Blog - Alison's Notebook

A middle-aged woman with shoulder-length brown hair wearing a chocolate brown wool coat, cream sweater, and burgundy scarf in a sunlit autumn park.

Fall 2026 Fashion Trends And How To Wear Them (Style Beyond Age)

Seven fall 2026 fashion trends worth wearing, and how to try each without a new wardrobe. The warm colors, coats, and knits that flatter and last.

A lived-in living room mid-declutter with belongings sorted into small piles and a half-full donation box, showing how to decide what to keep when decluttering

This Odd Little Method Helped Me Finally Decide What to Keep

Last month I set aside a whole Saturday to declutter my living room. I had trash bags, a donation box, and every intention of getting it done. Four hours later, …

Woman in her seventies with short silver hair wearing an untucked cream overblouse, a deep teal silk scarf, and camel straight-leg trousers, standing in a bright living room

10 Fashion Mistakes Over 70 And Their Fixes (Look Pulled Together Again)

As we grow older, our style changes. No surprise there. But what catches most of us off guard is that it keeps changing after 60. The seventies bring shifts of …

A small stack of neatly folded shirts on a bed with a warm mustard-yellow quilt, an open drawer nearby, and a green plant on the windowsill in bright daylight

I Know Humming While Decluttering Sounded Silly. But Then It Worked.

I’ll be honest with you. When I first heard that humming could help you declutter, I rolled my eyes. Humming? Like a little song while I clean out a closet? …

A slightly dusty white bread machine sitting alone on a wooden cabinet shelf against a warm terracotta wall in soft daylight

When You’ve Outgrown the Things You Used to Love (My Decluttering Story)

Have you ever picked up something in your own home and thought, why in the world did I buy this? Not because it’s broken or worn out. But because it …

A scratched clear plastic container with no lid on the edge of an open black trash bag, with a sage-green counter and warm wood cabinet behind it in soft daylight

What If I Regret Throwing This Away?

Decluttering was never hard for me because I loved my things too much. It was hard because I was scared. Scared that the minute I let something go, I’d need …

Nobody Warned Me That Decluttering Gets Harder When Your Body Hurts

There’s a difference between not wanting to declutter and not being able to. For years I thought having a messy room was a motivation problem. But it’s not. There was …

A neat stack of closed, slightly worn cardboard boxes in the corner of a room against a plain wall in soft daylight

9 Telling Signs You’ve Become the Keeper of Everyone Else’s Things

Last spring I went looking for my winter boots in the basement and couldn’t find them. Not because they were lost, but because I had to move four boxes that …

A single upholstered bedroom chair in the corner of a modest American home holding a small stack of folded laundry in soft morning light

When the Mess Makes You Sad, and the Sadness Makes More Mess

There’s a chair in my bedroom that hasn’t held a single person in months. It holds laundry. Clean laundry, mostly, the kind I washed and folded with good intentions and …

25 Decluttering Products Worth Buying (From Someone Who Hates Clutter)

I have a bad habit I’m not proud of. For years, whenever a room felt like too much, my first move was to buy a bin. A nice clear one, …