"I think spring is the time to ponder making changes, for now or for later, it's such a transitional time anyways, it seems logical that this is when feet itch and minds wander down garden paths. Once summer comes out and beckons you away from your woolgathering with her hot flushed sky and balmy breath on your skin you just don't have time to think anymore, it's time to DO. So I think I will allow spring to tangle the skeins on my mind up a little, giving me something to pick at and tease out. It won't be long when all I can think about are day hikes and bike rides and fruit picking and bbqs.."
Except that I have been DOing things, but it's all cleaning, sweeping out, purging, letting go, sometimes in very unexpected ways. It's been freeing, lightening, troubling, confusing, reflective and sometimes exciting.
Some of the things I have done lately have included selling all but 240 of my books. Library thing will tell you I have 474. There are probably some that never made it into Library Thing and so, I don't know how accurate that count is, but it is pretty close. I still own a lot of books, but it is half as much as I had, less than half! I think that is a pretty impressive feat. If I can let books go... then I can let anything go...
And So I cleaned out my CD collection too, I think I sold over 100 Cd's that haven't seen the light of day in many a year.
I have a small pile of Dvds to go too, but I didn't feel like digging out the cases, I had already dug out the CD cases. Another rainy day perhaps.
This was all also mildly profitable, and that's good. I need to squirrel monies away for May. I am working only 3 days a week at the moment and come May and early June, it's going to hurt quite a bit.
All that not working means I also have a lot of free time, in odd increments, since my tutoring job is evenings but none the less, much free time is to be had.
So far, (since the last big cleaning bout) I have tidied up the yard, moved the compost bin, and prepped a new bed for tomatoes. The yard is looking more lovely than it was. It wont look actually lovely till things start growing in and blooming! But they are starting, and that's always magical.
Rearranged my kitchen. It is spacious and lovely.
With all those books gone, I am down one shelf, so I changed my room around a bit to accommodate the extra space and it's very spacious! Er, comparatively. The bed is still 1/4 of the room. Erg. But the room feels more open and light and that's very nice.
I have realised, since excavating the empty plastic tubs from my basement for washing, that I have eight, EIGHT! empty large plastic storage tubs. They ALL used to be full of stuff. And now they are free to a good home.
Another thing I realised is, although the last year or two has seen many a thing removed from my life, very little if much has been garbage or trashed, it has almost all, that I can think of, been sold, re homed, freeboxed/freecycled, recycled or donated. Amazingly marvelous!!! =D
There is another carload of little household items and misc stuff for Goodwill and several furniture items to freecycle, but that takes a bit of planning since I need to put it out on the curb to be picked up. And then posted on Craigslist or Portland Freecycle to be claimed. I can't wait to have that stuff gone though.
I am nearing the end of my clean out. There is little left to sort and get rid of. I have considerably less stuff than when I moved into this place. It's amazing, to have come this far. Things that are left are mostly sentimental in nature , but useless to me, and so that sort of parting, will take thoughtful consideration before I would remove it from my life. But I think there is much I can. Like artwork from jr high and bad paintings, some knick nacks, various things that have been packed away in the hope chest that, upon further reflection, mean little to me now. Ridding the chest of them, leaves room for the other things that actually belong there. Like photos.
I am lighter, in many ways, that when I came into this year and I have been exemplary on not adding to what I have subtracted. I have given careful consideration to every-thing that I have added to my life this year, be it an item of clothing, a book, a food, companionship or a new habit, and being selective makes the choices you make, much more satisfying I think. It is more important to me these days, that things I bring into my life are built to last, I am tired of throwing things out!
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