If there is one thing to be said about your neighbor having bed bugs, it is this: it sure makes you want to get rid of stuff.

I've always prided myself on being able to get rid of things only to recently discover that maybe I'm not doing such a good job purging as I thought.

Slowly, very slowly, I've been scanning photographs and making albums. Slowly, very slowly, I've been making scrap quilts for expecting friends. Slowly, very slowly, I've been weeding out the toys that my boys no longer play with.

Therein lies the problem: I'm purging, but not fast enough.

Is it a matter of time management, as I previously thought? Or is it something else entirely, something that I have not yet considered?

Maybe I am more of my mother's daughter than I think - perhaps I suffer from an emotional attachment to stuff. Maybe I have yet to admit that I have a slight addiction to junk shopping and that now that I shop exclusively at thrift stores, my wardrobe has gotten completely out of hand.

Maybe it's time I'm forced to admit that I really don't have a handle on my stuff.

It's kind of freeing to look at my closets and see all this space. Perhaps it is time to whittle away at the excess, shedding junk that is hardly ever used and really streamlining my life in the process.

It's time, then. Before things return to the closet, it's time to look through my clothing and donate the stuff that is never worn; it's time to sort the games and puzzles; it's time to go through the crafts and pick just a few hobbies to occupy my time. (For example, I love making jewelry, but I miss drawing. I find that I often become upset with myself for not even attempting to explore more avenues for that passion. Is it time to make a choice and sell all of my jewelry-making supplies so that I have time to draw again? Is it time to sell my jewelry-making supplies simply because I haven't had time to make anything sparkly in quite a while? I think, sadly, that the answer is YES!)

I don't have the answers because I am just now asking the questions. I'm still learning what works best for me and it seems that what works best for me is less stuff. Fewer hobbies. Does that mean I won't ever dabble? Of course not! What it means is that I will be more choosy about the projects I start.

How is your spring cleaning going, reader? Do you find yourself overwhelmed by stuff?

Blessed be.


This entry was posted on 12:24 AM and is filed under . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

0 comments: