I get a little thrill when my GPS announces that I am arriving at my destination. After all, if I’m headed someplace, the whole idea is to get there. What I worry about is heading someplace I really don’t want to be. We spent part of the weekend cleaning out my husband’s family home and I can see how this happens.
My MIL was a dear person (can you hear the but coming?) BUT she never met a “buying club” she didn’t love. Time Life Books, Reader’s Digest Condensed Books, recipe clubs, book clubs, music clubs, she had them all, most never opened, let alone used, Then there was the lighthouse collection, one from every place she visited plus lighthouse ornaments and knickknacks. Let’s not forget the bird stuff. She loved birds and we found, not just the bird figurines, but bird clocks and bird pictures and bird calendars. There was so much stuff and we had to figure out how to get rid of it.
I returned home and looked at my house with a critical eye. What I saw was the tea-pot collection, the video tapes, the cookbooks and the books. Did I mention the baskets and the pottery and the decorative tins? I have a picture in my head of the prefect home environment and clutter is not in the frame. If I had my druthers today I would be doing another purge but that is not happening. The rain combined with a few days of hot, sunny weather have got the weeds growing as quickly as the tomatoes and I need to get out in the garden.
So here is my desired destination. I want to be food secure. That means everything else goes on hold when I need to be in the garden. I want my home to be a both a physical and emotional shelter. Clutter saps energy and takes up prime real estate that could be put to better use. I worked hard for my money and I want to be sure that whatever I trade my life energy for provides lasting value and not just a momentary thrill. When I head to my final destination, I want to be sure that where I was headed was where I want to be.
On a side note: The real estate agent said that there are usually 19 houses for sale in that small town. Now there are 60 houses for sale and very little is moving. I have family members who are still unemployed and a few facing the real prospect of losing homes and businesses. I am thinking that the GOM tragedy will put the real estate markets along the coast in a nosedive. We are looking at an active hurricane season and that’s the last thing we need. It is easy to get bogged down in bad news but I haveto think of my destination. I want to have a life well lived and that means finding joy every day. So before I get to work I am going to sit on the deck and listen to the town wake up. The birds are singing and there is a light mist rising from the pasture. The kids are getting up and I can hear Phoebe singing a little song to her baby dolls. In spite of the clutter and the weeds, I am heading to my destination.
June 7, 2010 at 7:15 am
The Destination…it’s so easy to get side tracked once in a while. I thought about that after you mentioned coming home and seeing your teapots and baskets. My weakness is craft items and books. There is nothing wrong with having pretty things and recreational things, we just have to keep it in balance. Balance is the key.
Like you, today, my balance is tipped in favor of the weeds. Have a good day!
June 7, 2010 at 11:06 am
Excellent post, made me want to look at my home with a different eye. My balance is also tipped in favor of weeds and farm stuff, but we are expecting rain tomorrow…maybe each rainy day can be a purge day….nothing like being stuck insdie to make you feel overwhelmed with stuff
) Now to get outside so as not to get overwhelmed with weeds etc.
June 7, 2010 at 2:26 pm
Your posts always resonate with me Kathy! I have been looking at too many clothes in my wardrobe and too many books piled around. Yes, I bought most secondhand, but the clutter needs to be cleared…just like the weeds!
Good luck selling the house. It seems to me that many newly listed houses are selling before the others since they’re being put on the market at a lower price. I hope that’s the case for you, and you get your asking price…maybe even a bidding war! Stranger things have happened!
I’d also like to thank you for telling us about Peak Moment TV. My husband and I have viewed several segments and have been really impressed! What a wonderful resource!
June 7, 2010 at 11:40 pm
My destination today was also weeding the garden, it is so refreshing to know others find pure pleasure in providing for our families today and tomorrow. I too need to purge in the attic, but that will have to wait until the fall, way to hot here to go in the attic!!