Saturday 12 February 2011

Letting go ... Clutter and High Spirits.

Hehe. Who hasn't jumped on the bandwagon of de-cluttering?

In case you misinterpret the picture, this is AFTER de-cluttering:
This small kitchen shelf was an easy task. Both shelves had been filled with cook books. I pulled them all out on the working surface to look over them.

These are ready to go: some books and lots of loose recipes

As a result, the orange-press and the thermos fit in the shelf and don't waste any space on the working surface any more.
Not every clutter leaves as easy as loose recipes. What to do with a letter you received long ago, from a friend who bowed out of my life, much to my regret. This letter epitomises everything we stood for. Exuberance, at large. Today we live different lives, but what to do with the letter?
I remember the day the letter arrived. The letter did not fit into my mailbox, the postman had left a yellow notification in my mailbox and I picked up the tray/letter at the post office). On my way home I read it on the train. I was not the only one who smiled, the people around me smiled, too, when they saw me, the student, reading an eagerly-awaited tray from her friend away from home. Actually this isn't a letter, more a postcard. What could I possibly lose if I gave it away?

7 comments:

  1. You know the answer yourself.
    As for the decluttering, I salute you. If in doubt=out.

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  2. Keep it. Buy a cheap IKEA frame and hang it on an out-of wall, because we've already lost a friend to time and circumstance so why should we let go of something from that friendship we can still hold on to? But then again, that's just me...

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  3. What a creative letter!
    If it is water proof you could use it as a tray or prop it up against the back of your kitchen counter or bar.
    I'd keep it if it had been sent to me...

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  4. You know, friends come and go, for all sorts of different reasons.

    This friend might just reappear at a time when you just need them.
    Hang on to it. Maybe lacquer it and use it to store perfumes, or treasures?
    Louise

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  5. Oh that is such a great way of sending a letter!
    I'd throw it out but I bin everything.
    I have tons of loose recipes like that stuffed in books, I must get a box or a file for them

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  6. Mette, actually I am quite torn.

    Tracy, thank you for commenting!

    Hostess, can you imagine my reaction when I picked it up at the post office.

    Louise, lacquering is a great idea! I would not have come up an idea like this.

    Tabitha, don't file the recipes in case you never cooked the recipe. I am a 100% "What if"-lady (before I used to be a "What if-girl"). I keep all the yummy recipes in case I feel like cooking a Mediterranean dinner, or Turkish or the Champagne-Cake ... I promised I will toss all the recipes I never cooked. Have to admit, the access of internet makes it easy. You can find any recipe online today.

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  7. I am so glad you kept the tray. I would display it like a piece of art--cause that's kind of what it is.

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