Speaking of clutter.......

[DaisySue]

I am in the process of deep cleaning my bedroom. It is taking so very, very long cause I have way too much stuff!

I have been pitching or donating, but now I am down to the nitty gritty. The nitty gritty (to me) is the stuff I have "saved". My problem is old stuff!

I love old stuff! These items, most decorative, are wonderful quality and things I consider beautiful and unique. Does anyone else share my passion?

I know several have mentioned being knickknack free and that is so not me! Anyone got any good ideas for displaying their wonderful finds and/or storage ideas or ideas for rotating displays.

Most of these wonderful items were either given to me or bought at yard sales for ridiculously low prices. A certain amount of clutter to me is cozy and comfy, just right now it is overwhelming. I want to enjoy what old things I have not feel like ugh! I don't wanna go in my room!

[JanieD]

I love collecting figurines & such, but its hard to keep items neatly displayed (plus dust love my house). I do tend to overfill my shelves & then can't enjoy it... too cluttered. I've found if I take a few things from a display & boxing those up, the display looks better. Later I'll pull those out & change things around again. Sometimes my collection "grows" too much & I have to pare down.

The bedroom is a little full with a corner shelf, a wall shelf, a bookshelf & a chest to help hold my collectibles. Some would say its cluttered, but I find it comforting. Plus I can always pack things away if gets overwhelming.

Good luck finding a way to enjoy your treasures!

[AmyBoz]

DaisySue, Perhaps as you bring a new piece in, you could let an old piece go. Knowing that this is the deal, it might help you in not "finding" so many new objects to bring into your home.

There's nothing wrong with knick-knacks. They bring you joy in your home. In mine, they make me itchy and uncomfortable. It's all about what you want to live with.

With regards to the "stuff" people have given you...just because it was a gift doesn't mean you have to keep it. You can keep the memory of the giver, but that doesn't necessarily live in the object.

[suebeehoney]

My house looks like a country store exploded.

Kitchen: birdhouses and antique spice tins and similar decor

Entryway & Mud room: Country/Primitive Noah's Ark Decor

Living Room: General Country Decor

My Bedroom: Battenburg Lace & more general country decor

Bathroom (down): Seashells & Ocean

Bathroom (up): Sailboats & Primitive Nautical Decor

Boys' rooms are their own decor - the one place in the house I haven't invaded yet.

My way of displaying all the stuff is using primitive shelving - much of it made from old barnwood, which I love, and some of it painted a distressed white.

I'll post pics sometime if anyone's interested...

[mamamia]

I'll post pics sometime if anyone's interested...

I would love to see your pics! Your house sounds fascinating!

Theresa

[DaisySue]

I would absolutely LOVE to see pics of your house! I need display ideas, so that would be a big help, plus your decor sounds awesome!

[savvymom]

DH is a collector...of well...everything almost. He collects hot sauces and they are displayed on top of our cabinets (the empty space between the cabinet and the ceiling). We both collect Budweiser beer steins, and only put out a portion of them and switch them up occasionally. We've also hung shelves toward the top of the wall (maybe 2 ft. down from the ceiling) to display collectibles.

I have not found a quick and easy way to keep the above said areas dusted however...good luck!

[suebeehoney]

Thanks to those who expressed interest in my house pics! I'm going to make a concerted effort this week to get the rest of my decor hung up so I can take pics of the house and post them. Some of my stuff is still in boxes (moved in January, and the decor has been the last thing on the list!), but it shouldn't take long to get it up on the walls, etc.

The one thing I've found with my sort of decor (country/primitive) is that it's a good thing to make use of every available space if you can! Be creative - if you have things that can sit on a shelf, but no shelf space, start looking at your doorframes! My house is 100 years old (the original part of it, anyway) and has the original woodwork still in it - the doorframes and windowframes are rather wide at the top, so I can sit things on them! I use those to display quite a bit of stuff.

As far as my decor being frugal, it's about as frugal as it can get. Much of it - I'd say about 99% of it - came from either Ebay or Goodwill, and I paid very little for it. Some of it came from yard sales, too. I was a VERY happy camper when I hit a yard sale a few years ago where someone was changing their decor and had a whole bunch of Noah's Ark-themed primitive/country decor for great prices. I walked off with all of it.

I'll try to post pics this weekend - I'm hoping to get pics inside and out to post, since the outside of the house is kind of unique too.

[Momto2Boyz]

Find an old ladder (personally, I love the wood ones with the round rungs) and hang it on the wall sideways. It gives you a really cool look and it will give you TONS of room to neatly display your things up off the table tops!

I am a knick-knacky person too, and last spring I went through and got rid of tons! I found shelves & ladders and things to hang on the wall, and once I got things up off the tabletops, things felt so much cleaner...but still cozy and comforting that I had some of my favorite things displayed!

[alarosalpn]

momto2boyz- that's a cool idea! Thank you!

[angelbumpkin]

We have floating shelves, ladders,and a chair on the wall.

[DaisySue]

Keep the ideas coming girls! I love the idea of the chair on the wall, and I actually have one of the old round wooden ladders. I used to have it hung vertically but had taken it down. Will have to dig that up also.

My other decorating problem is family pictures! I love them. I get wonderful frames from yard sales and Salvy and am looking for neat ideas to display them. Pictures would be helpful!

I am loving this thread. My decor is pretty darn frugal, even if I have a lot of it (but I have loved the same stuff for almost 25 years so you do tend to accumulate) but I figure staying home and redoing walls is saving gas, also!

[Libby]

Find an old ladder (personally, I love the wood ones with the round rungs) and hang it on the wall sideways. It gives you a really cool look and it will give you TONS of room to neatly display your things up off the table tops!

I am a knick-knacky person too, and last spring I went through and got rid of tons! I found shelves & ladders and things to hang on the wall, and once I got things up off the tabletops, things felt so much cleaner...but still cozy and comforting that I had some of my favorite things displayed!

I love this ladder idea. If you can find and old used wooden one this is a great idea. My idea is a variation of it.

You dont hant the ladder, you set it up so that its flat against the wall. (When you look at the wall, the only way up the ladder is from the left or the right side. If it looks like you can walk straight to the wall and climb up the latter you need to turn it 90 degrees) Find used scraps of wood and slide them through so they stick out the other side of it to make a shelf. It would take up as much room as any other shelving unit which stands on the floor no?

BTW The trick with this is you have rungs only on one side, you need to take off the 2 pcs of wood on the other side that make the support "X" frame and try to nail some fake 'rungs' that are at the same level as the runged side. You may need some 'technical help'
if you're not handy - like me.

My other idea for displaying your knick knacks...have them on a rotating schedule. Each time you do a seasonal clean - rotate the lot of items....4 sets of displays each year

PS: I too would love to see pics of your home