Over the past 3 months, I have had some challenging issues come up.
1.My mom passed away. This happened suddenly and left my father with a packrat townhouse do deal with. He has been very sick himself and could barely maneuver around. I know my mom enjoyed her stuff but it was out of control. We are talking 22 bins of shoes out of control (And that is what we found in the first week). It has taken 8 weeks of purging everyday to even make a dent and feel somewhat normal. It has made me rethink what is important to me.
2. My brother in law passed away. Again, suddenly. When his brothers arrived to his home, all they could say was he could have been on the show Hoarders. His girlfriend did give them the old pictures, slide shows and a few other personal items. The rest will have to be trashed. It’s going to take a few months, at minimum. It has made me rethink what is important to me.
These two tragedies have me assessing and reassessing my life on a daily basis. And I am finally making peace with myself and that I am just a simple girl who likes a simple life with a few possessions, good food and a happy little family (including pets).
I hate to clean and organize anymore. I used to find it cathartic and now I find it annoying. I used to enjoy decorating and now I have pulled down every last do dad off my walls and put them in the extra bedroom for now. I used to like bright colors, the more the merrier and now I long for just a soft white everywhere with comfortable furniture and a few esthetics.
So I am starting over, fresh. I don’t care if I take this house down to its bare bones and even my hubby getting a little upset. He is attached a bit to what we have reflects affluence and I could not disagree more. I remind him of his brother’s house and what he was living in. I remind him of the wedge driven between my mom and dad over her massive amount of stuff, to the point that it was no longer funny. And I am reminded of my Uncle who lived in a tiny apartment with just his small amount of things and died a multi millionaire, to the great surprise of many people. He never worried about status, working as a cobbler/shoe repairman for his whole life. It’s just stuff at the end of the day and it’s about living from here on out for me. The fact that I pretty much make 99% of the decisions about the house has really motivated. I will not live in discomfort or without certain necessities to prove my point but I sure can do a whole lot better than now.
I was going to sell it off, piece by piece, but a fresh start for me means here and now, not days, weeks, or months from now. So out goes a large load tomorrow. HAPPY!!!
I am going to paint my kitchen a fresh white with some drop cloth curtains I made. I am also starting over on my wardrobe. It works out perfectly because I have pretty much worn out most of my items over the past two or three years. I am excited about shopping after not having done so for some time. My only rules are I cannot online shop and I have to have a use for anything I bring into the house. And, for instance, the curtain rods I purchased. They will go up this week. They will not sit there and wait for the right day.
This is my enough right now. I am so excited!!!