House Hunting

I am a house addict I guess I just have to admit it.

House plans, decor magazines, HGTV channel, and the worst part..... the Multiple Listing Services on the web. Oh MLS how you taunt me with your sweet promises of a better life!

My house is great, it's cozy, bright and the location is friendly (at least 90% friendly). BUT the steep driveway and the lack of detached shop has been an annoyance since the beginning, and since the cranky neighbour moved in hanging out anywhere near the driveway (or north side of the house) feels awkward if not hostile! I don't want to move because of that lady though. The other niggling things are the layout of the familyroom, the beloved heirloom china cabinets don't both fit in the nook (shy 2 inches!) and there is no mudroom (or back door) for the grubby monkeys, it all gets tracked in the front. In a city with as many houses as this one, I know there has to be a perfect fit out there somewhere.

That's why I look. That's why I get lured into the dream of moving to a flat driveway and big shop and one level living.

Then again this house has served us for 12 years! We have made it our home one modification after another. And we are engrained in the neighbourhood.

I looked at a .6 acre parcel not far from our place with a large rancher with a new roof and a big detached shop.... level lot too! Drawbacks include heavily smoked in interior, original kitchen and busy road.... otherwise the floor plan is great, and the yard has the things I want, big patio off the kitchen, a small fenced veggie garden, a few fruit trees, and a level driveway with lots of room to turn around before getting onto the busy road. The location is sweet backing onto a trail that goes to our favourite sports field that is connected to our favourite walking trails and a short walk to school or my sister's!!!

T and the kids liked it too so we put in an offer (even if the tobacco smell did make my eyes water when entering the house).

The offer was accepted with our subjects including the sale of our place and an inspection. They wrote in the 48 hour escape clause giving them the right to force us to get the money together in 2 days if they get another offer that they want to accept.

I have been running around like a chicken with my head cut off getting boxes, renting a storage unit (oh how I loathe the thought of needing one) and packing away anything that detracts from the feeling of "space" and relaxation in the house... of ya and the personal stuff like family photos and trophies, kid art, etc.

It's been a couple days and the house is turned right upside down despite having 2 pickup truck loads carted off. I feel so messy. The listing of our house is live this evening.

The bad news came this afternoon. The other house has another offer. The have enacted the 48 hour clause. We can't do it. Our offer is dead.

We have decided to keep our house listed for now and see what happens.

If people want to buy the house, we will panic and go house hunting in a crazy fast forward way. If people want to have viewings at stupidly inconvenient times we will gripe and moan. Meanwhile the house will be clutter free until my storage locker contract is up in 3 months. And then I can chose to take those boxes to the thrift store or back home. LOL

Sorry Erin

I didn't get as far on the mystery storage bins as I would have liked. I did got through A LOT of bins, but apparently seasonal clothes and clothes that boy#1 outgrew that boy#2 is waiting to grow into takes up a lot of space! But I can't be too hard on myself because I managed to take a large bag to charity by going through that part of the room, and any progress is good progress for me.

We had a showing scheduled for Monday afternoon, but they "changed their minds" and cancelled that morning. Meanwhile my husband and I had already made the house sparkle (it must have needed it anyways, right?). I guess the market is telling me it's not my time to move.... stupid market.

The house that is the object of my affection (aka: obsession) right now had a little accident Friday. A car rolled out of the driveway above the house and across the yard, then piled into the corner of the garage! It took out the support in one corner so now the garage has an amusing tilt. I'm not sure if house insurance or car insurance covers that one, but I am sure it will be fixed before the current owner leaves -- I am hoping this little incident will frighten the other buyer away so we can have another crack at it.... not that it matters because nobody is even LOOKING at our house!

But back to this house.... I will continue to attempt to clear the laundryroom one bin at a time. It is my goal to remove all but relevant seasonal and truly functional items by the end of this year. I must say "adios" to aspirational clutter such as archived memories, stagnant craft projects, outdated toys and truly forgotten possessions.... I'm thinking that should clear out at least 1/3!

Mystery Bin Decluttering

My mission (because I chose to accept it) is to look in the opague mystery bins in my laundry room and pare them down.

And today I dedicate this mission to Erin at unclutterer.com.

I've been avoiding the bins because:
a) they fit in the shelves
b) they are opague and therefore look organized
c) there was so much more obvious stuff to declutter first!

With the rest of the house in show-home condition there is no time like the present to tackle this hidden hoard... man that's a lot of storage, and man oh man thats a lot of "stuff" that I don't use everyday!

My mantra for this mission:

Will my life LACK without this?

Odds are -- for most of this -- the answer will be an easy "NO". And for the rest of it I can ask "Am I honouring this item?" "Is this the best place for this?" and "Why is this in a bin?"

I look forwarding to posting the results soon.

Good side effects of listing my house.

My home is a lean, mean, decluttered show-home at the moment. I am completely amazed at how much FASTER it is to clean, and how much easier it is to find things!

And of course I HAVE to keep it clean, laundry caught up and paper piles hidden just in case the phone rings for a viewing. T has been LOVING this, it's something he has wanted as long as I've known him... I am enjoying his calmer at-home-self, and the kids seem to be enjoying the tidy rooms too.

HOWEVER there is a bunch of boxes sitting in my sister's garage with my name on them. They are things that differentiate my home from a show home... family photos, etc. This perfection of decluttering is a tad sterile to me, just a bit too much echoing upstairs, y'know?

It is a lesson in my comfort level with stuff. I am happy with the practical sides of this streamlined life. But I need a bit more "me" to show. I do have more removing to do and I can do it with the confidence that it is a good thing!

My work has reached new heights..... literally.

I am typing this post from my new (and improved) standing desk position! I worked at it all day, and though I have to admit I spent more time on the stool than actually standing, it was really nice to have the change in position, and I felt more like working and less like reading blog after blog after blog (sorry folks, but it was really cutting into my productivity).

It looks a little bizarre when you first walk into the office, but it's VERY comfortable... and strangely I don't like seeing things on the surface (so far) so this could be perfect.

Another angle... space under the desk.... so nice!

This is what it looked like a couple weeks ago.... pretty okay, but still a clutter magnet.

And of course, the starting point. Oh man that's embarassing...

Here's to progress!

and the music plays on...

Now I know why I put it off for so long..... I spent a good 8+ hours in front of my computer this weekend backing up my CDs as MP3 onto the computer... OMG that was a mind-numbingly dull chore!

And I only backed up the ones that were mine (hubby's collection is still CD only). With that task out of the way, I found that there are only about 25% of my music that I actually want to keep as CDs... the rest can stay as compressed digital files for my occasional audio entertainment. So my dear friend Spider can sell what she can for her charitable enterprise. (And she can have the new pile of DVDs and fancy clock I culled from the house this weekend too.)

But back to the music....
I then attempted to sort and put the music onto my new-to-me, 1st gen, ipod touch. I already had some itunes store purchases on there, but wanted my own collection too.

I hate itunes.
oh how I hate it.
Hate hate hate hate.

Everyone says it's so "easy" to use... that's BULLSHIT! I have like 6-8 versions of the same song on that freakin list. the stupid "!" column isn't selectable to remove my purged songs, I can't figure out how to select only certain tracks per album to put on the ipod, and the frustration just goes on from there. I was up until everyone else was asleep last night trying to get the songs I want on there. Alas, I was too bamboozled to get it the way I want it (my OLD no-name MP3 player is easy to selct the tracks and put them into folders as I want... AND I can delete them too!). Bah.



So. Shawn. I need a tutorial in itunes ASAP so I don't huck this shiny bit of app-fun across the cul-de-sac into the creek.

Long story short.... on the decluttering front, I have made huge strides forward in reducing my stash of movies and music. Let's focus on the positive here.

More or Less

The aftermath of yesterday's dream spa day is dealing with my purchases. Not a whole lot of them, but still. My goal is LESS and I brought home MORE.

Clothes: 3 new-to-me things = must get rid of 3 things. I chose a blazer with sleeves that are too long, a top that's a bit snug around the tummy and a dress that's always too wrinkly... easy peezy lemon squeezy.

Make-up: 4 brand new things  = must pare down make-up drawer. Choosing the items was easy, I have some ancient lipsticks that are almost used up and a few not-flattering colours of lipgloss. Strangely tossing the lipgloss was a bit difficult because they are almost NEW and full.... but not flattering is not flattering so I have to get over the loss and move forward a little wiser! On the bright side, now that they are binned I won't keep "trying them on" and then wiping them off!

If I can find another item of clothes and maybe even a few more make-up duds I will be good for LESS, and that's what I want... so off I go to dig a little deeper.... wish me luck!

(PS the neverending office bookshelf project is coming along nicely-- I have one EMPTY cubical in my shelving --thats a big deal for me. However the ghost of the messy desk is coming back and leaving piles of papers and books on my desk... I will have to excercise it again very soon!)

Tough Decisions

I mentioned before that I found a prettier and more size-apporopriate (smaller) dresser/nightstand for my side of the bed. In that same post I mentioned that the old dresser had no home. And that the stop-gap placement in my office was a terrible idea!

I think I have a solution! It looks pretty good here....

BUT it means making a tough decision. It means I have to get rid of my beloved chaise.... (honestly always MUCH too big for my house.... but comfy) In this picture it's smack dab in the middle of the Family Room...

I could SELL IT and just live with it in the way until it's gone, or I could let my sister have it and know that I could get it BACK if I regretted my decision....
Either way... I get to oust the useful-but-very-dangerous chest that I was using to store the videos before. I loved the size and height of it, and I thought the "distressed look" was cool, but OMG the broken hinges combined with razor-sharp, hammered brass trim made for many an "OUCH!" whilst searching for movies!!!!

You are outta here useful-but-very-dangerous chest!

I feel good about this. Two less large items, same storage capacity, more visual breathing room in my family room too.

My "Space Race"

I have mentioned before that I follow some very helpful blogs that focus on Simplicity, Decluttering and Minimalism. I also follow a couple of financial blogs about living within your means and a bit of frugality too.

For me, these are things I already know in my heart. These tips and directions affirm my goals and confirm my deep seated beliefs about how my life should look and run. I can't stress enough how valuable they are to me to keep me on track and keep me motivated to move forward!

My "Space Race" is finding space in my life for the things I find most important: Family, Friends, Beauty, Meaningful Meals. It's also about getting to those important goals by not having to deal with the things I don't like: Debt, Cleaning, Being Overworked. It's a race only because things keep coming in at an alarming speed, and it takes constant mindfulness to keep everything from getting ahead of me again.

It has been marvellous to find the connection between my "stuff" and my "time". Stuff takes time to acquire, time to clean, time to store, time to maintain, time to find (amidst all the other stuff) and time to get rid of too. BUT once it's gone -- well it's time is up, and that time can be freed for better things. It was a revelation to recognize my times of aquisition were connected to stressful, uncertain times in my life. Just like that hag in the childrens' movie "Labrynth" my stuff surrounded me like a security blanket... a protective shell against uncertainty and want and I was bending under the weight of it. But I woke up from that fear, and found that the things I carry INSIDE ME are far more powerful! It's my inner strength that will get me through to tomorrow, not my outer trappings. And it's the experience, knowledge and helpful attitude that will make it possible to face future perils with fortitude and confidence -- not the crap tucked away in my cupboards.

I haven't abandoned all my cautious/paranoid collecting though... you just have to look in my pantry to know I am not going to let my family starve if an Earthquake cuts us off from grocery stores for a while. As a population, we have been told that 98% of the food we eat on our massive, floating rock called Vancouver Island comes from somewhere else, and that when the "big one" hits (like it did in Japan such a short while ago), we will be on our own for some time - without food. In fact, they say grocery stores only have enough stock to feed us all for about 3 days. We have created a serious dependence on imports for even our most basic needs.

I have moved to fresher staples lately, but I still have to back-up dinner supplies...
EG: my version of "conveneince food"= spaghetti sauce noodles and a can of mushrooms -- 10 minutes till dinner no matter what happened earlier in the day! And I can make emergency meals for quite awhile even after we have hurriedly feasted on the contents of the fridge and freezer for about a week.

But back to my "Space Race".... Julie Morgentsern has a cool acronym: S.P.A.C.E. (I've paraphrased it here)
Sort: No matter what you are organizing, from papers to clothes to toys, start by grouping similar items just to see what you have.
Purge: Now, going pile by pile, review the contents, asking yourself of each item: “Do I use this? Do I love this?” If you answer yes to either question, keep it. If no, out it goes.
Assign a home: Decide precisely where you’re going to store each category of keepers. Be specific when assigning homes.
Containerize: Containers allow you to beautify your system.
Equalize: A well organized room takes no more than five minutes to clean up at the end of each day no matter how messy it gets.
Combining this easy to remember to-do list with a clear goal or "dream" for my space (and life) and it has a terrific chance of success!

My journey continues today.

Forward and back

Forward: I went through my National Geographics collection and immediately pared down about 1/2. As I read the remainder of them, I'm sure I'll remove more.

Forward: Out table shopping with my sister at the second hand shops on Monday I stumbled across a TREASURE of a cabinet. It was exactly the size I was looking for to replace a dresser beside my bed that is way too tall for the space. Originally a china cabinet, the top part was in bad shape, but the bottom is exquisite -- I talked him down to $50 and LOVE the way it looks in the space I intended it for, and it fits my PJs (which is it's primary function) I couldn't be happier with my find.

Back: But now I need a home for the other dresser. I like the look and usefulness of it, but I don't seem to have another spot for it in the house. I made the mistake of putting it in my office "for the time being" but it's just too big there, and I'm trying so hard to STREAMLINE my workspace! It would be useful for storing movies so I that I could get rid of the dangerous wood chest in there, but it simply doesn't FIT... the only solution -- that keeps with my dream of space -- is to sell or donate it.

Forward: In the livingroom I traded an end table for a small antique magazine rack. Wow, what a difference getting rid of that ONE thing did! My sister happily scooped up the table so no worrying about what to do with that piece.)

Three steps forward, one step back. Not too bad for a day's work.

Today I am David

 My office is a GIANT mess-zone for me... a fierce entitiy that is so much bigger than me that I fear to really look at it!  (Not as bad as Al Gore's but not something to be proud of either.)

Typical office set up....

TODAY was the day to fight my Goliath!

After really planning what I wanted to acheive,  I pulled out my slingshot by reviewing a few key blog articles (Zen Habit's and 365LessThings' in particular) then I was ready to rip out the excess and C-L-E-A-N!

And now, after the dust has settled (literally into the bottom of the vacuum canister) I am sitting in front of a brave new expanse of desk.

I won't lie, it feels alien and a little disconcerting!

Where is that other monitor? (oh ya I'm giving it to my sister's kids with the extra tower) Where is my "to do" pile? (Right behind me on the shelf where it should be.) It feels weird, like high heels after weeks of wearing flipflops.

There is more to do, oh so much more!

Other than getting rid of the computer and the stuff that goes with it, I didn't purge much. I was very very tired from the hours of kneeling under my desk sorting cables and cleaning the heck out of it down there, so after setting it up BETTER than it was I had to call it a day.

I have slain the Goliath with a single shot of my sling... it only took a few weeks to muster the courage and 4 straight hours of hard work!

Another Decluttering Epiphany

(image credit)

My decluttering first revelation came when I helped my husband's grandmother downsized after living in the same place for nearly 30 years... she had lived there so long, and yet the move was easy and tidy. There were no more than a couple of garbage bags left over and I was completely gobsmacked that she had not acquired more being a depression survivor (my own family's experience with depression survival was closer to hoarding). I decided then and there that I wanted my children and grandchildren to have it that easy when it was time for me to downsize too. That was about 10 years ago.

The second lightbulb moment happened helping a long-time friend move a couple years ago. She had streamlined her belongings to ONLY the beautiful and genuinely useful. Everything fit quite comfortably into a small cube van with room to spare, and by lunchtime we were all done! It was at that point that my goal became more relevant to today's life and not my distant golden years. It was then that the vision came into focus. No longer a question of an item's potential usefulness, which is how I was raised, I was able to say to myself  "Will my life LACK without this?" and really be honest about it!

Since then I have made even further progress with the mental hang-ups around the clutter.
- The thing is not the memory.
- I should not be defined by my belongings.
- Stuff takes up space, needs to be maintained, cleaned and (even worse) it is thought about.
- Every item I own has a voice, and though I used to find the whispers as comforting, I am now finding the noise distracting to what is really important in my current life. So I need to honour my current life!

So far the difference in my house is fairly small to an outsider, but really quite noticeable from a perspective of living here. I would be moving faster, but there is still a lot of baggage (in my head) that is being dealt with at every clean out. Even though each box or bag that is removed feels as though a weight is lifted off my shoulders... well it's hard to explain... it's just harder to do than it should be.

Daily I read the blogs that keep me motivated, missminimalist, 365lessthings, unclutterer, minimalistpackrat, mnmlist, etc, etc there are so many good ones out there! They really help. Even if I don't get decluttering that day, I at least feel inspired to keep at it.

Just this week I have come to a kind of truce with the "lost value" of the things that no longer serve active purpose in my life!
The challenge:  I paid $XX for it and never used it.
I know my life will not lack if I get rid of it... after all I shouldn't have to keep it until it is used up!
My soul cries "but it's wasteful to get rid of it!" and "it's your hard earned money you're tossing!" tricky to get over, but guess what?! it's happening!
To these internal protests I have found a new response... "It is wasted with ME, so I am giving it to someone that can benefit from it" and "I could easily spend that $XX on a dinner or movie and the money would be just as gone, the experience of owning this thing is done just like the meals and entertainment I have long since paid for, it's no different so get over it!"
It is the truth, I am not trying to pull a fast one on myself. It has made the process of FREEING my still useful things so much easier.

I took a quiz once about hoarding. I hate to admit it, but I know now that I was one personal tragedy away from going from packrat to hoarder. Seriously I have a lot of the tendencies, a whole lot of them. I'm not sure I'll ever quite get to minimalist by the widely accepted definition, but if I can get to that BALANCE of space, time and money that my husband's grandmother had, I will feel like I've really made it.

And with that, I will be boxing up some more neglected treasures for donation for the next 15 minutes.

very very quiet

I have to assume that there is something broken in my blog. I haven't received any comments in quite a wile. I have checked my settings and there is nothing obvious. glitch-o-rama I suppose.

Life has been quiet since the bike came back (thank you Universe for letting that happen!)

Work is very slow, T is still in California, and having my sister closer has made my social life much easier ... but there are plans a-foot, always plans! And my slow time is not being wasted,

• My veggies are going into the ground this weekend.
• I am going to a networking meeting with some like-minded home-business folks next Thursday.
• The books FIT IN MY BOOKSHELF!!!! (Not quite cleared shelves yet, but getting closer).
• I am getting a nice long walk in every day. The dog likes it and I am meeting nice people and dogs out on the trails.... and taking pretty pictures too.
• My decluttering is picking up steam, for real. I have less on top of my cupboard
• I am preparing to remove a tower computer from my home office next week -- this is a stressful idea for me because it's been my "back up" for so long -- but it's a big lunky thing, and I'm tired of looking at it.

Onward and upward I go

- Bookshelf BAAAAAD:

 Bookshelf BETTER:

(see how it all fits now?)
-

Okay, I see I see need more work.... (anybody want  4 feet of National Geographics?)

Even less

I loaded some clutter movies into a bag and talked my son into chosing a few video games they no longer play to trade in... then we went for a little drive. I had errands to do:

Library to pick up the audio book I requested.
Bank to deposit a check (my favourite thing to do at the bank by far!)
Grocery store to get some food staples (milk eggs bananas)

As we were leaving the library/bank area I noticed the used music store also dealt in movies. How convenient and Easy Peasy! I traded 8 movies for $16 and felt great about it (the place I was planning to take them only gives me $1 per movie).

Then we went on to the game trade-in place. My son had his heart set on one game in particular. Unfortunately he didn't get a lot of trade in cash for the games ($18) but the game he wanted was there as a used game -- about $15 less than new -- so he ended up parting with another $17 on top of losing the older games... at least he was able to afford it so there were no tears today. My younger boy is pennyless until his next allowance. He doesn't seem worried by that. He worries me that way. He has the idea that money is only good for spending NOW... like it will expire or something. My older boy is quite the opposite, he has grasped that if he waits, usually the money will grow, AND the item he is looking for will likely get cheaper too! So with patience he can get a bigger, cooler thing than if he spends the money as he gets it. I'm not sure what to do to cure my little one of his impulsive drive to spend every single bit as fast as he can... it may be just who he is, but I will be trying to teach him some money skills.

Now there are a couple less games and 8 less movies in the house which was the real goal for me!

Less is More...

I was the happy recipient of a gift certificate at a very trendy home decor store for my birthday... and I finally got a chance to redeem it last week. It was strangely unpleasant being immersed in all the pretty things at first. But once I warmed up to the idea that I was there to find something I would like AS A GIFT, the process became almost fun. I drooled over a really pretty box that looked Japanese, and a nice tea tray that had a cloisonne look pattern.... but I came to my senses when I thought about WHERE these items would need to live in my home. I ended up finding my way to the clearance glass section and found a pretty clear glass appy dish with 2 domes. Just the kind of thing I would love to use on special occassions for olive tapenade, antipasto or dips... mmmm.... and then I almost squeaked out loud when I found 2 lovely glass plates made in turkey... a vintage coloured light orange glass that made me happy to look at... (and maybe even happier to frost a cake on -- which I did the very next day). These items came just over my gift certificate value, and don't take up much space.... win win.

I knew when I got home I'd have to make room for these new items.

It took me 3 days to decide.

The photo above are the evicted items. Things I still like, but don't seem to choose to use. The tea set and small blue bowls I particularly liked looking at in my china cabinet alongside my square blue plates (that we use quite a bit), but I forced myself to use the tea set and little bowls only a couple times, and they just weren't quite comfortable (does that make sense?).

Long story short... 3 items in and 15 items out!

Feeling motivated, I went through my youngest's book collection, one book at a time, and said "stay or go?" until we had pared them down enough to be able to PUT AWAY all his books -- a revolutionary concept that I am striving for with my own books!

Speaking of my own books, I have a vision now for my bookshelf. And I may need to be brutal... I want the centre row of my built ins to be cleared for a few fun items that I want displayed (instead of stored like they are now). That means I need to part with sixty six linear inches of books. I will do it. I want to meet this vision and bring breathing space to my bookshelf like there is in my wardrobe and china cabinet.

Did you read that last part? I have breathing room even behind some cupboard doors!!!

To me that is wonderful. I will keep it up. Every THING I release makes my life a little lighter and more free.

"A place for everything and everything in it's place" is still the goal, and I have added a little more to that promise... "An generous space for everything and everything in it's place easily"... or something like that. I haven't ironed out the details yet.

Not There Yet

Okay, I admit it.
I haven't made as much progress on my bookshelf as I would like.  It may not be piled 4 feet high in front of it anymore, but it still doesn't all fit yet either.
A place for everything and everything in it's place has not been acheived with books as of yet. My ruthless closet culling techniques aren't working with books... I'm feeling a little disapointed with myself in this department...

But on the bright side... my step-dad made me a cold-frame for my birthday (joy!) so I was able to plant some summer squash seedlings out in the garden this morning, I am feeling optimistic that Spring may actually be almost here dispite the drizzly chilly weather.

Holding On

I have a National Geographics collection.

As a kid I would pour over each picture and article for ages, marvelling over the the rest of the world as seen through National Geographic's articles.

My collection takes up almost 20% of my office bookshelves.

Stay? or  Go?

I have to admit, I think it is nice seeing the yellow spines all uniform in size...
but
I also know that if I had that much more space in those shelves, I could reduce my book storage frustration....
but
I have dreams of making collage-fine art one day...
but
Keeping stuff for "one day" is one of the bad clutter habits I am trying to break...

Short term: I will move them to a lower shelf and see if my children like looking at them (like they look at the Popular Mechanics from the 50's that Wolfgrrrl gave me)

Long Term: In 3 months (Mid June) if I haven't rekindled a genuine use for them, I will donate them.

Do you have a collection of items?

Clutter Creep

I am have success preventing clutter-creep. My awareness of what space an object will take up is much better than it was, so I find I am bringing way less into the house (therefore the space/stuff balance is getting lighter!).

The other day I was dropping off a bag of donations to the thrift store and I saw six antique, red-glass pedestal dishes that perfectly match the set of small glasses I got from my grandpa when he passed on. I instantly fell in love, but then I really thought about what my china cabinet looks like... exactly the right amount of things in it... and walked out of the store.

However, when I got home I still was thinking about them (I knew I must really want them). So I went through the china cabinet and got rid of 6 items to see if I wanted to make way for the new items.... Not easy, but I managed to avoid all of T's grandma's china in the process (China that we actually use for every big family dinner). I was comfortable with my choices, but slept on it. 2 days later I went back to the thrift store to see if the glasses were still there. Then I got brazen: "can I get a discount if I buy all 6?" I asked. The clerk agreed (it was the manager and she knows I'm a regular, so I knew my chances were good). She gave me way more of a discount than I was expecting, so I felt very good about my decision. Now they are clean and in my cabinet with Grandpa's red glasses and T's Gandma's china and the cabinet looks good! I will have to have a fancy dinner to celebrate, the successful implementation of my one-in-one-out rule.

Otherwise, I have been sorting my bedroom with a fine tooth comb, being very picky... some belts, scarves, more shirts and pants and miscellaneous crap have been outed. And even a bedspread and some throw pillows that were under the bed. I still have the dream of putting a dresser in the closet to clear a corner beside the bed... but it's so convenient having my PJs in the drawer right there next to me as I climb into bed.... it may remain a dream for this house...(it would be different if I had a walk in closet).

I am pressuring my oldest to let go of some toys this Spring Break too. He admitted he doesn't really care about toys anymore, so I will try to make it worth his while to let go of them.

Books are still overrunning my house. They are everywhere. I love reading when I get a spare moment, but I am finding a shift lately. There are too many pressures to read with all these unread books around. There are some I think I SHOULD read, some that I WANT to read and some that I want to read again... then there are the very very pretty books that I have because they are just so pretty. And the fun books that are so old that they are interesting just because they are so different. If I am honest with myself, I actually NEED very few of these books, and many of them do not in fact enrich my life enough to be worth the stress-inducing, tottering piles mingled with dog hair and dust. So, though I have already pared down (and donated to the school and library) I think there needs to be more so I can love them without reservation again.

ENOUGH IS ENOUGH....

"Owning Within my Means"

Well, my 38th year of life quietly slipped off into history, and I do actually feel wiser this year! I managed to get through the whole birthday scene with only a few non-consumable presents, and still didn't feel neglected or forgotten! I guess I'm not a kid anymore, it really is the thought that counts. The emails, phonecalls and spontaneous visits meant more than anything. And with that small victory over accumulating STUFF in mind, I was happy to find a well written post today....


I wish I could say I thought it up, "owning within my means" but I got this phrase from Raptitude.com.
This guy has got it together!


I love the dream of having no "homeless" items in my house. In summary, David says:

"After a lot of tossing, selling and donating, everything I own now has a place where it is properly, officially away. A place where:

- I always know where it is
- I don’t have to move a bunch of crap to get to it
- It doesn’t look ugly or get in the way
- I can put it away in less than ten seconds

AND his list of side 11 effects for "Owning within my means" sounds wonderful!

1) Cleaning the house takes five minutes...
2) My mind is much clearer at home...
3) I’m not embarrassed to have people over. ..
4) Time seems to have grown out of nowhere. ..
5) Cooking is a much more attractive proposition...
6) I can’t distract myself from proceeding with the rest of my life anymore...
7) All my affairs are much more organized, by association...
8 ) I can have good-quality versions of almost everything...
9) My self-esteem made an unexpected jump...
10) I am calmer.... [this one I am most relating to] ...I never realized the agitating effect that homeless stuff has on the mind. There’s this mild but always-present feeling that something is unresolved, because we only leave things lying around under the pretense that they’re only going to be there temporarily. But the resolution never comes, because the homeless objects have no place to go. I don’t want to beat this point to death but it’s unbelievable what a huge mental weight is released when there are no more “fish out of water” like this.
11) I love waking up, even on weekdays.

...Best domino effect ever."

So, I recommend going to that Raptitude link above and reading the whole post... he hit the nail on the head for how I'm feeling about my extra stuff these days. But I think its simply amazing he was able to do all this in 30 DAYS! I'm already a year into the process!


I can honestly say I am NOT "owning within my means" yet. There are way too many items that are homeless and crashing on the horizontal surfaces in my home. In fact I am looking at a stack of magazines, computer disks and no less than 5 kids of scented handcreams on my desk right now. EEEEK I better get to it!


*****
PS I got rid of my 50lb CRT monitor from 2001 today. I had enough of the spontaneous colour change and wiggly lines, and took it to the electronics recycling centre. It was my "palettes" monitor, the secondary one on my desk.... but making a really annoying buzzing noise and BIG.

This week's decluttering items

Off to the thrift store:
• 9 shirts: that I no longer wear
• growth chart/picture frame: I never did put the kid's pictures in it and now I don't want to.
• packet of beads
• 5 articles of boys clothes that are outgrown
• 33 1/4" wide-slat, wood coloured, vertical blinds... somehow I got the wrong size (!)
• pair of black, semi-dress shoes that I never wear
• pretty gift set of spa bath products (unopened)
• 5 children's books/ 4 parenting books (off to the school as donations)
• Christmas table runner

In the Recycling bin:
• toaster that sparks (!)
• steel thermos that leaks