October 21 - an (almost) clean house

I must be "nesting".  They said I would go through this when I was pregnant, but I didn't.  Now though, I am finding it extremely cathartic and beneficial to keep busy. Tiring, but helpful.  I have lists of things that need to be in place before I go into surgery next Wednesday, and having my house in sufficient shape to accept visitors is right at the top of the list.  


This house has been a disaster area for years now.  It seems every time I started to make progress on improving and organizing something significant happened.  This time, however, the order is reversed:  something significant happened and now I'm making progress.  And, after moving 50 years of accumulated possessions for my parents 6 times, I have a new motto:  "Toss it."  Simple enough.  No place to put it?  Toss it.  Haven't used it in the last year?  Toss it.  Can't remember who those people are in the picture?  Toss it.  (Okay, so this one doesn't apply to people in old black & white photos from the early 1900's, but anyone else is fair game.)  


The "toss it" motto is making my life a lot easier and allowing me to make significant progress quickly, which gets me thinking - should I be applying this to other aspects of my life?  What other things are cluttering my life which need to get tossed?  What things should be dusted off an put on display?  I find that the things that matter to me are more evident now that I have tossed a few things.  The mantel is neatly lined with photos of my wonderful daughter, some pottery she made me, a small sculpture from a friend and a beautiful wood carving from the young woman we sponsor in Uganda.  The walls are beginning to be decorated mainly with the art work of family and friends.  One of a kind pieces that remind me of them. And at the top of a bookcase stands an old wooden cross.   


The clutter is going away and I can see more clearly what matters most.