January Cure!

Life has been mega-crazy and stressful for, oh, let's say about two years.

Very little time has been dedicated to taking care of things at home. Two years ago, to make room for family members who moved in with us, we boxed or piled tons of our shit stuff into the garage. I still have two piles of things that couldn't go in garage piled in my bedroom.

All family has moved into their own places. We have space, again, but we still have shit stuff. The garage is busting at the seams. The house is clean but thoroughly unorganized. Correction: Pantry is 100% organized and one drawer in the kitchen is so super-duper shipshape. My floors are clean (well, Friday, they were clean. We have two dogs and it snowed and rained all weekend. I have to tell you that those paw prints really are cute in contrast to the shiny hardwood, and, really, what is a clump or two of fur along the baseboards in the big scheme of life?)

You are probably asking why the pantry and one drawer and floors? Because one has to begin somewhere and, most importantly, I am doing the January Cure through Apartment Therapy.

This is a simple Fly-Lady-like project to help one begin the giant conquest of the looming challenge of getting one's shit stuff together.

I started two days late but it was easy to catch up.

Today's assignment has two parts:

#1 Sit quietly in one of the most challenging rooms and just BE in it. It's a meditation of sorts to help one identify the changes needed.

#2 Choose something (easy-peasy)  to accomplish today from a list we created on day 4 or 5.

Now the 'Cure' isn't the end-all of chores I need to do. There are still regular demands, empty the dishwasher (I should probably run it first) and I really do need to mop up those cute little doggie foot prints to make room for more.

Then there are the million and one books I have promised to find new homes. There is a meme on Facebook that reads, "It's not hoarding if it's books!"  When I looked around the house, it dawned on me that it is, in fact, hoarding.  Every bookshelf in the house (and there are many) is double deep in books. Do you know how much dusting that is?

So, after I do my meditation and assignment for the day, I am going to box up at least two dozen of my books (they are only books, they are only books, they are only books, they are only books, they are only books) and give them away or toss them out. Then I will get on my knees and pray for forgiveness because I'm pretty sure tossing our a book is a sin, a mortal sin.

If you are looking for an easy inspiration for ship-shaping your home, you should check out the January Cure.

Got to go fix some tea and prepare to sit in the living room for 15 minutes and get a feel for the 'new' use for the old space.

Have a good day, friends.