I remember asking Mom’s advice when I wrote an article on getting organized. Here’s her reply:
“Now you know I probably couldn’t live without my clutter. All of this stuff is what makes me, ME. Because once it’s gone, it is gone for good. I remember in one of our moves I threw away all my stencils I used in painting pillowcases etc. I had quit doing them because we were busy with 4-H. But oh, by golly I wish I had them now.
Same way with my early writings. All the pieces I wrote during study hall and later while you little kids were trying to take naps. I must have tossed them when we moved to Arkansas City. That was a rushed move & Howard was the mover. So many crafts and styles come back in style again years later.
Oh yes, there is one phase of the moon (so just one week each month) that encourages you to sort and file etc. I have forgotten which one that is but I always recognize it when it comes. I would check with Karen & Cindy and they would be cleaning and organizing their houses too.
Maybe you could stress to do this all though out your life and not wait until you are old & decrepit like me. There is always so much else I’d rather do. I am the world’s worst procrastinator. Sorry I’m not much help. I guess I have always been too involved to be organized. Good luck, Mom”
This is one of the prairie dolls made from rags that Mom made during their retirement years
Discovering Mom 
I must start to unclutter. I once read a post that suggested throwing out one bag of stuff a week. I did it for a while and it felt great. Time to do it again. Thanks for the reminder.
Dropping by from A to Z
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Always helps my mind to have a bit of a declutter. Did loads before moving to France – but some treasured items will never be ‘decluttered’. Often loved gifts from others, or reminders of a time/place http://detoutcoeurlimousin.blogspot.fr/
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We are in the process of decluttering after my Father-in-law’s passing. He was a product of the Depression and it is pretty obvious. But he Always had the ‘part’ you needed to fix something. Wish we had all that knowledge stored up to use now.
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What a beautiful doll. Did she ever write down instructions on how to make it? I am the clutter keeper, my husband the declutter. I do agree with Gail, sometimes you have discarded something that you wanted to do again and you’re sorry later.
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I’ll have to search for instructions on the ragdoll. I believe we had it posted on eHow, then I saved all of Mom’s eHow articles in Google Docs which seem to have disappeared. Grrrr…
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I do love that doll! I agree with your Mom, my clutter also makes me, me. I’ve removed 50 gallon bags of clutter from my home but it remains a cluttered mess. I too am creative and an artist, as well as being a writer. I believe the artist’s temperament leads to collecting goodies for later use that others see as clutter. I’m glad I stopped by your blog for the first time from the FB page of the A to Z challenge.
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I have a funny story about uncluttering. My desk had so much stuff on it, under it and around it so I brought boxes for trash and others for storage. By the time I was done, I took a step back and realized that I had turned my clutter into organized clutter XD
Happy A to Z!
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I been going though our shed/barn actual on stage two which I will yard sale. My first stage the stuff went to the trash or if it was good went to the local thrift store.
Anyhow the first stage I got rid of 10% of my stuff…how liberating.
Stop in from A to Z challenge.
Coffee is on
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