Tuesday, March 15, 2016

Back to my blog - thanks to one household hint!



My long dry spell is coming to an end, I think. It’s been so long a time since I even entertained the idea of writing that I almost forgot that I loved to write! It hit me this morning that yes, health and other problems aside, the art of communication is something I’ve always held very dear. For me, the sharing of our lives’ stories is something precious, and really worthwhile. Important, even.

It feels as if I am emerging from a cocoon: the long winter is over and for me, it seems to have zipped right on by. Knowing that this is highly unusual for me, and being a person of the type “A” variety, being captured indoors for a few months always seemed interminable, something to be endured. But, not this past winter.

And, it all started with Face Book. Rather, it began with a meme that caught my eye on FB, which was one that was a helpful household hint.  The meme said to clean out those pesky junk drawers by categorizing everything in them, separating and storing the stuff into small plastic bags. That seemed easy enough, and very inexpensive to boot! So, I did it with the first “junk drawer.” Amazingly, it took almost no time at all! In my mind, I had pictured it taking at least an hour, and as being a very boring, tedious chore. The funny thing is, it wasn’t time consuming, nor was it tedious at all. In fact, I found several things I had been looking for. And, in the bargain, threw out many dried out pens, broken pencil stubs, nearly petrified elastic bands and a whole population of twist ties.  Hold it! Very wisely, I labeled a small plastic bag “Twist ties” and put a handful or two into it. You never know when you are going to need a few – and now, I was prepared!

I think the whole process took me just about 15 minutes in all. So, I went on to the next drawer – and then the next, and so on. Almost before I realize it, my entire kitchen drawer ‘ensemble’ was neat and clean! The unexpected bonus was that my spirits were lifted and a strange excitement sprouted in my inner knower (or, as some people say, their core, or spirit, or soul).  It all worked so well with the kitchen drawers that I decided to go on to other projects, such as cleaning out and straightening up our closets. This, of course, took some time because I had other things to do as well. But, it was a great feeling to know that at home waiting for me was a house with areas that patiently waited for my attention.  It almost evolved into a game of some sort, such as “guess which area I am going to tackle today.”

As the winter wore on, I was often oblivious of the foul weather going on outside. Venturing out only when I had to, even that took on a new patina. Instead of dreading the biting cold, it was an almost welcome change – momentarily – from the cozy interior of my home. Just knowing that I had such a clean, tidy and comforting place to return to made the sacrifice of being in the miserable weather well worth it. Odd! I had never thought of it that way before. Hmmm…I thought. I silently wondered if there could there be more to this cleaning instinct than first meets the eye. 

A tiny voice from deep within whispered, “Yes! You are taking charge!”  And, it was 100% correct!

All of us tend to collect many things over the years, and anyone who has ever had to move knows this very well. So much stuff! So many decisions to be made: should I keep it or toss it? Give it away? Will or promise it to someone? It is almost as if these items are taking over our houses, closets, drawers, cabinets, garages and so on. Instead of us deciding which should remain, we usually toss it aside and promise ourselves to take care of it ‘one day.’ Except, that one day never seems to arrive! And so the pile grows, and grows and grows. It grows until eventually we run out of room. And, believe it or not, this is exactly what happened with us!

We have a very old Philadelphia house, dating back more than 100 years. The walls are nearly 2 feet thick, made of solid field stone. It is small by today’s standards, but for two people it is big enough. However, my husband and I were unlucky enough to inherit our parents’ belongings – all of them, many of which even now remain stored away in unopened cardboard cartons. Hey….I made a dent this past winter, at least with our own things,  but truth be told, I sill have a long way to go just dealing with this inherited bunch of stuff. Anyway, I realized somewhere along the way that truly going through everything and knowing exactly what we had and where it now resides was very empowering!

I even extended this effort to my craft table and area down in the basement. Don’t laugh! I make jewelry and have thousands of beads, baubles, wires, findings, etc., etc., that I painstakingly sorted through and put in little plastic drawer-type things. Now I know exactly what I have to work with and so far, my creativity level has increased a hundred fold! Isn’t that weird?? Just neatening things up ignited that spark of creativity once again, and I have been making some very beautiful things.

My desk also got the neatening up treatment, and in the process I found the whole batch of greeting cards I had bought and then misplaced. Even they got sorted through, and now when I want to send a “thinking of you” or “get well” card, it is right at my finger tips! This is now super easy to do since all of my postage stamps are in a little baggie in a kitchen drawer, neatly labeled and ready for use.

One day I seriously listened to the daily News on TV and to my surprise, they were talking about St. Patrick’s day, and day light savings time starting up again. WOW! I had no clue we had come to that point already. So busy all winter long, I realized that spring had crept up and Old Man Winter was heading back up north again to whatever land he goes to when spring arrives.

So, there you have it:  what started with a simple meme on Face Book, ended up with a person feeling very satisfied. I love my house, now, and look forward to each day. No matter what I need, I know I either have it or I don’t, and I no longer waste time or money stuck in that no-man’s land of “I just don’t know.” 

Best of all, I feel encouraged to start writing again. Here I am! Back to my blog....!