We’re getting back into the swing of things this week. At this moment (Tuesday morning), I am not overloaded with work. Anya has returned to school. R is on an antibiotic for his sinus infection, so he’s still sick but getting better.
The minimalism game is going well. I am a little behind, but I still have things to go through. It’s a good exercise in seeing what I can truly live without; I wish I’d been more diligent about it these past few years.
I’m also working to get more organized, as I clear out crap. I’m tired of having to clean under and around things because we have no room for anything. So as I clear out, I am organizing what’s left so that it is up, away, and out of sight. I know I will have to deal with the toys, but if I can get everything else put up, I will be happy.
I’m rethinking gifts, as I do all this — a timely pondering, as my parents’ birthdays are in the fall, and Christmas is around the corner. My daughter made my mom a stepping stone for her garden. (I say that like she has a garden. She has a few marigolds and mums in pots in front of her house. We are not green-thumbed people, but we’re trying.) I bought her flowers. In the past, she didn’t really care to receive flowers; she considered it a waste of money for something that would die in a week. But now I think she appreciates the gesture. She truly doesn’t need any more stuff. And the flowers were beautiful. I gave a gift, she received a gift, and we’ll enjoy pretty flowers on her table all week. That’s more than enough.
Sure, stuff is fun. But I would rather have a little bit of nicer stuff and not have to slave over a house to store it all in than have a steady stream of cheaper stuff that I stumble over constantly.
An Entertaining Mess 