Indlæg nr. 1000 og en gave - Post no. 1000 and a Gift

Denne post er en tak til jer, der har fulgt min blog i lang tid. Tusind tak for jeres support. Og jeg håber, at det er et velkommen til jer, der måske er her for første gang. For mig er det stort, at bloggen runder 1000 blog posts! Jeg har nydt det hele vejen og lært en masse.

Jeg startede bloggen i 2012 for at dele mine erfaringer med, hvordan det er at drukne i sine ting, altid at føle at man har pligter, der skal gøres og at føle sig overvældet - og om hvordan man arbejder sig ud af det. Der er sket meget siden da, og jeg håber, at min intention er lykkedes.

Men jeg tror, at emnet er mere relevent end nogen sinde, for vores tilværelse er blevet et stort reklamemarked, som er svær at modstå. Men det kan aldrig meningen med vore liv, at vi skal bruge dem på at arbejde for at købe, og arbejde mere for at købe mere.

Derfor arbejder jeg på et større projekt, der ikke bliver en hurtig 'ryd hele dit hjem på 30 dage'-session, men en række oprydningsforslag, der kommer til at gå stille og roligt, så alle kan være med. Men mere om det senere på året.

Og lidt fest skal der være, så i anledning af bloggens jubilæum giver jeg min bog 'Ryd Dig op' til 3 læsere, der vil fortælle mig,  hvad I gerne vil have mere af, eller om der er nye emner, som I føler, at jeg skal tage op.

Jeg glæder mig til at høre fra jer.

Måske den sidste rose for i år - Maybe the last rose this year

This blog post is a big Thank You to all of you, who have followed my blog for a long time. A million thanks for your support. And I hope that it is a welcome to you, who might be here for the first time.

For me it is a big thing, at I have have written 1000 blog posts. I have enjoyed it all the way and learned a lot. 

I started this blog in 2012 to share my experiences of, how I was drowning in my stuff, always feeling that I had duties, which had to be done and feeling overwhelmed - and how to work your way out of it. A lot of things have happened since then, and I hope, that my intentions have been of help.

But I think, that the subject is more relevant than ever, because our lives have become one big advertising market, which is difficult to resist. But it cannot be the mening of life to spend our time working for stuff, and only to work more to get more stuff. 

So now I am working on a bigger de-cluttering projekt, which will NOT become a 'de-clutter your home in 30 days'-session. It is going to be something you can do quitely, so everybody can join. But more about that later this year.

But there is going to be a bit of celebration, so because of the number 1000 I will give away 3 copies of my book 'Wipe Your Slate' to 3 readers, who will tell me, what you want more of, or if there are other subjects you want me to cover.

I am looking forward to hearing from you!

Feriefølelse og et bryllup - Holiday Feeling and a Wedding

Så er vi hjemme fra ferie igen. Det var dejligt, og vi var inviteret til et fantastiske bryllup. Prinsen fik sin prinsesse, og så håber man jo på al medgang i verden for det unge par.

Da jeg kom hjem i går og havde pakket ud, kom jeg til at tænke på, at når jeg har haft ferie og er hjemme igen, går der kun 5 minutter, og så er den væk. Kender I den følelse? Man kommer ind ad døren, og så er ferien forsvundet. Man glæder sig til den, man er i den, og så er den væk. Man har minderne, men ikke følelsen. Fordi feriefølelse er flygtig.

Ferie betyder, at man kommer ud af sine vante rutiner. Ud af sine vaner - madvaner, sovevaner, alle slags vaner, og man har tid til at opleve nye ting. Og tid til at lave ingenting.

En stor del af ferien er, at man ikke er overvældet af alle slags pligter. Det kan godt være, at man er nødt til at vaske undervejs. Man skal måske også lave lidt mad og gøre lidt i orden, fordi der bliver for rodet og beskidt. Men af en eller anden grund er det ikke så uoverkommeligt, som det er hjemme.

Forskellen ligger i enkelheden.

Når man pakker til ferie, pakker man det, man behøver. Man slæber ikke mere med end højst nødvendigt. Selvfølgelig fordi man kun har de kræfter, man har, og det er en god tilgang. Kun at 'slæbe' det, der er nødvendigt, og det man har kræfter til.

Hvis vi indrettede vores hjem, så vi kunne 'slæbe' det og kun havde det nødvendige, ville vi få overskud til at lave ny mad, opleve nye ting, tid til at lave ingenting, og vi så bare skulle vaske og ordne lidt en gang imellem.

Så afhænd alt det, der er unødvendigt og for tungt og overfør feriefølelsen til hverdagen.

Bruden gemmer sig for sin kommende mand - The Bride hiding from her husband in spe

Den lille brudepige på opdagelse - The small bridesmaid on the prowl

I sikkerhed hos storebror - Safe with Big Brother (hendes 'baby' skal med alle steder)

Ringbærer og brudepige - Ring Bearer and Bridesmaid (her 'baby' goes everywhere)

We are now back from holiday. It was lovely, and we attented a beautiful wedding. The prince got his princess, and then we hope for all the best for the young couple.

When I came home yesterday and unpacked, I was thinking, that when I have been on holiday and come back, 5 minutes pass, and then it is all gone. Do you know that feeling? You walk in your door, and then holiday is gone. The feeling is gone. You look forward to it, you are in it, and then it is gone. You have the memories, but not the feeling. Because the holiday feeling is ethereal. 

Holidays mean that you get out of your normal routines. Out of your habits - food habits, sleeping habits, all kinds of habits, and you have time to experience new things. Time to do nothing.

A big part of a holiday is, that you don't get overwhelmed by all kinds of dutires. Maybe you have to do a bit of laundry. Maybe you have to make some food and do a bit of cleaning up, because things get too messy. But for some reason this is not as difficult, as it is at home.

The difference is in the simplicity.

When you pack for a holiday, you pack, what you need. You don't tow more than necessary. Of course because you only have the strength, you have. It is a good way of thinking. Only to 'tow' what is necessary, and what you have the strength for.

If we made our homes, so we could 'tow' it and only had, what is necessary, we would have the mental surplus to make new food, go have new experiences, to do nothing, and then we would have to do a bit of laundry and cleaning now and again.

So get rid of all the unnecessary and heavy stuff, and transfer the holiday feeling to your everyday lives.

At sælge arvestykker - To Sell Heirlooms

Når jeg ser tv, ser jeg i reglen noget om huse, indretning... og ting! Jeg ser mest engelske serier, og der er en udsendelse, som hedder Sæt pris på dit hjem (Secret Dealers).

Det er interessant at se, hvordan folk fortæller om de minder, de har, om forskellige ting. Men det er også interessant at se, hvor let de skiller sig af med minderne, hvis prisen bliver høj nok.

Fra min side er det ikke en kritik, men en helt naturlig ting. 

Vores arvestykker kan være vejen til at få eller gøre noget, som vi ellers ikke ville have haft råd til. Så det er helt ok at sælge dem, for vi lever nu. 

Når du under en oprydning falder over en 'minde'-ting, så stil 2 spørgsmål:

1. Ville jeg købe denne ting, hvis jeg ikke allerede ejede den?
2. Ønsker jeg mig noget, som salget af denne ting ville sætte mig i stand til at opnå?

Minder i form af ting er helt ok, hvis vi glæder os over dem hver dag, men hvis de bare ligger gemt væk, skal vi give tingen videre til nogen, der for alvor sætter pris på den, og du får måske et ønske opfyldt.

Med hensyn til spørgsmål nr. 2 så er der et ekstra spørgsmål, hvis du har tænkt dig at sælge:

• Hvad ville jeg give for denne ting, hvis jeg selv skulle købe den. 

Vi værdisætter nemlig alt for ofte vores ting for højt, så at have et realistisk syn på et salg er en god ide. Find din smertegrænse og start nogen højere, så der er plads til forhandling.

Når man har skilt sig af med noget, kommer der ofte en dårlig samvittighed, og ikke helt sjældent består den i, at man faktisk slet føler noget savn bagefter. Men vi skal ikke leve i mausolæer over forgangne slægter. 

Lev livet, ikke minderne. Se fremad, men bliv i nuet.

Nogle småting, som gør mig glad - Some small things, which make me happy

Mit tip-oldemors lugtesaltflaske - My Great Great Grandmothers smelling salt bottle

Min Mors kop med inskriptionen 'Til den flittige pige' - 

My Mother's cup with the incription 'For the hardworking Girl'

En lille bil lavet af min søn og en sten, han fandt kort efter

A little car made by my son, and a stone he found shortly after

Et glas min Far fik for en stort indsats - A goblet my Father got for a big accomplishment

Det meste samlet i mit lille klenodie-skab - Most of my memories are is this little cabinet

Til daglig glæde og ikke spredt over hele huset - Brings big joy every day and things are not spred all over the house

When I watch TV,  I often watch something about houses, interior design... and stuff! I really like the English series, and there is one called Secret Dealers.

It is interesting to see, when people tell about, how attached they are to something special. But it is also interesting to see, how easily they part with the items, when the price go high enough.

From my side that it not a criticism, but a quite natural thing.

Our heirlooms can be the way to achieve something, which we otherwise wouldn't have been able to afford. So selling is quite fine, because we live now.

When you during a declutter find a 'memory'-thing, then ask 2 questions:

1. Would I buy this thing, if I didn't already own it?
2. Do I want something, which the sale of this thing would make achiveable?

Memories and heirlooms are nice, if they actually make us feel good, but if they just are lying around, we should pass them on to somebody, who will appreciate them more, and you might be able to get a wish fulfilled.

But regarding question no. 2, there is one more question to be asked, if you want to sell:

• What would I pay for this thing, if I didn't already own it?

 Because we often set the value of our things much too high, so looking realistic on the sale, is a good idea. Find you 'pain'-level and start out so high, that you have something to bargain with.

When you have parted with something, you might feel a bit bad about it, and not seldom it is because you realize, that you don't miss it at all. But we shouldn't live in mausoleums over past generations.

Live life, not memories. Look ahead, but stay in the Now!

Svært at skrive om minimalisme - Harder To Write About Minimalism

Det er sjovt, hvordan ting udvikler sig. Jeg synes, at det er blevet sværere at skrive om minimalisme. Ikke fordi det ikke optager mig mere. Tværtimod. Jeg tænker stadig over alle mine indkøb. Tænker over, om jeg ejer ting, jeg kan bruge til flere formål. Tænker over, om der er ting, jeg skal skille mig af med, eller om de kan friskes op. Om ting skal gives videre, eller om de skal have lidt mere levetid i mit hjem.

Jeg tænker på det dagligt. Det er stadig vigtigt for mig kun at omgive mig med ting, der giver mig værdi i mit liv.

Men det bliver sværere at skrive om. Det er blevet svært at forny. Jeg har været hele vejen rundt så mange gange, så for mig er det hele helt almindeligt. 

Som alle bloggere ved jeg, at læsere kommer og går, så selv om der er læsere for hvem, minimalisme er noget nyt, så skal der også gerne være noget til gamle, trofaste læsere.

Så jeg vil gerne vide mere om, hvad I vil have, og jeg forstår, at i disse tider, hvor man næsten ikke kan lade være med at blive lidt paranoid over at være på sociale medier, ikke har lyst til at lave flere fodspor på nettet, end man allerede har gjort den gang, man var lidt mere naiv, end man er nu,og at man derfor ikke skriver på blogs mere.

Hvis det er tilfældet, så skriv til mig direkte på ninnakn@yahoo.com, om der er emner, som I har lyst til at høre mere om. Eller om der er noget nyt, I går og tænker på, som I gerne vil have, at jeg tager op. Det vil være dejligt, hvis I ville give mig mulighed for at hjælpe jer videre til at leve et lidt enklere og lettere liv.

Skriv! Kom med input. Jeg glæder mig til at høre fra jer.

It is strange, how things develop. I think, that it has become more difficult to write about minimalism. Not because it isn't important to me anymore. On the contrary. It still think about every purchase I make. Still think about if the stuff I own can be used for more than one purpose. Still think about, if there are things I should get rid of, or if they can be refreshed. If things should be passed on, or if they should live a little longer in my home.

I think about it daily. It is still important to me only to have things in my life, which gives me value.

But it has become harder to write about. It has become difficult to see new angles. I have been all the way around the subject so many times, so to me everything is mundane.

We bloggers know, that our readers come and go, so even though there are readers, for whom minimalism is something new, there has to be something for the old, faithful ones.

I also understand in these times where it is almost impossible not to get a bit paranoid about social media, that you feel reluctant to make more footprints on the net, that you already have done, when we all were a bit more naive, that we are now, but I want to ask, if there are subjects, which you want to hear more about. If there is something new, you have wondered about. Let me hear from your. If you don't want to write here on the blog, then write directly to me on my mail ninnakn@yahoo.com.

I would love to hear, if you have something, you feel, that I can help you with getting a life a bit more easy and simple.

Please write! Give me some input. I am looking forward to hearing from you.

Fortsættelse af 'Forkert Minimalisme' - Continuation of 'Wrong Minimalism'

Jeg vil gerne uddybe min mandags-blogpost, for det er jo ret kvikt at påstå, at der findes 'forkert minimalisme'. Men jeg taler her om den, der går over og bliver en mani.

For det er sandt, at når man er kommet i gang, så bliver det lettere og lettere, og det kan til sidst føles euforisk at få ting ud af huset. Hvis man kommer til det stade, skal man standse op. For man skal ikke minimere sit hjem, så man ikke er i stand til at leve et normalt liv. Når man har ryddet ud, skal man kunne leve et liv, der fungerer. Og det er, set med mine øjne, hvad minimalisme drejer sig om.

Det er en lettelse både fysisk og psykisk ikke at eje mere end det, man behøver, og det man holder af. Så er der straks nogen, der siger, at de holder af alle deres ting! Men nej, det er ikke sandt, for hvis alle ting, små som store, betyder lige meget, så er der ingenting, der betyder noget særligt. Så bliver det hele en stor masse af grød. Man er nødt til at se på, hvad der giver værdi. Det kan være noget brugtbart eller noget smukt. Nu er de fleste brugbare ting smukke, hvor imod ting, der bare er til pynt, skal vurderes med meget kritiske øjne, for ting, der virkelig er meningsfyldte, forsvinder ofte i mængden.

Jeg kan selvfølgelig kun tale for mig selv om, hvad det betyder for mig at have de ting, jeg behøver og intet andet.

Det betyder, at jeg har tid til at gøre de ting, jeg gerne vil.
At jeg har tid til at være sammen med de mennesker, jeg gerne vil være sammen med.
At jeg har tid til at passe mit hjem og mine ting, reparere og vedligeholde.
Jeg ved, hvor jeg har mine ting. Jeg bruger ingen tid på at lede. Jeg ved, hvad jeg ejer.
Rengøring ikke er, hvad det har været. Bl.a. ordner jeg mange ting, når jeg alligevel har tingen i hånden, før den kommer på plads, så når den ugentlige rengøring skal laves, går det hurtigt.
Jeg har ikke stabler af to do-projekter. Jeg laver en ting færdig ad gangen.
Jeg kunne fortsætte denne liste i lang tid.

Har det altid været sådan? Bestemt nej. Men jeg har gennem årene forfinet, tunet strømlignet eller hvad man nu kan kalde det, mine ting, så de passer til det liv, jeg lever nu.

Behov ændres og dermed bør også ting, vi ejer, ændres. Intet i et hjem skal være fredet for al tid. Måske er der ting, du er vokset fra, og de bør fjernes, så de ikke tager plads op. Til gengæld kan der også være ting, som du skal anskaffe for at lette din dagligdag.

Du er ikke den samme person hele livet. Du udvikler dig, og dit hjem og dine ejendele bør udvikle sig i samme retning.

Sid ikke fast i fortiden, den er levet.

Rigtig god weekend.

Det er let at rengøre bestikskuffen, når den ikke flyder med uvedkommende ting

It is so easy to clean the cutlery drawer, when it isn't filled with a lot of  other stuff

I want to elaborate my Monday blogpost, because it is of course quite cheeky to assert, that there is a 'wrong minimalism'. But I am here talking about the one, which becomes manic.

Because it is true, that when you get started decluttering, it becomes easier and easier and can at a certain point give the feeling of euphoria, when things are leaving the house. If you get there, stop. Because you should be able to live a normal live. When you have decluttered, you should live a life which is functioning. And that is, in my opinion, what minimalism is all about.

It is a relief both physicially and mentally not to own more, than you need, and what you really love. And now some of you will immediately claim, that you love all yourthings! But no, that isn't true, because if all your things, big and small, have the same value to you, then nothing has special value. Then it just becomes a bit pot of stuff. You have to evaluate everything and decide, if it actually gives value. It can be something useful or something beautiful. Well, most useful things are beautiful, where as things just being there for the sake of 'beauty' should be looked at with critical eyes. Things, which are really special often disappear in the piles.

Of course I can only tell, what it means to me to own the things I need and nothing else.

It means that I can do, what I want.
It means, that I have time to spend with the ones, I love. It means, that I have the time to take care of my home and my stuff. To repair and maintain. 
It means, that I know, where my things are. I don't spend time searching for anything. I know, what I own.
Cleaning my house isn't what it used to be. I do a lot of cleaning, while having the things in my hand, before I put it back in place. and the weekly cleaning doesn't take much time.
I don't have stacks of to-do projects. I finish one thing at a time.
I could continue this list for a long time.

Has it always been like this? No, definitely not. But I have through the years refined, tuned and streamlined, or what ever you can call it, my things, so they fit the life, I am living now.

Your needs change, and therefore your belongings should change, too. Nothing in a home should be protected for eternity. Maybe there are things, which you have outgrown, and they should be removed, so they don't take up space, and maybe there are things, which you should buy, which can make your life easier.

You are not the same person all through life. You develop, and your home and your belongings should develop with you.

Don't stay in the past. The past has been lived.

Have a great weekend.

Den forkerte Minimalisme -The Wrong Minimalism

Det er op til hver enkelt person, der er interesseret for minimalisme, at sætte sine egne regler for, hvad minimalisme er.

Til trods for det er der alligevel en forkert form for minimalisme. Den, hvor selve rydningen bliver målet. Der, hvor man blive manisk.

Jeg har lige læst et interview med en kendt dansker, der en gang i 2015 erklærede sig som minimalist. På daværende tidspunkt kunne man læse i et interview, at han ejede 172 ting, og at han blev lettere for hver ting, han skilte sig af med. Han offentliggjorde en liste over alle sine ejendele og følte, at det gav han enkelthed i hovedet. Han skilte sig også af med sjældne og dyre ting, og sagde, at - selv om han gerne indrømmede, at han var gået lidt over gevind - så savnede han ikke de ting, der var væk.

Nu har han lige givet et nyt interview, hvor han i overskriften siger, at han ofte mangler en ting og bliver irriteret over, at han har smidt den ud.

Selvfølgelig! Han var jo blevet besat af selve rydningen, og det har intet med at leve minimalistisk at gøre.

Minimalisme behøver ikke at dreje sig om et eller andet antal ejendele. Det er heller ikke at leve som munk, eller i total hvide omgivelser med japanske måtter på gulvet.

Eller det kan det faktisk også være. Men hvis man er interesseret i minimalisme, kan man begynde med at fjerne de ting, som man ikke bruger. Det giver helt klart et enklere liv. Med mere plads, og at ting, får deres egen plads. Og ingenting, der bare flyttes rundt med.

Så før du begynder at gå radikalt til værks, så definér i dit hoved, på papir eller ved hjælp af billeder samlet på den ene eller anden måde, hvordan du gerne vil have, at dit hjem skal se ud og fungere i dit liv.

Der er nogen, der kan leve i en rygsæk, men det behøver vi ikke alle sammen at gøre - selv om vi gerne vil have et enkelt liv, hvor vi ikke drukner i ligegyldige ting.

It is up to each person, who are interested in minimalism, to make the set of rules of, what minimalism is.

In spite of that there is actually a wrong sort of minimalism. The one, where the declutter itself becomes the goal. The one, which makes you manic.

I have just read an interview with a well known Dane, who gave an interview in 2015 and declared himself a minimalist. You could read, that he owned 172 items, and that he felt lighter for each thing, he got rid of. He published a list of all his belongings and felt, that it created simplicity in his head. He even got rid of some very rare and expensive items, and that - even though he admitted, that he might have gone a bit overboard - didn't miss any of the items, which were gone.

But now he does miss some thing. He has just released a new interview, where he in the headline says, that he often miss different things and gets irritated, that he got rid of it.

Of course! He became obsessed by the declutter, which has nothing to do with living with minimalism.

Minimalism doesn't have anything to do with a certain numbers of belongings. Nor to live like a monk, or in totally white surroundings with Japanese mats on the floor.

Or in a way - it can be like that, too. But if your are interested in minimalism, you can start by removing things, which you don't use. That gives a simple life. A life with more space, and items, which have spaces of their own. And nothing, which you just move around with.

So before you start a radical declutter, take the time to define in your head, on papir or clippings, showing how you want your home to look like, not to mention how you want it to function.

Some people can live in a backpack, but not all of us have to do that - even though we want a simple live, where we don't drown in a lot of unimportant things.

Hvordan ser der ud i dit hoved? - How does Your Head look in the Inside?

Det siges, at man bliver som dem, man omgås! At de mennesker, man søger selskab hos, 'farver' en. Og det er jo sandt. Hvis man er sammen med mennesker, der er positive og støtter deres omgivelser, bliver man selv positiv og støttende. Og hvis man omgås sure og negative mennesker, så bliver man selv sur og negativ. Det foregår alt sammen i ens hoved og følelser.

Men hvis man nu bor rodet og uoverskueligt, bliver ens hoved så rodet og uoverskueligt? Bliver ens tanker rodede og uoverskuelige?

Hvis man bliver overvældet af for mange ting i sit hjem, er man så også overvældet af for mange ting i sit hoved?

Det tror jeg!

Jeg oplevede, at jeg aldrig havde fred i mit eget hus, da jeg havde et hjem (over-)fyldt med ting. Der var altid noget, jeg skulle ordne, reparere, 'bare lige gøre noget ved - så ville det være brugbart'. Jeg havde lagre af projekter, som jeg virkelig gerne ville lave, men aldrig havde tid til. Jeg var altid i gang og fik aldrig et break. Jeg 'skulle' altid noget. Det var pligter ovenpå pligter. Jeg drønede forvirret rundt.

En dag orkede jeg det ikke mere. Mit liv skulle være lettere. Men det var svært, og det tog 10 år, før jeg følte, at det var mig, der havde kontrollen! Ti år, hvor jeg knoklede for at få bund i mine ting.

Resultatet af det blev, som nogen af jer ved, at jeg skrev en bog, Ryd Dig Op, for at hjælpe andre lettere igennem sådan en proces, for der er jo ingen grund til at lave alle de fodfejl, jeg lavede. Og det er derfor, at jeg skriver denne blog.

Den orden, jeg har i mit hjem, har givet mig mere ro i mit hoved til at prioritere min liv og min tid. Jeg har ikke mere så svært ved at sige nej, fordi jeg har en klar fornemmelse af, hvad der er mine prioriteter, og hvor meget jeg kan påtage mig. Uden at rende rundt med konstant dårlig samvittighed.

Jeg har fået ro i mit hoved (for det meste!).

It is said, that you become like the people, you're with. That the people, you keep company with 'color' you. And it is true. If you are with positive and supporting people, you become positive and supporting. And if you are with crupmy and negative people, you become crumpy and negative. Everything goes on in your head and in your feelings.

But if you live in a cluttered and unmanagable home, does your head then become cluttered and unmanagable? Does your thoughts become cluttered and unmanagable?

If you get overwhelmed by too much stuff in your home, are you then overwhelmed by too much stuff in your head?

I think so!

My experience was, that I never found peace in my own home, when it was (over-)stuffed with things. I always had something to fix, repair, 'just do this or that with - then it was usable'. I had piles and piles of projects, which I really wanted to do, but never found the time for. I was always on the go and never had a break. I always 'had to' do something. It was duties upon duties. I was confused.

One day I couldn't manage it anymore. My life just had to become simpler. But it was difficult, and it took 10 years, before I felt in control! Ten years, working like a beast to get to the buttom of things.

The result was, as some of you know, that I wrote a book, Wipe Your Slate, to guide others an easier way through such a process, so others shouldn't make the same mistakes, as I did. And it is also the reason I am writing this blog.

The order in my home has given me so much more calm and made it so much easy to prioritize my life and my time. I don't have much difficulty any more to say no, because I have a clear gut feeling about, what my priorites are, and how much I can get involved in. Without running around having a constant bad conscience.

I have peace in my head (most of the time!).

Hus-tour - House Tour

I min bog 'Ryd Dig op' har jeg skrevet, at mit hjem er min oase og min affyringsrampe. Altså stedet hvor jeg samler kræfter til at kaste mig ud i samfundet! Et sted, hvor jeg er beskyttet, og et sted jeg forlader uden problemer.

Mit hjem er nemlig kreeret til 3 ting:

At sove
At arbejde/spise (= 2 ting)

Derfor er min seng vigtig for mig. Mit soveværelse et vigtigt. Der skal ikke være en masse distraherende ting. Bare en seng og mit skab, som indeholder de fleste af mine ejendele incl. tøj.

At arbejde og at spise foregår på samme sted. Ved mit spisebord. Det er samtidig stort nok til, at jeg uden at flytte rundt sagtens kan have 8 mennesker til middag. Det er meget vigtigt for mig at kunne inviterer mennesker, jeg holder af, til en gang mad. Og med et mindre snuptag kan vi være 12.

Jeg har også en 2-personers sofa, som der næsten aldrig sidder nogen i, fordi alle bliver siddende omkring spisebordet (jeg har gamle, men gode stole, som man kan sidde i en hel aften), og der er ofte nogen, der sidder på gulvet.

Selvfølgelig har jeg også et lille køkken og et endnu mindre badeværelse - og flere møbler end nævnt, så da der har været spørgsmål om, hvor meget jeg ejer (nu da jeg afhænder ting hver måned), vil jeg lave en billed-turne af mit hjem, som vil komme her over de næste dage.

Så jeg håber, at I vil se med.

In my book 'Wipe Your Slate' I have written, that my home is my oasis and my launch pad, which means that it is the place where I relax and gain strength to jump out into life! It is a place, which protects me, and a place that I leave with no worries.

My home is created for 3 things:

To sleep
To work/eat (= 2 things).

Therefore my bed is important. And my bedroom in general is important. It is a space without too much distracting stuff. Just a bed and my closet, which contains most of my stuff and all my clothes, except coats.

Working and eating goes on the same place. At my dining table. The table is big enough to set plates for 8 persons for dinner. It is very important for me to be able to invite the ones, I love for dinner, and it can become a table for 12 in a jiffy.

I also have a 2 seater sofa, which noone actually uses, because everybody stay seated around the table (I have old, but good chairs, which you can sit in for a whole night), and often somebody ends up sitting on the floor.

Of course I have a small kitchen and and even smaller bathroom - and more things than mentioned, so now that you have asked, how much I own (now I take things out of the house every month), I will make a tour around the house, which will come here during the next days.

So I hope that you will join me!

Minimalist sko samling - Minimalist Shoe Collection

Når man lever et sted med skiftende årstider - sommer, vinter og efterår/forår = tre årstider - er man nødt til at have mere end et par flip-flops.

Men man behøver ikke mange.

Jeg er til flade sko. Jeg vil ikke gå rundt i et par stiletter og se smart ud med et fortrukket ansigt og følelsen af, at jeg bare vil hjem og smide skoene. Det er ikke af den grund, jeg forlader godt selskab.

Så her er min samling, der dækker alle mine behov.

Fra toppen: Snestøvler til virkelig dårligt vejr. De har ikke været meget brugt i år.

From the top: Snow boots for really bad weather. They haven't been much in action this year.

Sorte ballarinaer. Dem bruger jeg til pænere brug. Jeg har endelig fundet nogen med bløde såler.

Black ballarina skoes for nicer outfits. I have finally found some with soft soles.

Travesko/hverdag -  nye og virkelig gode. De gamle helt udslidte er på ud-listen i denne måned.

Walking shoes for everyday use - new and really good. The totally outlived old ones are on the out-list this month.

Sandaler: De sorte er ved at have udlevet deres tid. De er til pænere outfits og superfine med en flot neglelak på tåneglene. De sølv/guld farvede er meget komfortable hverdagssandaler.

Sandals: The black ones have almost outlived their use. They are for nicer outfits and really good with a nice nailpolish on the toe nails. The silver/gold ones are really comfy everyday sandals.

Mine kondisko - My trainers

When you live in a place with different seasons - summer, winter and autumn/spring = three seasons - you have to have more than a pair of flip-flops.

But you don''t need much.

I am totally into flat shoes. I will not walk around in a pair of heals looking smart with a convulsed face and the feeling, that all I want is to go home and take off my shoes. That is not going to be the reason to leave good company.

So this is my collection, which covers all my needs.

Returnering af varer - Return of Stuff

Jeg har lige været en smut i København. Faktisk kun lige frem og tilbage. Jeg skulle aflevere noget, som jeg havde fortrudt, at jeg havde købt.

Jeg trænger nemlig til nyt nattøj, og jeg har været så opsat på at købe noget nyt, så forleden gik jeg ind i en forretning og købte et sæt. Inderst inde havde jeg fornemmelsen, at jeg gav efter for en følelse om, at nu skulle det være og bare valgte noget - fordi jeg nu havde sat mig selv op til det. Og ganske rigtigt viste det sig, da jeg kom hjem, at det egentlig ikke var, hvad jeg havde tænkt mig.

Så derfor var jeg inde og aflevere det i dag. Jeg prøver altid at få det afleveret fejlkøb så hurtigt som muligt, for ellers kommer det ind på en hylde, og en dag tager man det i brug. Men det er stadig ikke noget, der gør en glad.

Der er mange, der ikke kan lide at returnere fejlkøb, men det er der faktisk ikke nogen ben i. Det er jo ikke et personligt mellemværende mellem ekspedienten og køberen, og hvis man er blevet 'løbet lidt over ende' af en sælger, så må sælgeren bare acceptere, at han/hun har oversolgt varen.

Man skal bare være opmærksom på, at man ikke bliver overtalt til at købe 'noget andet', fordi man føler sig dårlig tilpas. Ofte bliver man nemlig spurgt, om størrelsen ikke passede, eller om der kunne være noget andet, der har interesse, og svaret bør være, at man ikke lige nu har lyst til at kigge efter noget nyt. Det lukker enhver diskussion.

Så få afleveret de ting, du køber, som viser sig, ikke er det 'rigtige'. De køb er nemlig bare spild af penge.

Og jeg skal såmænd nok finde noget nyt nattøj en anden dag - ellers holder det gamle nok lidt tid endnu, selvom det ikke er så charmerende mere.

Hav en rigtig dejlig weekend.

Ingen indkøb, men masser af forårsblomster

No shopping, but lots of spring flowers

I have just been on a small trip to Copenhagen. Actually just forth and back. I returned something, which I regretted buying.

I need new pajamas, and I have been so set up to buy something new, that I the other day went into a shop and bought something. Deep inside I had the feeling, that I was giving in for the feeling, that it had to be now, and that I just chose something - because I had set my mind to it. And quite right, when I came home, I knew, that it wasn't really, what I wanted.

So I went to return it today. I always try to return stuff asap, because otherwise it goes on a shelf, and one day I start using it. But it still doesn't make me happy.

Lots of people don't like returning, what they have bought, but acutally it isn't a big deal. When it comes down to it, it is not a personal thing between the sales person and you, and if you have been talked into the purchase, then the sales person has to accept, that he/she has 'oversold' the item.

Then you have to be aware, that you aren't talked into buying 'something else', because you feel a bit bad. Often you are asked, if the size wasn't right, or if something else could be of interest, and the answer should be, that you don't feel like looking for something else right now. That stops any discussion.

So return the items, you purchase, which aren't 'the right ones', because they are just waste of good money.

And I am sure, that I will find a pajamas some other day - the old one will probably do for a bit longer, even though it isn't that charming anymore.

Have a great weekend.

Rodeskuffe - Junk Drawer

Jeg har en gang læst et interview, hvor en kendt person erklærede, at alle skulle have en rodeskuffe!

Hvis man kan leve med en rodeskuffe, altså et sted hvor der ligger ting, som man ikke rigtig kan huske og ikke kan finde, vil man så kigge i rodeskuffen, når man mangler noget? Ja, sikkert. Men måske har man også kigget 50 andre steder, før man når til rodeskuffen.

Men ville det ikke være så meget lettere, hvis ting bare har sin plads? Jo, det er det, og så skal man heller ikke organisere og omrokere hele tiden.

Jeg har læst, at et menneske bruger i gennemsnit 1 år af sin levetid på at lede efter ting. Det er jo total latterligt! At bruge 1 år på at rode rundt efter noget, man ikke kan finde.

Shakerne vidste det: En plads til hver ting, og hver ting på sin plads.

Så enkelt - og så svært er det!

Denne skuffe er min udfordring - mange ting med forskellige ting bliver ofte rodet.

This drawer is my challenge - a variety of things often get messy.

I once read an interview, where a wellknown person, declared, that everybody shouold have a junk drawer!

Why - and for what? If you can live with a junk drawer, a place where there is stuff, which you really cannot remember, and normally cannot find, would you then look in the junk drawer, if you were missing something. Yes, eventually. But then you have probably looked 50 other places first.

Wouldn't it be so much easier, if things just have their place. Yes, it would, and then you wouldn't have to organize and reorganize all the time.

I have read, that a person as an average during life time uses 1 year of his/her life to look for things. It is ridiculous! To spend one year to look for stuff, you cannot find.

The Shakers knew how to handle that: A place for each thing, and each thing in its place.

It is that simple - and that difficult!

Bliv ikke en samler - Don't Become a Collector

Det er selvfølgelig noget af et statement at sige, at du ikke skal samle på noget. Men samlinger tager ofte overhånd.

Jeg har en veninde, som samler på antikke gyngeheste. Hun har indtil nu 4 (såvidt jeg husker). De 3 er så små, at de står på en hylde, og den ene står på gulvet. Hun er feinschmeker, så det er ikke alt, hun køber. Det har taget hende lagt tid at finde disse heste. Men er hun samler, når hun kun har 4? Ja, det er hun, for hun går på loppemarkeder for at finde flere.

Så er spørgsmålet, hvordan samlingen fortsætter. Om hun har nogle kriterier omkring, hvor store de må være, og hvor gamle de skal være. For hvis hun ikke sætter nogle rammer omkring samlingen, kan den let blive stor og uhåndterlig i hendes lille toværelses lejlighed.

En anden veninde samlede på ugler. Det vil sige, hun startede med at købe porcelænsugle, som hun "ikke kunne stå for" og så senere en ugle, der ville matche.Og så greb det om sig, selvom hun egentlig ikke ville det. Men nu troede venner og familie, at hun samlede på ugler. Det var jo en bekvem måde at købe gaver til hende på, så folk fandt ugler i glas, ugler i ler, ugler i patchwork (en pude), ugler... i alle mulige materialer, og samlingen blev stor.

På et tidspunkt spurgte jeg hende om, hvad hun ville gøre, når hun ikke havde plads på hylden til flere ugler, og hun kiggede desparat på mig og sagde: "Jeg vil ikke have en ugle mere inden for døren, og jeg hader at tørre støv af dem, og at de dominerer hele min stue!" Så spurgte hun mig, hvordan hun skulle få folk til at lade være med at købe ugler, og hvordan hun skulle komme af med dem, så hun kun havde de to, som hun havde købt selv.

Det er helt klart ikke let at give en sådan udmelding, men det er et spørgsmål om at være ærlig. Hellere være ærlig en gang, end at lyve 300 gange - og så eje 300 ugler mere. Jeg foreslog hende at skrive en mail og fortælle sandheden. Hvordan hun aldrig havde tænkt sig at ville samle på ugler, og at hun nu ville 'bortaktionere' dem og lade beløbet gå til et godt formål. Hun skrev en mail og postede yderligere en besked på FB.

Var der nogen, der blev fornærmede? Ja, sikkert, men de sagde det ikke højt. Men der var til gengæld også en stor del, der synes, at det var så morsomt, at de hjalp hende med at komme af med dem. Nu har hun to ugler!

Generelt skal man være varsom med at give efter for at købe flere af samme slags. Det skaber et behov for, at man også skal have den næste ting, der bliver produceret af samme mærke. Og den næste ting. Det kan være årsskeer, juleuroer, platter, ølflasker, tegneserier og de dermed følgende figurer. Ja, der er ingen ende, og man kan samle på alt.

Det bedste er - lad være! Det er ting. Det er ting, der skal passes. Det er ting, der fylder op. Det er ting, der koster penge. Det er ting, der koster tid. Og hvis man ikke elsker at passe disse ting, hvis man ikke elsker at se på dem og ordne dem, hvis man ikke har lyst til at bruge tid på dem, og hvis du ikke elsker at bruge penge på dem, så lad være!

Bliv ikke samler ved et tilfælde. Bliv samler, hvis du brænder for det!

It is of course a bit of a statement to say, that you shouldn't collect anything. But collections often goes rampant.

I have a friend, who is collecting antique rocking horses. She has 4 (as far as I remember). Three small ones standing on a shelf, and one on the floor. She is a connoisseur, so she doesn't buy anything. It has taken her a long time to find these horses. But is she a collector, if she only has 4? Yes, she is, because she is going to flea markets to find more.

Then it is a quiestion about, how the collection goes on. If she has criterias about, how big they could be, and how old they have to be. Because if she doesn't set boundries around the collecting, it can easily become big and difficult to handle in her little 2 room apartment.

Another friend collected owls. Well, the story is, that she started by buying a procelain owl, which she "just couldn't resist", and later found one in another shop, which would match. And then things took their own turn, even though she didn't really want it. Because now friends and relatives 'knew', that she was collecting owls. And it was an easy way to buy her a present, and she got owls in glas, cheramic owls, owls in patchwork (a pillow), owls in... all kinds of materials, and the collection became huge.

Once we were together I asked her, what she would do, when she didn't have more space for owls on the book shelf, and she looked all desparate at me and said: "I don't want one more owl to enter my home, and I hate dusting them, and they dominate my living room totally!" Then she asked me, how she was going to stop everyone from giving her more owls, and how she could get rid of all of them, except the ones she had bought herself.

It is quite clearly not easy to come out with announcement like that, but it is a question about being honest. Rather be honest once, than lying 300 times - and then be the owner of 300 owls more. I suggested her to write a mail and tell the truth. How she never had thought about being an owl collector, and that now she would make an 'auction' and donate the money for charity. She wrote a mail, and also posted it on FB.

Did anybody get offended? Yes, probably, but they didn't say it out loud. However a lot of people thought, that is was fun, and helped her get rid of them. Now she is left with two owls!

In general you should be never give in to buying more of the same kind. No matter what it is. It creates a desire for owning the next 'thing' in the production line. And the next. It can be anything. Plates, decorations, porcelain figurines, beer bottles, comics and comic dolls. There is no end, and you can collect anything.

The best thing is - don't! It is just things. Things you have to take care of. Things, which takes up space. Things, which cost money. Things, which takes your time. And if you don't love to take care of them, if you don't love to look at them, and if you don't love to spend your money on them, then don't!

Don't accidently become a collector. Become a collector, if you love it!

Oprydnings-fejltagelser - De-clutter Mistakes

Når man har bestemt sig for at rydde op, begynder man rigtig ofte med at gøre en stor fejl, for NU skal det være - så jeg må hellere købe nogle kasser til at pakke ned i!

Men det er helt galt. Man skal ikke købe mere til at tage plads op i huset, før man har skilt sig af med noget. Der skal action til, før man begynder at pakke noget ned, og aller helst skal tingene ikke pakkes ned, men sættes på plads eller afhændes.

Det er det endelige mål med en oprydning.

Første trin er at få sorteret sine ting. I 'arter', hvilket vil sige, at man skal samle ting af samme slags sammen. Ting man har flere af. I køkkenet skal man finde alle knive frem. Alle krus. Alle sakse o.s.v., for man kan ikke tage stilling til, hvad man vil beholde, for man kan ikke bestemme, hvilke knive, børster, håndklæder eller sko, man vil beholde, før man har dem alle sammen fremme i lyset. Hvis du vælger den første kniv, du falder over, er det ikke sikkert, at du ender med et bedste sæt knive. Så sorter ens ting i bunker, og derefter vælger og afhænder du.

Det samme gælder for alt, der ryddes op i, og også med tøj er det et god procedure. Alle hvide skjorter i én bunke, alle sorte t-shirts i en anden o.s.v. Det bliver så meget lettere at vælge det bedste. Og husk, du skal vælge 'til' - altså beholde det du bruger og holder af - og afhænde resten.

En oprydning tager tid, hvis man skal ende op med at tage de gode valg. Men husk, hvis du beholder alt, kommer det aldrig til at ligne - eller føles som en oprydning, og du vil aldrig få det resultat, du havde håbet på.

Tasker med tasker - Bags with bags

When you have decided to de-clutter, you often start with making a big mistake, because you want to do this NOW - so you go buy some boxes to put stuff into!

That is totally wrong. You should not buy anything to take up more space in your house, before you have got rid of some other stuff. It takes action, before you can start packing things, and in the most ideal scenaria stuff shouldn't be packed, but put in their place or disposed of.

That is the final goal for a de-clutter.

First step is to sort our things in groups. This means that you should collect things of the same sort. Things which you own several numbers of. In the kitchen you should take out all knives. All the mugs. Pairs of scissors and so on, because you cannot decide, which knives, brushes, towels or shoes, you want to keep, before you have all of them in front of you. If you choose the first knife, you pick up, you might not end up with the best set of knives. So sort the same sort, then choose, and then dispose.

This is good for every kind of de-clutter, even with clothes. All white shirts in one pile, all black t-shirts in another... it becomes so much easy to choose the best. And remember - don't sort with a negative attitude like no-good, no-good, no-good. You choose with: I use this, I use this, I use this. This way it becomes evident, what has to go.

A de-clutter takes time, if you want to end up owning your good stuff. So make the good choices. But remember, if you keep everything, it will never look like - or feel like a de-clutter, and you will never get the result, that you had hoped for.

Et trick til at afhænde ting - A trick to Overcome to Sell/Dispose of Things

Når du står overfor en ting, som du har svært ved at afhænde, eller du ikke rigtig kan finde ud af, om du bør beholde, så er der ét spørgsmål, du kan stille dig selv, som kan hjælpe:

Ville jeg have købt denne ting, hvis jeg havde set den i en forretning i dag?

Hvis du ikke ville købe den, så skal du lade den gå, for så har den ingen værdi for dig.

Hvis du kunne være fristet til at købe den, så kan du pakke den ned i en kasseog skrive en dato på 6 måneder frem i tiden, og hvis du ikke i mellemtiden har savnet tingen, så lad kassen gå til genbrug på denne dato.

Det er ikke alle ting, du ejer, som er af værdi, selv om du har givet penge for dem, og du vil føle dig så meget bedre tilpas, hvis du ikke hele tiden skal konfronteres med dine fejlkøb.

When you hold an item in your hand, which you have difficulties with letting go of, or you cannot really find out, if you should keep it or not, there is one question, you can ask yourself, which can help you:

Would I have bought this thing, if I had seen it in a shop today?

If you wouldn't have bought it, then you should let go, because then it has no value to you.

If you could have been tempted to buy it, you should put it in a box and put a date 6 months ahead on the box, and if you haven't missed the item during that period, you should let it go.

Not everything you own has value, even though you have paid money for it, but you will feel so much better not being confronted with your bad purchases.

Ind og ud-listen opsummering for 2016 - In and Out List summary for 2016

Jeg synes egentligt, at det er ganske sjovt, at jeg stadig - selvom jeg har erklæret min oprydning 'færdig' - finder ting, som jeg sender til genbrug!

Jeg er blevet spurgt, om det kan ses i mit hjem, og det tror jeg egentlig ikke, men det kan ses i mine skabe. Jeg har ikke problemer med plads. Der er plads til det hele - men 'det hele' måske heller ikke så meget mere.

Så for ikke andet end det morsomme i det, opgjorde den totale ind-og udliste, og den kom til at se sådan ud:

59 ting ind, heraf 18 erstatninger, hvilket vil sige, at jeg har anskaffet 41 nye ting, og
150 ting er ude af mit hjem.

De 150 ting fordeler sig således:
9 ting blev solgt
12 ting blev smidt ud, fordi de ikke egnede sig til genbrug
5 ting blev foræret væk.
Så 124 ting gik til genbrugsforretninger.

Det er en on-going ting at holde sit hjem fri for unødige og unyttige ting. Vi vil alle sammen altid være forbrugere, og behov ændrer sig, og dermed opstår behovet for andre ting (som ikke behøver at være nye). Vi slider ting op. Vi går igennem forskellige livsperioder: Børn, teenagers, unge voksne, unge familier, gamle familier, gamle mennesker, og der er forskellige behov for de forskellige tidsaldre.

Men vi skal ikke hænge fast i det gamle. Vi skal mindes de gode oplevelser, og selvfølgelig skal vi også gemme nogle små skatte, men vi skal ikke drukne vores liv nu med det, der skete en gang. Det er en stor fornøjelse at give ting til genbrug, så andre kan bruge tingene færdig.

At lade fortiden tage for meget plads op (fysisk og psykisk) forhindrer os i at leve nu og gøre det bedste ud af i dag.

Så gå ud og gør i dag til en mindeværdig dag - uden ting. Hav en rigtig dejlig weekend.

De sidste genbrugsposer i 2016 - The last second hand bags in 2016

I think that it is quite funny, that I still - even thought I have decleared my de-clutter 'finished' - can find things to get rid of.

I have been asked, if it you can see it in my home, and I don't think so, but you can see it in my closets and cabinets. I have no space problems. There is a place for everything - but then again 'everything' might not be so much any more.

Only for the fun of it I have 'analyzed' the ins and outs, and the result is:

59 items in, of these 18 items are replacements, which means, that I have bought 41 new things, and
150 items went out.

The 150 items are devided in
9 items sold
12 things were ruined or otherwise not for use
5 items were given away.
So 124 items went to the 2nd hand shop.

It is an ongoing thing to keep your home free of unnecessary stuff. We will always be consumers, and our needs change, and needs for new things occur (things which might not be new). We wear things out, and we go through different life periods: Children, teenagers, young adults, young families, old families, old people, and there are different needs for all ages.

But we should not get stuck in times past. Of course we should remember good times, and of course we should keep little treasures. But we shouldn't drown in, what happened once. It is a big pleasure to pass things on to others, who can 'finish' our belongings, when we don't need them anymore.

To let the past take up too much room (mentally and physically) stops us from living now and making the best out of today.

So go out a make this day memorable - without things. Have a great weekend.

Tilknytning til ting - Attachment to Things

Det er sagt, at når alt er værdifuldt, er intet værdifuldt! Det er rigtigt!

Så vi skal lære at skelne mellem det, som virkelig betyder noget og det, som bare er kommet os i hænde.

Somme tider beholder vi ting, fordi vi vil føle os skyldige, hvis vi afhænder dem. Det drejer sig i reglen om ting, der har tilhørt mennesker vi holder/holdt af. Hvordan håndterer vi det?

Vi trækker kortet, hvor der står: Du skal ikke føle skyld, hvis du ikke beholder denne ting! Det er udelukkende en følelse, som du pålægger dig selv. Ingen andre føler den.

Når det gælder arv og gaver, bliver vi ofte ejere af ting, som vi ikke har ønsket os.

Men vi skal kun beholde gaver, som er nyttige for os. Gaver, som ikke er nyttige, skal afhændes. Vil det få dig til at føle dig skyldig? Hvis det gør, så tænk på, at du er taknemlig for, at et menneske har taget sig tid til og givet penge ud på noget, der skulle glæde dig, og så glæd dig over selve glæden og giverens ønske om at gøre dig glad. Og lad tingen gå! Hvis du sælger den, kan du købe noget for pengene, som du ønsker dig, og hvis du giver det væk, giver du glæden videre. Det er her, at det for alvor er sandt, at det er tanken, der tæller.

Hvis det er arv, gælder det samme. Vi overtager ting fra en nærståendes dødsbo, og vi skal håndtere det følelsesmæssigt. Det er overvældende! Det bedste, vi kan gøre, er, at vælge få ting, som vi kan bruge i hverdagen, og hvis det drejer sig om pynteting, så vælg det, der minder dig mest om personen, og vælg noget du altid vil have plads til. Glem alt om, hvad personen selv satte pris på. Det er måske ikke din smag og vil derfor kun tynge dig.

Vælg f.eks. smykker kan bæres, som de er eller laves om til noget mere moderne. Ure kan repareres. Møbler skal passe ind i din møbelstil for at blive en succes. Køkkengrej skal man kun vælge, hvis man har brug for det. Prøv at tænke rationelt, selv om situationen er vanskelig.

Det værste man kan gøre er at fragte alt til sin egen bolig med intentionen om at gøre noget ved det, når man får mere overskud. Det kommer der aldrig et godt resultat ud af, fordi man så dagligt står med 'gode møbler' og andre 'værdifulde ting', som det bliver sværere og sværere at afhænde, fordi man tænker sig ind i alle scenarier om, hvordan man kan passe dem ind i sit liv.  Lad være med at købe opmagasinering! Det går - heller -ikke! Tøm i stedet alt for personlige papirer og tag dem med til en nærsortering, men tag stilling til alt andet her og nu. Vi skal heller ikke tænke på, om den eller den i familien kan bruge noget. Inviter nærmeste familie og lad dem vælge, hvad de vil. Træk ikke pinen lang, og lad være med at se tilbage. Vi lever fremad. Det er kun ting.

Jeg har fået lavet min Gudmors forlovelsesring om, og den sidder på min ene hånd hver dag, og min mors speciallavede ring sidder på den anden. Fra min far har jeg en 'æres-pokal', som han fik som anerkendelse for et stort arbejde han gjorde for andre, og mine bedsteforældre er husket ved et ur og en halskæde og min tip-oldemors lugtesaltflaske. Små ting, som har til huse i et lille, gammelt tobaksskab, som stammer fra mine oldeforældre. Alt sammen synligt opbevaret på 40x50 cm.

Man behøver ikke at gemme hele hjem fra alle forfædre - med mindre man ejer et museum! - så hold op med at føle skyld!

It is said, that when everything is valuable, nothing is valuable! That is true!

So we have to learn to differ between what really means something, and what just falls into our hands.

Sometimes we keep things, because we feel guilty, if we would give them away. It is mostly thing, which have belonged to people, we care/have cared about. And how do we handle that?

We draw the card, which says: You must not feel guilty, if you don't keep this thing! Because it is exclusively a feeling, you put upon yourself. No-one else feels it.

When it comes to inheritance and gifts, we often become owners of things, we haven't wanted.

But we should only keep gifts, which are of use to us. Gifts, which aren't, should go. Will that make you feel guilty? If it does, then think about that you are grateful, that someone has taken the time and money to give you something to make you happy, and then be happy about that feeling and the thought that this person wanted to make you happy. And let it go! If you sell it, you can buy something, you want, or if you give it away, you pass on the good feeling. It is right here, where the sentence 'It is the thought that counts' really counts.

If it is inheritance, it's the same thing. We take over things from a close relative, and we have to handle the whole deal. It is overwhelming! The best thing we can is to choose a few things, which we can use in everyday life, and if it is decorative items, then choose, what reminds you of this person, and choose something which always will fit into your home. Forget everything about what the person him- og herself liked. It might not be your taste and will therefore always weigh you down.

As examples jewelry can be worn, or it can be changed into something more modern. Watches can be repaired. Furniture has to fit into your style to become a succes. Kitchen stuff should only be chosen, if you need it. Try to think rationally, even though the situation is difficult.

The worst thing you can do is to move everything to your own home with the intention about doing something about it later, when you get more distance. It will never give a good result, because you every day stand in front of 'good furniture' and other 'valuable' things, which will become harder and harder to do something about, because you try to think out all scenarias, how to incooperate these items into your life. And don't buy extra storage! It doesn't work - either! Instead collect personal papers and bring them home for further sorting, but handle everything else as quickly as possible. We shouldn't either deal with thinking about who could use what. Invite the family and let them choose. Don't pull the pain longer than necessary, and don't look back. We live 'forwards', and it is only things.

I have had my Godmother's engagement ring redone, and it is on one hand every day, and my Mother's special designed ring on the other. From my Father I have an honery cup, he received as an acknowledgement for the big effort he put into helping others, and my Grandparents are represented by a necklace and a watch, and then there is my Great Grandmother's smelling salt bottle. Small things, which are kept in a small tobacco cabinet, which has belonged to my great grandparents. Everything stored in sight on 20x16 inches.

You don't have to keep everything from all your ancestors - unless you own a museum! - so stop feeling guilty!

Kælder/Loft Oprydning - Basement/Attic De-Clutter

Her har vi et rum, der ikke er aktivt, men alligevel er det fyldt med ejendele. Der ligger nemlig:

Ting, som vi har planer med at gøre noget ved.
Ting, som vi beholder 'for en sikkerheds skyld'.
Ting, som har kostet penge, og vi derfor ikke har det godt med at skille os af med.
Ting, som vi ikke rigtig ved, hvad vi skal gøre med.
Ting, som har tilhørt andre, som vækker minder, eller som er 'gode'.
Og endelig ting, som vi bruger regelmæssigt - og de fylder for det meste ikke ret meget!

Hvad skal vi gøre ved det?- og skal vi gøre noget overhovedet? Har tingene det ikke godt nok der?

JA, DET SKAL VI! - OG NEJ, DET ER IKKE GODT NOK.

For kældre og loftsrum er en byrde.

Det, vi burde opbevare, er kunne være:

Jule/påskepynt
Værktøj
Ting til have og terasse
Cykler og barnevogne
Ting til bilen

og der er kan være et par andre grupper, men kun omfatter ting, der bliver brugt.

For et stykke tid siden var jeg på vores containerplads, og en ældre mand stod med et stort stykke træ. Da han så mig, sagde han: "Ved du, hvor dyrt sådan et stykke træ er? Det er vildt, hvad folk smider ud! Nu tager jeg det med, for man ved aldrig, hvornår man kan få brug for sådan noget godt træ!"

Det er jo præcis det, der kendetegner mange af os. Vi ser noget, som vi ser en mulighed i, og så agerer vi! Uden nærmere eftertanke. Vi tænker ikke færdigt, for den første tanke burde have været: Hvad skal jeg bruge det til? Og næste tanke (hvis vi altså kan finde et formål): Hvornår skal jeg få det gjort?

I de fleste tilfælde burde svaret være: Godt træ, men jeg ved ikke, hvad jeg skulle bruge det til, og hvis jeg vidste det, så ville jeg sikkert aldrig få gjort noget ved det, for jeg har andre og vigtigere prioriteter. Så jeg lader det ligge!

Den gamle mand skulle have efterladt det til en, som rent faktisk havde planer om at bruge det til noget.

Der er omstændigheder, der følger med mange kældre og loftsrum. En af dem er fugt. En anden er stillestående luft, og de fleste steder er der ikke varme. Dette har en effekt på de opbevarede ting, for
ting ændrer sig, når de ligger stille længe. De ældes stadig, og de ældres anderledes, end hvis de havde været i brug.

En af mine erfaringer var en taske, som jeg ikke brugte så meget mere og derfor lagde i en kasse i kælderen, og efter en tid der nede fik den en lugt, der bedst kan defineres som 'gammel'. Den lugt, som er i mange genbrugsforretninger. Lugten af hengemt. Og den er ikke altid mulig at komme af med. Jeg fik den aldrig af tasken.

Jeg har været igennem 2 kælder-oversvømmelser! Det var både en negativ og en positiv oplevelse. Negativ, fordi jeg ærgrede mig over så mange ødelagte ting. Positiv, fordi jeg faktisk ikke savnede noget bagefter! Ikke en eneste ting. Lidt skræmmende, men sandt! Jeg var egentlig lidt lettet over at blive presset til at smide tingene ud. Det ærgerlige bestod i, at hvis jeg havde givet tingene væk, ville de have været til gavn for andre.

Så hvis man ikke vil bruge ting, så lad være med at lægge dem væk. Sælg dem eller giv dem væk, så de ikke lider den skæbne, at de ikke kan bruges, fordi de lugter af 'gammelt' eller bliver ødelagt.

Så tænk bare, hvis du, når du gik ned i kælderen, åbnede døren og fandt 4-5 kasser med ting, som du brugte med jævne mellemrum.
Tænk, hvis du ikke skulle lede, men kunne finde, hvad du skulle bruge med det samme.
Og tænk, hvis du vidste, at tingene der fungerede.

'Afskaf' din kælder. Gør den til det rum, hvor du opbevarer ting, som du bruger regelmæssigt hvert år og sørg for, at de bliver opbevaret godt. Så bliver kælderen en god forlængelse af dit hjem og ikke et gemmested for noget, som bare giver dårlig samvittighed, fordi du ikke har kontrol over det.

Så hav rigtig god weekend - måske bliver det perfekt gråvejr til en kælderoprydning?

Mit kælderrum for meget, meget lang tid siden

My basement very, very long time ago

Here we are talking about a room, which isn't active, but filled with stuff anyway. Often you find these categories of things:

Things, which we plan to do something about.
Things, we keep for 'just in case'.
Things, which have cost us money, which makes us feel bad to let go of.
Things, which we really don't quite know, what to do with.
Things, which have belonged to others, connected to memories, or 'good' stuff.
And finally thing, which we use regularly - and they don't take up much space.

What should we do about that? - and should we do anything? Aren't the stuff allright where it is?

YES! WE SHOULD DO SOMETHING! - AND NO! IT IS NOT ALLRIGHT!

Because basements/attics are a burden!

What we should keep there are the following:

Season decorations
Tools
Garden and terasse stuff
Bicycles and prams
Stuff for the car

and a few other groups of things, which are in use.

Some time ago I met an old guy at the container yard, who was holding a piece of wood board. When he saw me, he said: "Do you know how expensive such a board is? It is crazy, what people get rid of! Now I will take it with me, because you never know, when you are going to need a piece of wood like this."

This is precisely, what characterize a lot of us. We see a possibility in something, and then we act! No further thoughts. We don't finish thinking, because the first thought should have been: What can I use this for? Next thought (if you find a purpose): When will I get it done?

So the answer should have been: Good piece of wood board, but I don't know, what I would use it for, and if i knew, I probably never would find the time to do something about it, because I have other and more important priorities. So I will leave it!

The old mand should have left the board to someone, who actually had plans to use it for something.

There are circumstances, which come with most basements and attics. One of them is moisture. The other is stagnant air, and most places aren't heated. All these things ages the stuff stored there, and things change, when lying around un-used. They get older, and they get older in a different way, than if they had been in use.

I had an experience with a bag, which I didn't use that much anymore, so I put it in a box in the basement, and after some time it started smelling of something, which best can be described as 'old'. The smell you smell in a lot of secondhand shops. And that smell isn't always possible to get rid of. I never got it of my bag.

I have been through 2 floodings of my basement! It has been both a negative and a positive experience. Negative because I really was vexed about so much ruined stuff. Positive, because I didn't really miss any of it afterwards! Not a single thing. A little scary, right? I was actually relieved of being forced to throw out the stuff. The negative side was, that if I had given everything away, it could have been of use for others.

So if you don't get to use something, then don't put it away. Sell it og donate it, so it doesn't get to the point of no use, because it smells 'old' or gets ruined.

Just think about if you went to your basement/attic, opened the door and found 4-5 boxes.
Think if you didn't have to look for something, but knew exactly, where you could find it immediately.
And imagine, if you knew, that everything was in perfect condition.

'Get rid of' your storage. Make the basement/attic the room, where you store things, which you use regularly, and pack them well. Then you basement becomes an extension of your home and not a hiding place for something, which just makes you feel bad, because you don't control it.

So have a great weekend - maybe the weather will be perfect for a basement de-clutter?

Entre oprydning - Hall De-clutter

Entreen, indgangspartiet eller hvad det nu kan være for et rum, man møder, når man åbner døren, er altid - næsten - et mareridt.

Det er jo godt nok, at den ikke tager for meget plads i mindre boliger, men somme tider er den slet ikke gennemtænkt. Hverkan af arkitekten - eller af os, der bor der.

I en entre skal der der være plads til

At lægge/hænge sine nøgler, så man kan finde dem igen.
At hænge/sætte sin taske, så den ikke flyder på gulvet.
At hænge sit overtøj.
At sætte sine sko, hvis de er våde.
Et skoskab til tørre sko, som er i brug i indeværende sæson.
En reol eller et hængende* skabsmodul til bl.a. regntøj og paraplyer, vanter, huer etc.

*fordi det skal være let at gøre gulvet rent!

Det er ofte et meget lille rum, så jo mere striks, man er, des bedre. Det gør så stor forskel, når man kommer hjem, at man ikke overmandes af bunker af tøj, tasker, sko m.m.

Entreen må ikke blive en opbevaringsplads for ting, der ikke er i brug, for morgener bliver så meget bedre, når alle, der skal ud af huset, kan finde deres ting.

Der er nyere boliger, der ikke har en entre, men hvor man kommer direkte ind i et andet rum, ofte et køkken-alrum. Så er det ekstra vigtigt at finde en god løsning. Det kan det være nødvendigt at skræddersy et skab til formålet, og selvom det tager plads op, vil det være en god investering, så rod ikke breder sig.

Så igen - alt ud af rummet, se på det med nye øjne og find en løsning, der fungerer. Jo enklere, jo bedre.

Min entre er lille, men jeg er heldig, at jeg har indbyggede skabe, der kan rumme overtøj, strygebræt, ekstra stol, vaskestativ og en stige.

My 'hall' is very small, but I am lucy to have built in cabinets, which hold coats, ironinig board, a folding chair, drying rack and a latter. 

The entrence to the house, the hall or which ever room you meet, when you enter your home, is - almost always - a nightmare!

It is ok, that it doesn't take up much space in small flats, but sometimes it isn't planned well at all. Not by architechts or by us.

In the - let's call it a hall! - you should find room for

A place to hang or put your keys, so you can find them again.
A place to hang or put your bag, so it doesn't end up on the floor.
A place to hang your coat.
A place to put your shoes, if they are wet.
A shoe cabinet for dry shoes, which you use during the present season.
A shelf or a hanging* cabinet for mittens and hat during winter season, rainclothes and umbrellas.

*because it should be easy to clean the floor!

It often is a very small room, so the more strict you are, the better. It makes a big difference, when you come home, that you don't get overwhelmed by piles of clothes, bags, shoes etc.

The hall must not become a storage for thing, which aren't in use, because mornings get so much better, if everybody, who is leaving the house, can find their stuff.

There are flats, which don't actually have a hall, where you go right into the livingroom/kitchen/all-room. If so, it becomes really important to find a good solution. It can become necessary to 'design' a cabinet/closet for the purpose, and even though it takes up space, it will be a good investment to prevent clutter to spread.

So again - everything out of the room, look at it with 'new' eyes and find a solution, which works. The simpler - the better.