Day 341; Footnotes of Clearing the Clutter, Household and Mental

Sometimes, you simply have to start clearing things out.

The other day my son hauled off an old futon, recliner, broken office chair and our trash. He mentioned there was more that could go, but I had to go through it and make sure there was nothing we needed to hold onto. He actually looked at me and said, “So it will be here forever”. No, but I really do need to divide trash from not trash.

Today I began that process.

In the part of my living room, a part that was once my brother’s bedroom before mom and dad had the wall torn out, I had stashed…stuff. Some of the stuff my son said he thought could go. I had an old, inexpensive chest of drawers that was holding a variety of items. The top draw held craft paints. That I kept, that will need a storage box and place to reside. The second drawer as the other two, held a variety of odds and ends. The tools I put in that notorious junk drawer in the kitchen. Old CD cases, video boxes, old letters, things I had no idea what they may have originally been for, was trashed. As I emptied each drawer, I carried them out to the trailer. Lining them up near the tongue. Once they were all emptied, I carried out the main piece.

I then carried quite a few items out to the storage building. Placing them out of the way because I have a feeling there is more that will be moved out there. Items that didn’t go to the building, was moved to other parts of the house where they should have been to begin with. I also threw a lot of stuff away. Though I didn’t fill up the trailer, yet.

At one point I carried some stuff down to mom’s to return to her. As I stood talking with mom and dad I saw two black blurs go by their house. My two dogs had escaped the yard again. I ran from the house calling them, at first they ignored me, acting for all the world as if they were on the trail of something. Then it seemed to dawn on them that they were in trouble and headed toward home at a dead run. Once they were in the house I walked the fence to see how they had escaped. Finding where they had pushed the fence out enough to escape I repaired it as best I could for the moment. I’ll try and do a better job tomorrow.

Mom  said they just wanted to be with me. I said they were more than likely after the cats and they need to remember how to stay in the fence. They have only been let out to answer nature’s call and they know they are in trouble. Those guilty looks give it away.

After my son got in from work, bringing dinner with him, I showed him what I had done, what I needed him to look at and what I hoped to work on tomorrow.

I had thought about his comments, on hanging onto stuff that has absolutely no use nor purpose. That I was keeping it, just because I was so accustomed to it being around. I remembered after my husband passed away, when I finally started going through stuff that he wouldn’t turn loose of because “we might need it” how I felt about some of what he had kept. I was doing the same. I need to clear away, to minimize, to get rid of anything that has no real purpose. That includes all of those mental things I’ve been holding onto. The fear, the insecurity, the incorrect beliefs. All need to join the items on the trailer to be hauled away. I need to clear that out and make room for the good things. The improvements, the positive.

Even though I didn’t get finished today, I really knocked a dent in it and made a difference. I told my son because it was manual labor and not any of that technology stuff that hates me so badly was why I was able to accomplish as much as I did. I got that sideways look, but I think he was happy and proud of my efforts. I think, he was glad to see me making forward strides. What ever he thought, I was content because that area looks so much better. I’m actually excited about what I should be able to get done tomorrow. Not only with the house, but with me.

Busy as a ..bee.