I have a babysitter this morning so I can go for a tempo run… but my legs hurt and it’s pouring out, and quite honestly I’m not feeling like doing much of anything. Mornings like that I try to figure out what I could do NOW that will make things better for myself LATER. If I’m in a bad mood, I might as well fold laundry or meal plan or run errands, rather than doing those things when I’m in a good mood and might be able to laugh while I’m hanging out with the kids in the rain, stomping in puddles, instead of morosely waiting for the clouds to clear.
So I made phone calls, ran errands, and ended at the library where I could grab some resources for some things I’d like to focus on in the upcoming weeks.
Last night I watched this five minute Ted Talk, and it reminded me yet again how much I wish I weren’t surrounded by so much STUFF.
Time to Declutter and Minimalize.
Most of the toys in the house are currently stored in giant, unsorted boxes, rendering them unusable because you only have 30% of the shapes to sort or fifty percent of the tinker toys.
Fifty percent of my closet doesn’t fit me, and 90% of Andrew’s closet doesn’t fit HIM.
I can’t open my car door in the garage without hitting a bicycle or scooter.
We have so many stuffed animals that I could open a store (except that you can barely even donate used stuffed animals, let alone sell them.)
I have more stuffed elephants in this house than children. I have more stuffed teddy bears than children, nieces and nephews. I have enough stuffed bunnies to host an Easter brunch and gift a stuffed bunny to every child in Andrew’s playgroup.
My pantry is shoved full of expired food… including Hershey’s chocolate bars that expired in 2011. We don’t even eat milk chocolate anymore.
I’m wasting money buying things that we probably already own, wasting time looking for things because I can’t find them in all the clutter, and losing my sanity because I’m surrounded by clutter, and guilt about the environmental impact of owning SO. MUCH STUFF. Even as I’m driven to buy more things because I wasn’t mindful about the things I originally purchased and now want different things.
I’m losing my mind.
Time to be proactive – I took out some library books with organizing and decluttering tips from the experts, and I’m going to be buying things mindfully from now on.
If I don’t love it, I’m NOT buying it… I don’t care how on sale it is.
I will beg relatives to give my children museum passes and tickets to events and special outings for holidays, and I will donate or sell things that my children no longer use (except the few that should be saved for grand children because they were truly special).
I will take things to the re-usables section at the town dump. I will sell my high-end shoes that no longer fit post-pregnancy through consignment, finding them a new home and saving someone else money. I will use my library and my kindle. I will recycle my newspapers and think hard before renewing my magazine subscriptions.
I will only buy groceries that I have a plan for, and I will check my pantry before I shop.
I can get this more under control… right?