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100 Things – the start

November 20th, 2009 Kristi Leave a comment Go to comments

I have started my 100 things decluttering project. I am going to break it up into pieces, otherwise it will never get listed. Here are the first 37 things I’ve decluttered.

 

1. Turquoise pashmina (I have two, one is not a shade I find flattering)
2. Elegance (book) by Kathleen WHO (just re-read this and don’t need to keep it, I’ve decided)
3. Curling iron. Bought this after a salon curled my hair before a wedding. Never used it again.
4-10. About 6 magazines (recycle bin)
11. Turquoise sandals (I wore these to death last summer. they look ratty and were a very, very trendy one season item)
12, 13. Ratty lingerie. I only have one set that I don’t like. The rest (5 sets are very high quality and I love them)
14. Free People Top (took this out of town last week. Just not flattering. Not one of my colors — it is light blue — falls at an unflattering place on my hips and has a hole in it)
15. Lavender Lands End tee (stretched out, hole in it)
16. Bright turquoise Lands End tee (same thing, stretched out, boxy look)
17. Red beaded bracelet from garage sale (I bought this at a garage sale last summer and just not crazy about it)
18. Broken French Press (part cannot be replaced)
19-24. 1/2 finished art projects (I have a few art pieces that just didn’t come together and I really don’t need to hold onto them anymore)
24-30. Old VHS tapes
31. Old Halloween feather mask
32, 33. muffin tin and papers (I don’t make muffins or cupcakes)
34-37. Sheer curtains (I have some old, stained curtains I have held onto for years)

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  1. Marsi
    November 20th, 2009 at 16:14 | #1
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    I got rid of my first three items this morning. We are doing some reorganizing and room re-purposing in our house, and I have a mental list of closets and cabinets to go through. I plan to box nice things up and shove them into the crawl space in the garage until spring, when we’ll have a garage sale.

    You look like you’re off to a great start. More than a third done!

  2. Stephanie
    November 20th, 2009 at 16:38 | #2
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    This is a great start. I’ll post on my progress this weekend. You’ve given me some ideas with the curling iron and shoes. I’ve got way too many shoes. Most I do not even wear.

  3. Fiona
    November 20th, 2009 at 19:13 | #3
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    I gave away a curling iron a month or two ago! Does anyone ever get round to using these things, or do they spend their life in perpetual circulation? Perhaps, like wine glass charms, they are the kind of item that looks like it would be useful only to end up unloved and unused. Like Stephanie, your list has given me some ideas too Kristi. Thanks!

  4. Jackie
    November 21st, 2009 at 10:06 | #4
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    This is a great project, and I’m in too! I started last weekend with taking some old computer stuff to a computer recycling station: 1 CPU, 2 monitors, 2 printers, and a keyboard and mouse! Felt really good to get rid of that stuff. Time to turn my attention to other stuff this weekend.

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What is it about those Italian women? You know the ones I’m talking about: beautiful, sexy, dressed to the nines just to take the kids to the park. They have a certain something that is indefinable. It is in the way they dress, the way they prepare their meals, the way they spend their leisure time.

It is because they know the importance of la bella figura. Roughly translated from Italian, it means putting you best foot forward in everything you do. It means cutting a beautiful figura. The opposite of la bella figura is la brutta figura, which is what someone might say about the falling down drunken guy at the party or the super tackily dressed woman at church. It means ugly figure.

La bella figura is much more than your appearance. It goes much deeper than that. It is about how you act. It is about how you treat others. It is about how you care for yourself, your home and your family. Living a life in line with la bella figura doesn’t take money. In fact, it is more about how to have class without a lot of money.

Someone who exudes la bella figura will have clean, pressed clothes and be well groomed. They will not be rude or sloppy. Their fingernails will be impeccably groomed. Their hair shiny and clean and their shoes will be polished. They will not have stray threads hanging from their suit hems. They will not be driving a car in need of the car wash.

La bella figura means driving that 15 year old car and meticulously cleaning it and caring for it. It means keeping your belongings in good repair. It means taking time to clean your house and not cluttering it up with meaningless objects.

When you focus all your spare energy, time and money on the things that bring you the most amount of pleasure, then you are truly living a life in line with la bella figura. The best part about it is that you don’t have to be Italian to do so. You just have to think like an Italian.

Italian children are raised to present la bella figura in whatever they do. From the time they are small and are groomed perfectly to attend church or school, they know that appearances count. They count because it is the first thing people judge about you. That first impression does matter. Appearances are also important because when you take the time to look nice, you are showing that you care about yourself. When you care enough to look good, it shows you have good healthy self esteem. Nothing is more attractive than self confidence.

In addition, dressing nice also shows respect for others. If you invite people over for dinner and greet them in flip flops, baggy sweats and a stained shirt, it is really disrespectful to them. The same if you dress sloppy to go to church or even to the market. By dressing nicely and being well groomed, you show respect for everyone in your world.

Having la bella figura means presenting yourself in the best light possible in all your interactions.