Thinning the Hoard and a Bit of Bad News

Welllll, it’s been quite a week here. The awkwardness of having people you don’t know very well in your home is still, well, awkward. I’m happy to report that the kids (I call them kids, they’re 32 and 43) are quiet and respectful and fairly ninja about getting the dishes cleaned up.

Directly after they arrived we got some bad news that has put a bit of a wad in our respective panties. No worries, no one’s dead, just some adjustments to be made and it will probably turn out to be more of an OPPORTUNITY TO EXCEL. So we’ll be fine. However the timing was shit, it was rather stressful in the moment and the quit-plan is..um, er..rescheduled. For next week, but still. Oh well.

I did have a brief thought about busting into a box o’wine, yes I did. For about 10 minutes I considered it. But then I knew- it wasn’t going to change anything, and I really didn’t think it would make me feel BETTER. Sometimes you just have to ride it out and know it will pass. And it did, can’t keep me down for long (try it!!)

Once again, with everything going on I can’t help but feel relieved that I am no longer swilling the Devil Juice.

In other news, I have finally been assimilated by the KonMari organizational method. I got sucked in by the hype, I bought the book. If you haven’t read the book or perhaps haven’t lived on this planet recently, it’s the idea that you should only surround yourself with objects you love. In order to achieve this, one must undertake a Hoarders-style cleansing of one’s precious and enumerate things. Short of ordering the “Got Junk?” truck, or similar dumping receptacle, one must have billions of large black yard bags on hand to fill with demoted articles. I have purchased such. The way that you determine what stays and what goes is to begin “de-cluttering” by category in which you, for instance, take every shoe you own and pile it on your floor, then commune with each pair in an effort to decide if you love it enough to keep it, or just really wish it would get a job and move out.

So we began last night, I did start with shoes and purses and spouse cleaned out his closet cubby and his nightstand (don’t ask). Now then, I have not actually finished the book yet, so I have a feeling we may not have been doing everything properly and the Chi flow may be off. But! We asked ourselves (as one is pressed to do by this little OCD firecracker who wrote the book)- does this spark joy? Which is an awesome way to throw stuff away, because about 90% of my crap DOES NOT. We got a little stumped when we came across the tube of cortisone because itch cream isn’t super joyful..but then I was like, hey! if we have an itchy spider bite and we put it ON OURSELVES there will surely be joy. So it was filed appropriately. You get the idea.

So when I took my daughter school shopping today I asked myself, as I tried on various deeply discounted garments, “Does it look fabulous?? Is it flattering? Will you wear it?”. This is not new, I used to do this in past before my wardrobe degraded into black jeans and t-shirts. Somehow that got lost in,” This will cover my body sufficiently and doesn’t make me look to fat and is the price of a meal at Taco Bell.” And it’s easy to spot that bleh feeling when you start re-examining those sad items.

So! Tidying continues (KonMari gives you six months to clean out your whole life) and when I have some House Beautiful-worthy areas I will post them on Hammer Down. Next up, clothing. So if you happen to be driving by my house in the next few days I can offer you a SMOKIN’ DEAL on 8,000 slightly used t-shirts.