It crossed my mind last week that we’re coming up on December, and I want to wrap up this year the way I began it. So I’ve been going back through all the places I decluttered early on and redecluttering. (Hey, look, I made up a new word!) It’s interesting to see how I’ve changed in my purging. I’m not attached the way I used to be. And I’m not so caught up in the permanence of it. I just enjoy things not being everywhere. And throughout the year I’ve often lightly purged and organized, but this past week there has been an urgency to it. To be rid of the things that weigh me and my family down.
I did my dresser top, my closet floor, linen closet, (almost) all the kitchen cabinets, and the pantry. I cut L’s toys by half (for a potential rotation) and brought all his huge toys to the garage. I emptied my nightstand of the papers I kept meaning to shred. I purged and organized all of R’s middle school work, and did the same for S’s school work from last year.
My (lofty) goal is to have purged and organized all of their school work by week’s end. After going through a third of a huge box of their work for 2012-2015 I’m really quite exhausted tho. I’m going to keep at it, but the self-care is important. Those were hard years for me and the weight is noted looking through their work. So perhaps by weekend’s end I will have finished that box. And then I’ll look around and see if there’s more and proceed gently from there.
Also, I’ve been waiting to hear back for over a month now from a new local place that takes donations (but only once a week). I may just drop a bunch off next week and talk to her in person. She is welcome to the (practically) whole of my possessions. It will all be going to people who really need it. If this is a good avenue, I can probably have the majority of stuff out by year’s end maybe. We’ll see.
The progress feels good. The productivity is vital. The eating, sleeping and self-care are currently all in line. It’s still not easy per se. But it’s going.
sunshine in the gray 