Pat Rack Junior...

OK, here are the after photos. I have taught my daughter too well. She is a pack rat extraordinaire...She is much worse than I am. Purge is not a word in her vocabulary. I, on the other hand have little difficulty with it. Why I buy in the first place (bargains?) is another question. But today, while the girls were at school I tackled Nicole's room. Her satellite orphanage is now set up and won't be shut down by children and youth. I have purged three large garbage bags and three bins from her room. Some of her dear possessions will relocate to the storage room, some will go to Hand Up, some to a yard sale, and some to a family whose girls are the perfect size. Now, sit down before you look at the before photo...

This is what it was. Never mind finding clothes that were clean. Don't even think about coordinating matching anything. It was a nightmare, partly because it become one of the last depositories for all things Nicole that were all over the house. The Saturday Box is going to make its 2009 debut. If it is out and doesn't get put away, it goes in a Saturday box, to be reclaimed on Saturday, but only if it goes back where it belongs, otherwise it will end up at HUF, never to be re-purchased again.

I had my mom take my picture and I swear the flash did go off, but you could never tell.

I have been thinking about renaming my blog. My friend Theresa thinks it should simply be,
"Welcome to Kathy's World." I am somewhat partial to, "Living Life on the Edge Trying Not to Fall Off" and also under consideration is, "Flying Through Life by the Seat of Your Pants."

So, here are the things that could have caused me stress today, but did not:

• Nicole's room.
• My mother brought yogurt with her from NY and put it in my pantry instead of the fridge.
• A phone call from a friend giving some sage advice about financial matters that my dad needs to take care of ASAP. Only problem is, he is in London, and no one could give us the correct city code for London. I had to pay $7.95 for International Directory Assistance.
• I have been working on arranging for a visiting speaker for our church this weekend and now we are getting a foot of snow; prudently he cancelled, but I am bummed because I wanted to hear him speak (Sherman Bradley, City Gospel Mission, Cincinnati) and was having a dinner party tomorrow night. I get psyched up for these things, so it not happening is bumming me out.
• Howie is not happy that somehow the fish tank that was in what is now our shared office is taking up 25% of the surface space of his desk, and my mom is not happy that the filter is not plugged in. One frog and one sucker fish have been managing without bubbles and gold fish food for sometime now.
• My mom is a pack rat also, (what can I say, it is a family trait) and is preparing for Armageddon now in her new bedroom, storing cans of Progresso Soup under her bed instead of putting them in the kitchen.

Sigh.

So what's your vote for new blog title?

PS In trying to figure out what is the best way to go about re-booking the airline tickets (why pay a change fee when more than likely the flight will end up cancelled anyway?) I spoke with a lovely Travelocity agent in India named Balwant, and I even pronounced it correctly! Score two points for me!

Peace. And stay warm and safe, and if the snow is flying in your neck of the woods tomorrow, hunker down, bake some cookies, and pull out a game.

Purging and Pruning Continued...

Wow! Look at that storage room now! There are still some bins I need to go through, but that can wait. And here was what I hauled off to HUF today. It was a mix of recycling and more bins of donations. It felt SO good to drop it off there and know it would support valuable programs.

I will note that the day and therefore the week did not start off all that well. While I was waiting with Tianna for her bus with the car off and radio and lights on (for like three minutes) my battery died...Howie had left already, and my cell phone was in the kitchen. So I trucked up my hill in my jammies )at least I had slippers on...called Howie and he came to my rescue. Now I have to put "check car battery" on this week's list...big sigh.

Confessions, Chaos, Clutter and Clarity

OK, I have a confession. One I have made before...I love bargains and am a sucker for dolls. I love dolls. Well, Nicole has also developed a love for dolls and she is running an orphanage in our basement. Of course if anyone actually inspected it (as you will see) she would be shut down in a minute. Clothes everywhere, missing shoes, mayhem and general chaos. Since conquering the garage, I have ventured into the "toy room" aka Plastic Palace, filled with Little Tykes collected over the years at yard sales at bargain prices. Little did I realize the toll it would take on my mental health... Nicole has one friend in particular who comes to play and the play turns more into a free for all. I know, I know...I need to have them clean up. The problem is I wasn't home much this summer and well, it just totally got away from me. (Remember the garage, well half this stuff ended up in the garage; at least they were good about getting their babies fresh air...)

And soon, I just started heaving whatever belonged to Nicole or had been dragged upstairs into the room. I simply opened the door and chucked it in. Some example...

Fortified with extra coffee, I made my way downstairs with the goal of pruning and purging. (The other two remaining terribly offensive hot spots are the "computer room" upstairs and the utility room which has been over run with junk. (No doubt once precious heirlooms...)
One huge obstacle I have is that Nicole is a pack rat. She saves EVERYTHING (I have overcome this problem, although you may not be able to tell...)and inevitably when I get rid of something, her radar picks it up and that is exactly what she wants. So I have still to determine how I am going to truly get rid of half this stuff and not just shuffle it around.

A yard sale as an option (a horrible amount of work) is one idea; my son's girlfriend Erin wants to have one, so I have actually put the 24th and 25th of October down in ink in my calendar as a goal. OK, that makes you all accountability partners. I really don't want a mountain of stuff sitting all winter in my newly cleaned garage.

The girls and I came up with the idea that this space (toy room) could be converted into a hang out room which would also free up space in their rooms. They have these really cool sofa like chairs from Pottery Barn that would look really funky down there. So with that end in mind, I bought spray paint to repaint the shelves and a throw rug from WalMart that is blue and green. It would also be a place where they could when they have sleepovers which would mean my family room would be spared conversion into a shelter. (Remember my mom asked me earlier this summer if I was running a soup kitchen).

My inspiration to get moving and keep going with this is most recently attributed to the encouraging words of Lisa Samson, who wrote a book with her husband, JUSTICE IN THE BURBS. This is from an online newsletter she wrote, Michah's Place: "Give it away. Sell it. Or throw it out. Our homes can distract us like nothing else. We're either working long hours to pa for it, or shopping to get it just so, sometimes going far into dept to achieve the effect we want. Simplifying your surroundings and you r options at home can make a huge difference in the overall quality of your life and the life of others. With so many options to choose from (should I scrapbook, play softball, organize the closets, or flip through the catalogues that came today?) is it any wonder we retreat to the computer of the television just to escape?

Choose.

We hate that work in that context don't we: We hate to be limited, even to limit ourselves. But give it a try. What hobbies do you enjoy the most? Playing sports? Pick one. Crafts? Limit yourself. Give the rest of the gear and supplies away. Was that hole-riddled sweater ever a good idea" Throw it out. What books will you really read again? Sell the others.

You can use the money you make to help others. (And hey, if you've got lots of extra furniture, housewares, dishware and other home supplies, consider donating them to your local refugee resettlement ministry or halfway house.)

Free your mind and your space and let the creativity and the blessings flow."

Thanks, Lisa!

So I have been doing some of these things, but have a long way to go. There is a pretty strong attraction to our "stuff". I am trying to conquer it rather than have it conquer me.

Peace.