly affected. Even appliances aren’t always easy to find now. For instance, people have been buying up freezers to store meat; at the local chain appliance store, there is not a freezer to be found under $2,500.

So I’m thinking we shouldn’t get rid of things unless we already have their replacements. The virus has changed everything and we don’t know what to expect. So let’s hang on to things we might need down the road until we see how things shake out.

No New Furniture for the Foreseeable Future

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

(Warning: Whining Ahead)

So I’ve discovered that the place where we were going to buy carpeting is closed until further notice. And the furniture store where we were going to buy our sofa and chairs has put our favorite brand on sale…but only the floor models. What does this mean? Is the factory not running anymore? And if so, when will it be up and running again? Or won’t it?

These are small inconveniences compared to those who are fighting the virus. But they’re still real. We can make do with our old furniture, but it sure was fun thinking about the changes we were going to make.

It seems like this isolation is just taking the fun out of life. My grandkids are going to forget how to hug Grandpa and me; a couple of months is a long time for a little kid. Thank goodness we have Skype.

Now that it’s getting nicer out, it’s a good time to go through the house and declutter, finding everything we’re not using anymore and donating it or having a garage sale…except that that Goodwill is closed and people aren’t supposed to go to garage sales. I’ll just have to keep that excess in a corner of the basement until it has somewhere to go, I suppose.

(Whining Over, Hopefully)

All Cooped Up

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

Have you noticed that it’s easy to lose track of time when you’re in self-isolation? Even though I have a calendar right on the fridge, and my computer and tablet and phone also make the date very evident, I’m having trouble remembering what day it is. In fact, that’s why there was no post last week: I forgot!

Now it’s Monday again and I continue to try to keep my bearings in a world where everything has changed. It seems silly because others are having a much harder time than I am. Some are working from home while keeping track of their kids and making sure they do their schoolwork, which is now online. Others are trying to survive without their weekly pay; worse, still others have the virus. I feel sorry for everyone right now.

Meanwhile I just keep busy in my little house. I’ve wondered if I would feel more cramped isolating in a small house, but then I see celebrity posts online where they’re complaining about feeling cooped up in their mansions, and I realize that it doesn’t matter how small or big your house is; it’s that inability to go out when you want to, the loss of knowing that you can go places even when you don’t need to, that makes you feel cooped up.

Let’s all hope that the stay-at-home policy is lifted in every state very soon.

What Does a Minimalist Do in Self-Isolation?

By Claire Posted in Clutter Tagged , , ,

I recently saw this comment on a forum: “Being stuck inside for weeks like this makes me so glad I have such a huge yarn stash.”

And it got me thinking: if you’ve achieved a full minimalist state, with no excess clutter lying around anywhere, what are you doing to pass the time in self-isolation?

At first, I decided that someone with no clutter lying around is probably regretting their decision to pare down to almost nothing. But then I realized that just because your yarn stash is gone, doesn’t mean there’s nothing to do:

  • You can read ebooks.
  • You can listen to music you’ve stored on your device.
  • You can exercise.
  • You can cook.
  • You can stay in contact with family and friends online.
  • You can watch movies (streamed, not DVDs).
  • And, of course, you can buy yarn online if you simply must knit or crochet to keep your sanity.

So all is not lost! On the other hand, if you’re awash in clutter, and have supplies for every craft project you ever wanted to make, you’d better dig that stuff out of your piles, dust it off and get cracking, because you’re never going to have this much free time again.