Tracey, I can’t tell you how validated I feel by this post. You perfectly articulated the discomfort I sometimes feel walking into the perfectly decorated room. I called them the $20,000 rooms that make it suddenly hard to breathe. And I seriously (well, not that seriously) believe my morning’s writing is deeply influenced by what coffee mug I choose. A perfect mug can set you up for a productive and magical morning. Especially if you believe it strongly enough!!
There must be people who feel relaxed and happy in those rooms! (It ain't me.) I understand tidy, but not the absence of personality or a human touch. And don't get me started on the rooms that are not human scale!
Oh Tracey, love this article. I lean to zen - but have an abundance of "memory items"...and I love them to death. It makes me sad that my children don't have the same affection for them. But I suppose they will have affection for other things. Thanks for giving voice to this emotion and experience.
Thanks, Anne -- you're right about the kids, but they'll find their own meaning and memories in the treasures they find and accumulate through life. The few people I've known who have been overly attached to their parents' stuff also had mommy-and-daddy issues to work out...lack of affection for your stuff may be a good thing!
Tracey, I was just thinking how I have too much stuff and not enough of the right stuff. I need more art, more things to create personality. That being said, I do have three bronze rabbit heads whose ears are projectiles almost to outer space...and some pottery super fat chickens. Those, plus my grandmothers old china (green around the edges, from England, and I know she treasured them coming from very humble origins in India), remind me of my journey.
The turkey hat! Hahaha!! The comfy house sounds great. My house is beyond cluttered. I'm living on the top layer of a vast archaeological dig. But you give me hope.
You described my desk! Last spring, I got down to the layer where my business cards from the mid-1980s were -- back when I worked in Tokyo for a Japanese law firm! (Kept those.)
Tracey, I can’t tell you how validated I feel by this post. You perfectly articulated the discomfort I sometimes feel walking into the perfectly decorated room. I called them the $20,000 rooms that make it suddenly hard to breathe. And I seriously (well, not that seriously) believe my morning’s writing is deeply influenced by what coffee mug I choose. A perfect mug can set you up for a productive and magical morning. Especially if you believe it strongly enough!!
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There must be people who feel relaxed and happy in those rooms! (It ain't me.) I understand tidy, but not the absence of personality or a human touch. And don't get me started on the rooms that are not human scale!
Agree the right mug can set you up for the day :)
My husband called me the bag lady for my affinity to pocketbooks.
Www.bunchofgripes.blogspot.com
Ha! It's an addiction for sure :) I've got a scarf "problem"! (Fortunately, they don't take up much space.)
I keep mine in a big plastic box...
Oh Tracey, love this article. I lean to zen - but have an abundance of "memory items"...and I love them to death. It makes me sad that my children don't have the same affection for them. But I suppose they will have affection for other things. Thanks for giving voice to this emotion and experience.
Thanks, Anne -- you're right about the kids, but they'll find their own meaning and memories in the treasures they find and accumulate through life. The few people I've known who have been overly attached to their parents' stuff also had mommy-and-daddy issues to work out...lack of affection for your stuff may be a good thing!
Tracey, I was just thinking how I have too much stuff and not enough of the right stuff. I need more art, more things to create personality. That being said, I do have three bronze rabbit heads whose ears are projectiles almost to outer space...and some pottery super fat chickens. Those, plus my grandmothers old china (green around the edges, from England, and I know she treasured them coming from very humble origins in India), remind me of my journey.
The turkey hat! Hahaha!! The comfy house sounds great. My house is beyond cluttered. I'm living on the top layer of a vast archaeological dig. But you give me hope.
You described my desk! Last spring, I got down to the layer where my business cards from the mid-1980s were -- back when I worked in Tokyo for a Japanese law firm! (Kept those.)