Monday, October 13, 2008

Day 1

Today was a marvelous day. Although technically the last day of a long weekend, I will consider it the first day of my 2-week holiday. After a busy summer and early Fall, I am greatly anticipating 2 weeks at home, to work on the projects that seem to be ever on my mind and destined to live on my to-do list forever.
I look in my closet and think that I'd like to move those boxes into the basement.
I open the pantry and think it needs to be re-organized.
I open the cupboards and realize they need to be wiped out.
I go downstairs and wish that things were just a little more organized. That box of give-away stuff needs to be given away. Those blankets need to be washed one of these days.
And why oh why is there so much stuff everywhere? Newspapers, flyers, mail, old grocery lists, bills, receipts, reminders, the list never ends.
Today I took 5 bags and 3 boxes of stuff to the garbage, the recycling bins, and the community living bins accordingly. And then came home and discovered that I had forgotten a few things.
How and why do we accumulate so much stuff?
Awhile back my sister sent me a link to a blog about becoming minimalist. http://www.becomingminimalist.com/
I like the idea of minimalism - downsizing our lives and homes to just the essentials. Of course, this begs the questions of just what is essential. I don't want to get rid of all my books just because I've read them already. I like books. I have memories associated with them.
However, the old bath mat that's not being used, the random candle holders that will never see another candle, the broken answering machine in that box in the corner, all of that stuff can go.
But I digress. Today was a marvelous day, because I got so much accomplished. Besides the purging, I washed windows inside and out, vacuumed, tidied up, and actually brought those 2 boxes down to the basement, taking the time to properly rearrange the existing stacks of stuff to accommodate this other stuff.
I also read outside in the beautiful sunshine and watched a bit of tv.
I played with my cats and bathed in contentment when they all curled up on and around me for their afternoon nap.
And tomorrow I'll carry on, alternating between productivity and restfulness as the mood strikes me.

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