December 20 – Beyond Avoidance What should you have done this year but didn’t because you were too scared, worried, unsure, busy or otherwise deterred from doing? (Bonus: Will you do it?)
I'm starting to feel like I only write about the same 3 things; my transplant, Max, and the amount of physical crap (The Stuff) in my life. Like so many other years, I should have purged Stuff in 2010. I can verge on a hoarder mentality; the difference between me and the people on A&E is that I *know* that I have this tendency and do what I can to prevent it from getting totally out of control.
An example: We went to a gift exchange Christmas party last night, and a friend of ours "won" a light up crystal thing. (Thing is the only word I can use to describe it.) It involves a base that gets plugged in (or takes batteries) and has LED lights in it that then shine through a chunk of clear crystal you place on top. It was a regift from a friend's since failed marriage a number of years ago, and Max was totally fascinated by it. The girl that received it in the exchange told Max he could have it, and I suddenly worried. I knew that if it came into our house, it wouldn't leave. I'm unable to throw things away that I think still have some use or value, even if not to me. I wouldn't have been able to toss that piece of crap, because *someone* *somewhere* might want or need it, and if I toss it, I won't have it to give them in their hour of need! I know it's crazy, I know it doesn't make sense, and yet...
I don't know exactly why I don't do The Big Clean Out. I'd rather play around on the computer or watch TV (that damned Law and Order again!) and I just don't get around to it. I go in fits and spurts; I clean out a closet and get all proud, but within weeks it's jammed full again. I really admire the whole minimalist movement and those who can practicw it; small homes, limited clothing choices, rooms that don't have every corner jammed with Stuff... I just can't seem to make it happen in my own home.
We're making changes in 2011, some of which will REQUIRE The Big Clean Out to happen, so I'm starting it now. Baby steps, right?
PS: The shiny crystal piece of junk did NOT come home with us! It ended up going home with someone else, after a twist in the gift exchange game. We did, however come home with a (much needed, actually!) cupcake caddy and a set of four little fruit shaped dishes that I'll now have to hold onto until garage sale season next summer. Unless someone wants 'em! *hint hint*
