Approximately ??? days to go...

The Lockdown

What a strange month…
For starters, here’s the before and after of my computer desk.
(Sorry for the crooked screen)

All my work knick-knacks have come home with me, so this desk isn’t going to get tidier any time soon.
I wanted to start with this photo, just to demonstrate how one can have a million plans and goals, but sometimes, life has other ideas.

The other plans COVID-19 has changed is that we may not get to Melbourne by October after all, if we're being realistic (hence the ??? at the beginning of this post).
Air New Zealand have disbanded their international fleet for the time being so our future is completely up in the air. What an exciting time to be living in! We’re happy and comfortable, so there’s no rush on our future plans. We’re taking it one day at a time, and I’m trying to stay motivated to declutter, which is difficult when the goalposts have disappeared.

The Before and Afters

Now, the moments you’ve all been waiting for!! Haha, just kidding. I know most of you only care about the personal bit.
Anyway, onward!!
I cleaned up Kyle’s bedside table a little bit (a really tiny bit).

****coughs****

Ok, onto something more impressive (we hope).

So, this one is a work in progress photo, and you’re seeing it right in the middle of the “in progress” phase. My goal here is to empty the fadge out completely because it’s definitely not coming with us to Melbourne. In fact, Australia might just deport us if it made its way into the country. The before and after photo here will look a lot more impressive next month, so watch this space. Hopefully you’re able to see past the vastly different times of day that I took this photo.

And now, dear reader. Please draw your eye to the shelf above the hangars. It may appear that the second photo is more cluttered than the first, but it is merely an illusion. You see, I completely forgot there was crap in that top cupboard. And when I remembered it existed, I had to photograph it. So now it looks worse… BUT! If you ignore that shelf, the rest is a great before and after photo, in my opinion. Many, many things have changed. You’ll just have to trust me.

This closet is a pain during the lockdown, because everything is sellable, but we aren’t allowed to sell anything. It’s testing my patience (and it's only day 13…). Also, I’m exercising many virtues during this lockdown, and I don’t have the patience to exercise my patience!

Most of the things on this shelf we’re keeping "because it’s cool”, but also because displaying gaming items is one of Kyle’s hobbies. As I think I’ve said before, the cluttered and ugliest parts of this shelf are my stuff, which still need sorting. As I hope you can see, I’m getting there slowly!! #Progress!

Also, Kyle went through some of his old games that he no longer had use for and gave me permission to pass on. They can’t be sold because they’re missing an NZ classification sticker, but even so, finding someone to take them for free has been a challenge. I don't like throwing away things... but it's hard when finding someone who wants rare items is so, well, rare.

Gah, this stupid shelf is driving me crazy. I’ve gotten rid of all the ‘easy’ items. Now it’s just full of:

1. Things we’ll use right up until leaving
2. Half-finished projects.

I would like to point out that it’s the bottom shelf that’s shown the most progress this month. Our Magic the Gathering cards all live in tidy cardboard boxes now with labels and dividers. I’m extremely proud of it. But it’s a good example of how organising things doesn't always make for great before / after photos, especially when there’s still progress to be made.

As promised, I evaluated all the contents of my upper-upper wardrobe space and there were a lot of things hidden in there! Not only a lei, but also a complete Rey costume for May the Fourth. Great for dress up, but the first thing to be chucked out when preparing to immigrate.

April’s goal is to look at the boxes at the very bottom of my cupboard. It will give me an opportunity to deal with my tendency to hoard notebooks and will force me to re-organise and streamline my cross-stitch box.
With all the non-essential shops closed, it’s hard to work on most projects which is a real downer. But thankfully, I bought thread organisers a while ago (plastic-free which I was stoked about) so as the weeks get colder, I’ve got enough to occupy myself with during the lockdown.

And lastly, my pride and joy. The spare room! This is where most of my time went into this month. The computer desk has been sold and my box of childhood knick-knacks have been sorted. My gnomes are patiently waiting for a new home, but in the meantime, this space is looking great.

The Personal

So again, what a strange month. It started with my opening a small cardboard box full of childhood memorabilia (the first of many). There were a few tears and Kyle held me when I felt I was killing my child-self (I can be rather dramatic sometimes). I lay on the floor surrounded by some of my knick-knack and just let it sink in. The items themselves were not important, because of course, it was the memories that they held that were the most precious. I had a great childhood, filled with unbridled imagination and blissful ignorance right up into my late teens.
Eventually I took a photo of everything in that box, to help keep my memory alive, and then I split the contents out into thinks to give away, throw away, and give back to nature.

Maybe some other kid will find my collection of little glittery rocks and treasure them.

Of the childhood items I had, I got to the point of tossing the branch-bench onto the beach too, if I’m honest. I’d talked myself into thinking it was necessary and accepted that dismantling this adorable feature was needed.

But during that lunch break on the beach, I happened to be reading the Gift-Giving chapter of The 5 Love Languages, and my newfound understanding around the heart and love behind gifts had me frantically searching for that little branch until I found it again and tucked it safely into my backpack.

See, this little feature was handmade by my childhood best friend, Gabrielle, for one of my birthdays. The gnomes are made from plasticine (I think) and the little pond they’re next to was meticulously dug out and lined with wax to make it watertight. Along with this, I was gifted a handful of guppies to look after as well as some fish food. I even remember the instructions to “leave the fish balls in the water for so many hours, and then take the uneaten ones out otherwise it would poison the water”. They outgrew their pond quickly (as we both knew they would). But of course, I had no reason to throw away this neat little feature. So, it lived on my desk for years, then on a wall-shelf, and then in a box.

While reading about the loving gesture of gift-giving, I thought about the amount of time and effort that had gone into such a gift. And thinking back, it was one of the best gifts I have ever received. Looking at it made me feel valued and reminded me that I wasn’t nearly as friendless as I recall being. Someone, at some time, back then, thought I was important enough to spend hours and hours on, just for a birthday present. And that’s something worth a constant reminder.

I’ve since purchased a Perspex case for the feature and it’s coming with me to Melbourne. Of course, NZ Post doesn’t deem Perspex cases an “essential item” so I’ll have to wait for lockdown to be over before I can start on the project. But it’s something I’m looking forward to.

I didn’t get a whole lot done this month (I feel), but I did help my friend out with her decluttering one evening (before the lockdown) and I just had to share the photos. We’re both pretty proud of the results.

Ending

So, you’ll notice some of my Before/After shots have been from 2019, and that’s because most my readers don’t seem particularly interested in the before/after shots that have only a tiny bit of difference in them. Frankly, I celebrate every bit of progress, but I’m changing things up a bit to see if people like it.

Tell me in the comments what you think 😊