This post is part two in a three part series Sumerize Your Home :: Cool, Calm and Collected.

No one loves cute tchotchkes more than me.

I will fight anyone who thinks they love their accessories more.

I am the Coco Chanel of Home accents.

I’ve got to have them.

I don’t understand women who buy bags and shoes and pedicures, it’s more fun to buy lamps, pillows and needless yet beautiful little things.  I think I’ll have T shirts made that say Nester ♥’s Tchotchkes. Too bad my name isn’t Joanie.  Tchotchokes even have a facebook fan page.  Somehow, an update between moi and Tami was the top post.  I’m not sure whether to be proud or embarrassed.

I love being surrounded by meaningful stuff.  Shells, bird cages, lanterns, plants, baskets, clay creations from my boys, eggs in all shades of blue, white dishes and urns, I could go on.  Most every thing has a story of why I love it, how I got it, or why it brings beauty into our lives.

75 cent thrift store framed Italian painted mum in the perfect shade of orange, $1 Fortnum & Mason micro vase that I broke in half and pieced back together in the perfect shade of aqua, monogrammed embossed thank you note from our wedding, framed photo of me and my man, don’t ask me what that green thing is…

I’m not at all afraid to get rid of stuff.  Once I’m done with it I give it away or sell it at a yard sale or on ebay. I just have a high capacity for liking stuff, home accessories to be exact.  It’s my style and it’s OK.  And if I change it 4 times in the next year, that’s OK too.  Just weird. And complicated.  And fun.

However, every summer, my stuff starts to make our home feel hot, loud and jumbled.  So, I’ve noticed that every year, I destufficate the house.  I like to call it Quiet the House. I remove loads of my much loved, favorite stuff and let the house just be without the distraction of a hundred cute little things.

I quiet the top of the dresser too.  But, this dresser has more than one purpose.  I fill the drawers with all my loud, beautiful stuff and my house is quite for a while.  It’s extremely calming to quiet the house by packing away lots of my tiny objects.  And most of it fits in this dresser.  I’ve also been known to pack it in boxes under my bed for a few months.  Then, come fall, I have my own store where I shop my house and get rid of stuff I’m no longer addicted to.

How to Quiet the House

  • Remove every thing smaller than a football and place it on some surface in another room {the breakfast or dining room table will do}
  • Don’t forget to clear off  your coffee table, shelves {you don’t have to count books but what if you did!} mantle, even walls
  • Remove baskets, magazines, plants, pillows, every thing but furniture, lamps, rugs and big art
  • Sit in the newly quieted room and soak in the feeling
  • Notice any huge “holes” or areas that are too quiet and cold and fill them in with a purposeful item or 3 if you must
  • Pack away the rest of the stuff in an easy to get to place, hutch, cabinet, under your bed…
  • Enjoy your new quiet home, that cost you NOTHING!

Take a moment and read Vintage Minimalist by Life in the Fun Lane.  You don’t have to love her style, paint everything white and only have 3 things in each room to learn something from her way of thinking.  There is truth to the fact that if I have 42 items in a room screaming for attention, then nothing gets noticed.

Do you have a tip to quiet your house?