pants, hearth of clutter (half-time results added)

Last week, when I was looking around to see what other people might be saying about clutter on blogs, I came across an inspiring entry back on 02.08 from RamblingMuse, complete with a couple of great quotes from Thoreau.

This morning, I had one of those moments when I am just amazed and frustrated at how I hang on to things long after I should have let them go.
I had a bit of a time crunch as I was getting ready to take my son to work and I am behind in getting my laundry done, so had to grab a pair of very old pants to wear.
I've never really liked the color of these pants, but the cotton is soooooooo soft in its worn-ness that I really love them, so I've kept them around for 10+ years, pulling them out when there's nothing else to wear and always enjoying a moment of textural delight as I feel how soft the fabric has become.
I put them on, grabbed my (handknit!) socks and went downstairs to get my socks and shoes on. Just as I was pulling on my sock, I put my leg over my other and this was the sight that greeted me:Now, that didn't just happen. (oh, and if you're distracted by the long johns, here's all you need to know about them )

No, that rip is not even a rip. Over a year ago, I had to cut my pants so I could get them on after a knee-high cast was put on my leg. Did I throw them away when I got home? Nope, I washed them and saved them (in a pile of stuff on my dresser), thinking I'd make something with the material.... which I never did. Recently, in clearing up the pile on the dresser, I neatly folded the pants and put them in my drawer so I could pull them out this morning and be shocked.

Where are they now? In the garbage? Nope. They are now lovingly folded and put in my sewing room (which really looks just like a cluttered attic room right now.) We'll see what I do when I get around to the decluttering up there.

Next on the decluttering action agenda, the wall of clutter across my hearth (we never have fires because of my asthma, not that we could get to the fireplace if we could have a fire....)
What we have here are the Christmas fixin's to be stored (some ornaments to be tissue-wrapped first), and bags and boxes and plastic bins of yarn and fiber, knitting projects-in-progress (not much progress), and knitting equipment.

This is proving to be a more involved decluttering! Most of this Stuff is Stuff that Needs to be Stored, Good Stuff, Keeper Stuff...so it's taking me longer 'cause it's definitely Old Woman and Her Pig nesting tasks that are involved. Here's a half-time picture, it's coming along!