Quarantining and KonMari-ing

 

The perfect match.

 

 

~ Quarantine Collection, Fedora and Florals, Han Cao ~ 

 

 

 

Yes, I was feeling swallowed up by all my things after being sheltered-in-place for the last 5 (or was it 6?) months now.  

~ "Paisajes" series, Cecilia Paredes, multi-media artist ~

Especially by my hand-made clothes and that unrelenting fabric stash.  Oh, my.

 ~ Phyllis Galembo, Fine Art Photographer ~

 

 

 So, after reading Marie Kondo's Spark Joy and starting with her first step of tidying,

I pulled out all my clothes in one place...

  

~ Song Dong, installation artist ~

No, I didn't make an art installation out of it (darn!), it was more like a mountain overflowing the bed.  I did, however, manage it somewhat by excavating one sub-category of clothes at a time.  That would be "tops."  I did want to be able to sleep on the bed every night after all.  And I have a lot of clothes. 

No, I don't have any pictures of the process.  I was too involved in it.  You're supposed to gather all the clothes from wherever they might be in the house.  (Excluding those of my spouse.  He has the bare minimum anyway.)  

 

I did include my mother's stuff that had been left untouched in the so-called guest room since she passed away 6 years ago.  And the enclosed back porch off my sewing room which contained all the clothes I was going to recycled.  aiyiyi.  You can't imagine.

 

 I actually ended up trying on everything to see if I liked it, if it fit, if I would wear it, and most importantly if it "sparked joy."  If it did, it went into another pile in the adjoining room for saved "tops."  The discarded items went into a black garbage bag for Goodwill.  My husband put them in the car right away so I wouldn't be tempted to go through them again.  They went to Goodwill at regular intervals.

I kept track of how many bags went out and how many piles stayed in.  Tops: 4 out, 4 in.  Of the 4 to keep: 2 summer, 1 winter & 1 to mend.  The whole process for tops took 2 days.

 

Stay tuned for the next update.

p.s.  I started tidying on Wednesday, July 8, 2020!

 

Outfitting for a Plague:

〰LOCK DOWN〰

*

                                                               ~ from Kati Koos Shop, Modesto, California

And my first outing during the Plague...

                                                                                                            ~ thanks to Elaine for the photo

...with my True Love, no less.

                    Alas, I didn't have the recommended ensemble at my disposal.

*The protective suit of the Plague Doctor consisted of a light, waxed fabric overcoat, a mask with glass eye openings and a beak shaped nose, typically stuffed with herbs, straw, and spices. Plague doctors would also commonly carry a cane to examine and direct patients without the need to make direct contact with them.  Due to the primitive understanding of disease at the time, it was believed this suit would sufficiently protect the doctor from miasma while tending to patients.  (wikipedia)