Hello Friends,
Bet that header got your attention. Well, seems as my blog for now, has taken on a bit of the simplification-esque flavor, so I will endeavor to share a bit more of my journey towards the simple life.... You are certainly welcome to gleen any widsom or advice or "tricks of the trade" from anything I post.
Backround timeline....simplified
birth-56.....shopper...motto: more is good
56-56 1/2.....slow realization that my "stuff" was dragging me down, but no earthly idea how to change.
56 1/2.....FIRE (God knew how to turn my life around big time!)
56 1/2 to now.....slowing down gradually on the shopping (I still enjoy looking, but changing from the compulsion to get something....anything....just put it in a bag and I will be happy/ to "I do not need another table runner!" (this is big for me folks) motto: less is best
So, now you have a little, short, rather breezy account of my life so far. I am really not this shallow, but we are focusing on the simple life here, don't want to "clutter" the issue with extra unnecessary details. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask in the comments section, I will try to answer.
So, we have already spent some time talking about pre-purchase initiatives, let's talk about sizing up your situation where YOU live. Obviously, we all can't be lucky enought to have a fire....so what do you do when you realize your life/home/car are all out of control and full of stuff, most of which you wanted, but now don't even know why, much less what you actually have! Well all the organization peeps say: Begin small, say a drawer, or a table-top or a shelf. Empty it completely. Have 3 boxes handy (some say four) one:keep, two:give away, three:throw away. Number four could be : think about. But do not think too hard. Another approach is to put items away for a certain amount of time...say 3 months or so. If you do not need them or miss them, then perhaps they can be sent to box 2 or 3. I had purged my home of so very much, no kidding, flat bed truck-fulls, 4 garage sales and a huge amount sent to Guardian Angel thrift....and still, when we were getting the house ready for sale we put that infamous 157 boxes into storage. Granted, we are big-time Christmas decorating folks and 49 of those boxes held Snow Village, and lots of Wonderful-I-will-never-get-rid-of-decor..... but, that still left over 100 boxes of....you got it, stuff. So, now, I am again going through each box deciding once again, keep, store, toss. Actually, I am enjoying the process this time...makes about the third time I have done this huge project, so I am getting real good at it. It is like anything you want to learn to do, you begin and are slow and rather tedious, but somewhere along the way you begin to master the technique and before you know it, you are in the groove.
So, take heart, begin the process...like Julie Andrews says: "Let's start at the very beginning, it's a very good place to start!" One drawer, one table top, one shelf....whatever....just begin
ttfn
tts
cathy
4 comments:
Cathy, I need to get motivated to get started. Or even harder is keeping with it for the long haul!
Thanks for sharing,
Denise in Michigan
Hi Denise, Everyone from the tea room you remember Denise! So good to hear from you. Get a friend to come over and have some tea and ask the friend to stick around and give you some input as you clean off a table top. Just having someone else there helps to balance the process. Also, whatever you decide to give away or throw away....get it out of the house immediately...pronto...tout sweet...NOW. then no second thoughts, just happy thoughts. Keep Warm up there and keep in touch! hugs to you, cathy
I thought the title of this post was especially poignant for me. One of my problem areas is "stocking up" when I think we'll need an item, especially if it's seasonal. Knowing that I would need to drink a couple of oz of stout beer a day to help nursing, I bought sixteen bottles of beer over a year ago. But I only drink an ounce or two a day, on some days. So I still have eight bottles of beer in my pantry. It's so good to look at our rationales so we don't fall into that sort of trap!
And I agree about getting it out of the house right away. We freecycle a lot of nice things just because we can get someone else to haul it off right away.
I thought I was always the pack-rat. I can remember when I was given the chore of cleaning my room...I would sit on my bed going though just pieces of paper for HOURS. I always thought my ticket stubs, notes and such were of value. I do wish I had hung on to my Miss Revlon doll and Dick Houser autograph! So part-on my sister..Love to us and our special bond!XO
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