Since passing our 1 year mark in this home last month, something has overcome me. I don’t know if it is a changing of the design tides, or what! but I am on a purging spree. Just because we have it no longer means it is worth keeping. Just because it was “perfect” in our last house, that doesn’t give it a free pass in this house. And the things that are still boxed up and in closets? Outta here.
There are some larger things that I’ve posted in our local online classifieds too. I’ve sold my old glass-topped desk and lamp that lived in our last office/guestroom. I sold the rug that used to be in our old guest room too, that I recently put in the reading room as a placeholder. And then I thought, why?! I don’t love this rug anymore. It doesn’t fit the shape of the room. It doesn’t fit the style. I am really just putting it here to have something. And that’s what started it all. I have decided I don’t want things just to have them. I want to fill my home with things that I actually love in this house. Kind of like dressing for your current shape, I think you should dress your house for your current house. And this house is so very different than our last.
But then I really started thinking–the pillows on my couch that I no longer love. Â Do I keep those to have pillows until I can purchase/make some new ones? Or do I stick with my just-decided-mantra and get rid of them now even if it leaves me with a bare couch? I think I’d prefer the bare couch. The lighting situation is also a hard one to swallow in our great room. We’ve been getting by with the large arc lamp, but it doesn’t really fit very well in this home–so I put it up for sale, too. (Even though I really love it. It hasn’t sold…maybe it’s a sign I should keep it. Ha!)
Now that I’ve made up my mind pertaining to things in our house, I’d love to know your thoughts! Would you rather keep a hypothetical area rug that you aren’t in love with or sell it and have bare floors?
Ps. There are no right or wrong answers here–these would you rathers are just that–which would YOU rather.
See more Would You Rather posts here.
I’ve been in a purging mood lately as well. We have a spare room upstairs that’s been full of boxes and odds and ends since we moved to our current house 2 years ago.
I don’t even have the patience to have a garage sale or craigslist it. I’ve already pulled a bunch of stuff out to send to goodwill.
Anything else that needs to be stored will be transferred to organized plastic bins and put on shelves that we plan on buying for the garage.
I’m totally feeling you on this. We’ve been in our new home for six months and all our rugs are rolled up—they just don’t work! I’m torn about keeping them (maybe they’ll work in the next place?) or letting them go. I agree with another commentor. If it’s serving a specific and necessary function, keep it. Then again, if you get rid of something there’s more incentive to replace it (or maybe you won’t even miss it). I’m torn!
For me, it depends a good bit on my financial situation. If a rug functionally works, I’ll keep it until I can really replace it. A piece of decor, I’d sell or donate. I cannot feasibly get rid of everything I dislike- I wouldn’t have much left! It does, however, give me time to mull over what I really want. And moving to a new house has helped me rework old items in new ways. But I do understand. Some stuff that was in our old house just doesn’t have a place here. For those kinds of things, purge! I suppose my one exception would be an item that I really, really love. Then I’d find a way to make it work.
I too am purging. I finally got rid of this hideous side table/magazine holder that I’ve had since COLLEGE(30 years ago), and am just living with the empty space until I find just the right thing. Since my living room is soooo small, I think the perfect thing may turn out to be the empty space itself.
Working on purging these days also. I’m in a different situation so I kind of hold on to a lot of things because we’re expanding in the near future, but I would definitely rather have a bare floor or couch than have something I don’t love.