I’ve drastically cut back on decorating for the seasons. I used to spend entire days swapping out seasonal bins. Now our clothes mostly stay where they are year round. Beach towels still go from bins to prime real estate come Memorial Day. And I still have a shelf of bins for our Christmas tree, ornaments and other decorations. But come September, I’m not shuttling bins of winter/summer clothes between the basement, laundry and bedrooms.
There was a time when seasonal decorating brought me so much joy. I had a part-time job and an unfinished basement, and I dedicated a fairly obscene amount of time and space to setting up (and storing) garlands, wreaths, dishes, pillows, and pumpkins ranging in size from beach balls to Barbie. It felt fun. And festive. It felt like me.
But right now, just the thought of setting all that up, living in a space filled with it, and packing it away again gives me hives.
I love how Dawn from The Minimal Mom talks about “inventory.” I’m a sentimental person and it’s natural for me to assign emotional connection and weight to my stuff. But when I think of belongings as inventory – things I need to manage – it helps me reframe how I live with my stuff.
In this season of life I have less capacity to manage decorative seasonal inventory.
And that’s ok.
We’re allowed to shift.
We’re allowed to have less (or different) stuff than we used to.
We’re allowed to need to manage less.
Needing to declutter again, or more, doesn’t mean failure. It means flexibility, and reality.
Decluttering isn’t an “after.” Well, at least not a permanent “after.” It’s a step. It’s a “for now.”
Maybe it’s time to do a check-in to see what capacity I have, and what inventory makes sense for this season.
Uncovering Real 