Merging Two Lives

One of the things I get from my mother is the desire to start & complete a project in the same day, no matter how big it is... for fear that if we stop working on it, we'll never start again. Inevitably, we push ourselves to exhaustion and subconsciously program ourselves to not want to start that project again -  because we were so exhausted by it the last time!

I'm thankful to be living with Daniel, with his much more logical male brain. I was a little surprised on Saturday when he came home from working a 9+ hour day and was ready to do some yard work. When I look at the yard full of leaves and bushes that need trimming and plants that need to be planted and others replanted... and compost that needs to be spread and twigs that need to be picked up... I see the whole job, and I wonder how in the world will we ever find the time to take care of this mess?

The same way you eat an elephant - one bite at a time... We put in a good hour of yard work, made a nice dent in the mountains of leaves that threaten to overtake our sidewalk and driveway. And then we went inside and relaxed a bit.


It feels that way when I look at the inside of our house also.

My stuff + his stuff + wedding presents = not enough space in our house

We are gradually wading through the items we have (when I say we - it's mostly me because I have the most stuff), deciding what is non-essential and getting rid of it in favor of having space to live in. It's so easy to hold onto items because of various attachments we have to them
- memories associated with the location we purchased it
- the person who gave it to us
- how long we've had it for
- or maybe it's that favorite zip up red sweatshirt I have that the color is fading and there are holes starting in the sleeves and I can't bear to give it away, but I also find myself hesitant to wear it because it makes me look slightly homeless (can you look slightly homeless?)

I don't want to be so attached to my stuff that it takes away from living my life. I don't want to have a home filled with items, making it difficult to keep the house clean and to have people over, to be unable to find what I know I have (possibly have at least 2 of) so I need to go out and buy another one... cluttering things up even more. I don't want to accumulate physical things. They're all so temporary. I want to live with what's essential and to be as loosely tied to this world as possible.

It forces me to approach shopping in a different way. I enjoy shopping and purchasing new items and imagining the possibilities that go along with the new items. I know that sounds a little cheesy, but if I'm honest with myself that's what I do. I see a cute shirt and think how nice it'll look on me (even though I already have plenty of nice shirts). Or there's a new pan or kitchen gadget that will help me prepare something new and different to eat (even though I could probably make it with what I already own). I remember when my cousin Beth bought a Jeep and said she was so excited about getting it, thinking - this will be great, we'll go off-roading and camping and all sort of fun outdoors stuff. With a shake of her head she said - no, it's not true. It doesn't matter what you buy - you're still the same person.

I try to remember to ask myself some questions when I'm shopping. Do I really need this? Do I have something already that can perform this task for me? Do I have space to keep this (that answer is almost always no right now!)?  Is there something I can bear to part with to make the space to have this?

Looking in my closets, you wouldn't think that I wrote this blog. Most of them are a scattered mess... but we're getting there... gradually.