To Do or Not to Do

 

I am so envious of my friends here and my friends out there in the blog-us-fear who manage to organize closets and drawers and even garages during this evil Pandemic.

How clever you are to use your time away from society so wisely.

I must say I think about organizing things.

I have thought about the closet now for at least four months.  In fact, I stand in it every day and assess the situation.  There are the shoes in haphazard piles and the winter clothes still not packed away.

It’s almost winter again anyway right?  I have forgotten since I do not frequent the stores anymore who used to let me know about the changing seasons.

Oh yes, there was a catalog reminding about Halloween.

Is it Halloween yet?

I think about all our 40 Photo albums too.

There is a whole big cabinet dedicated to the old non-digital touchy-feely photographs collected over my own lifetime and the lifetimes of my parents and Bill’s siblings who have all since passed.  There are many shots of roads or trees or other unidentified scenery.  And lots of unrecognizable people and many with no dates. 

My inherent need to organize draws me to that cabinet over and over again but I never open the doors.  The job is simply too overwhelming to contemplate.

I also think about the garage alot.  I have to go through the garage to take Elsa-the-dog for a walk and we pause en route so I can think about how to organize things.

There are all those leaves that blew in last Autumn and maybe I should get the leaf blower out and take care of that first.

But then there are all those loose things and tools we never use anymore, and rusty stuff.  Maybe we should look into renting a big rubbish bin.  Never mind, “Come on Elsa.  Let’s go this way.”  And off we go out of the garage.

Uh oh!  I find myself out in the green green world.  But the green is not always well manicured lawns.  The green is really enormous weeds that have taken over every flower bed and the gravel driveway.  If I think too much about the work to be done in my green green world, I tend to hurry home with Elsa after she has done her bit to fertilize the earth.

There is so much to do.

There is so much to think about doing.

To do or not to do is the question.

But I prefer to think about it.

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Smug, Brave, Naked and Mismatched Thoughts

I am Woman!

I feel superbly smug this day.

Things were freezing on my computer you know, resulting in panic. I turned the computer off, walked away and came back, opened the lid.  But Argggh!  A dark screen!

A convincing inner voice said, “You really did it now.  You wrecked the computer.   Don’t touch anything else or you are doomed.”  But wait!  I forgot to push the little  button that opens the screen.  And Voila!  It all works again and everything that was frozen is thawed!

I feel superbly smug this day.  Mystery solved.

Be Brave!

My son was counselling me on how to operate Windows 10.  “Be brave, “he said, “Be willing to try different things.  Don’t be afraid to push buttons.  You can always undo what you have done.” Without his calm and expert advice, this blog would not exist.

The last time I was brave I deleted the cache on my cell phone and managed to put it in a deep freeze of protest.    There were no calls in or out and no emails either – just a dead phone.  Thankfully, things are now restored to normal.

But I have reverted to a timid, cowering techie convinced that all connections will be severed if I push the wrong buttons.

Mismatched Eyebrows

O.K.  I admit I still want to look beautiful, even at a venerable old age.  I thought that was accomplished this morning, so while Bill was out bush hogging (that means mowing big overgrown fields with a big overgrown mower) (and I knew it was safe to indulge in self fantasy), I took a few selfies.

The glasses helped to eliminate soften wrinkles but if you look closely enough, one eyebrow is light and one is dark!  Arrrrgh!

Looking beautiful at a venerable old age is a challenge if you can’t see straight enough to make your eyebrows match up.

Naked Desperation

I just read a book about organizing one’s things.  Starting with clothing, the idea is to hold and touch each piece you own to determine if you love it or not.  If you FEEL something is wrong and you FEEL you don’t love a piece of clothing, either discard it or put it in the donation pile.

I did it!  You can’t imagine the liberated feeling there is to this exercise!

But now the problem is, I don’t have anything to wear!

I have always said, “My husband wouldn’t notice if I went out naked.”  Now is his chance to prove me wrong.

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Now Where Did I Put That?

The aches and pains of aging are one thing.  I expect that.

Short term memory loss is another.  I expect that too.

However,

Planned Forgetting requires some immediate attention.

Have you ever looked around for a foolproof hiding place for your special treasures?

Well, that’s what I was going about doing.

Where could I hide my favorite locket?

• How about the freezer?  No, that’s old-hat.
• Hide it in one of those mini boxes with secret ways to open?  Nope. Probably well known to marauders.
• In the back of a desk file drawer?  Not there either – thieves would probably look there first.
• In a shoe box with some shoes.  No, No, No!
• Finally there it was – the perfect spot.  “I WILL remember this place! I MUST remember!”

You can see where this is going.  I was consciously, knowingly planning to forget and stored the locket in the pocket of a favorite off-season jacket.

And of course I did forget  both the locket and the jacket.

Weeks later I wanted to wear the locket but where was it?

I looked in the mini treasure box, the desk drawer, the files in the desk drawer, the freezer, all the logical storage spots, and every box of shoes (including Bill’s).  This took hours of emptying and reassembling drawers, thinking and thinking, retracing steps.

“It’s no big deal,” I thought, “How important are such things in life anyway?”

But it wasn’t the loss that was so frustrating, it was the fact that I could not remember where I put it, that I knew I would not remember where I put it, and my own prophecy had come true.

Finally on the verge of tears, I tried one last place.

“It must be in a pocket! My mother always hid things in pockets!”  That meant going through the pockets of all the slacks, tops and vests in the closet, and finally the jackets.  Touching the last jacket I knew the locket had to be there.

And there it was!

And that is the essence of “Planned Forgetting!”

If you are a robber and want my pretty locket, well, come and get it!

It’s will now forever reside in an old fashioned junk jewelry box in plain sight.

Hopefully I will not forget I didn’t plan to forget another hiding place and then forget that it is in the jewelry box right under my nose.

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The Perils of Planning Things for Planning Purposes

 

I am among the ranks of the world’s most paranoid planners who keep calendars and more calendars.

There is a calendar in my purse (super private),

a calendar on the kitchen wall (semi-private),

another for “quick viewing” on the refrigerator (reference only),

a calendar on my cell phone (for an emergency),

and a desk calendar bedside (seriously private).

There are actual “plans” and appointments written on the desk calendar, the purse calendar, and the one on the kitchen wall.

And if there are changes, I have to erase/mark out/change all three of the above.

Emoticon from http://www.cliparts.co

Lately I have changed ALL THREE of the write-in “planning” calendars over and over.

1. A friend planned to visit us  for 10 days in August but cancelled due to unforeseen circumstances.
2. Postponed a lunch date with a group of ladies since the main attraction cancelled due to stomach flu.
3. Eye doctor’s office called to cancel an appointment.
4. My niece is coming for a weekend with her dog, Noche. Hurrah! So far, so good.
5. Cousins booked to visit on another weekend. No threats so far.
6. Son coming some time soon and then again some time later, yet to be defined.  Sooner or later means possible restructuring the calendars!
7. The bathroom floor was to be replaced last weekend, but date now re-arranged.  Will my niece be here then? There are no guarantees anymore. 
8. What about the dental check up scheduled for tomorrow and a haircut the next day?  “Up for grabs.”
9. Erasers are being worn down changing appointments!

Planning is supposed to save time right? Reworking three calendars is beginning to be time consuming, must be done in pencil due to all the radical changes, and aggravation prompting a nervous tic.

Therefore, I have devised an entirely new and competely radical change in plans.

I now plan to cease planning things and only keep one calendar – for planning purposes!

The question is, “Which one?”

How many calendars do YOU have?

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Are the Holidays Really Over?

This week came and went – fast!

How can that be with nothing exciting happening?

New Year’s Eve

Bill and I were supposed to go to our friends’ home for nibbles before heading out to dinner.  Plans changed since our friends had to put down one of their favorite horses they described as  “a good girl.”  They were in no mood to host so we did the honors.

We watched a possum exploring our deck and that drew some laughter.  Dinner was fine.  And we managed to stay awake for champagne to welcome in the New Year.  It was an evening of mixed emotions; the sadness that comes with loss and the joy that comes with hope.

 

 

This Wednesday night was bitter cold.  

We lit the wood stove to give the generator a little rest and it was truly cozy inside

while we listened to the wind howl and the temps dropped to 5 degrees Farenheit.

The wild birds have finally arrived at our feeder!  I am so glad to see them.  This morning a big red headed woodpecker actually swooped in and out, along with a female cardinal, and a bunch of little finches.  It is still in the teens today.

Maybe people like to flock too.

Plans are also in the making for a Neighborhood Pot Luck Party.

Somehow my friend Phebe and I get involved in the invitations and organization, and another of our neighbors, Anne,  hosts the party.  So I have been on the telephone and emailing folks to help pull the whole thing together.

Here it is a week since New Year’s Eve and tomorrow our son is coming all the way from California with our three grandgirls.  That should be fun since nowadays it is getting harder and harder to get everyone together at the same time.

ORGANIZE!

What is it about the first week of a new year that inspires a huge urge to organize home and hearth?   I’m into that too – organizing.

Starting with one little desk file drawer, I spent this morning reducing paper.  Well, at least I concentrated on that one file,  so full I can hardly pull it up without four other files coming along with it.

Then I realized I am behind (way behind) on blog posts too.

This week went by so fast.

How can this be when nothing exciting is happening?

 

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The Upside of Downsizing

Closet of a Would-Be Minimalist

I’m downsizing!

That means trashing things or giving them away, and I am undertaking this colossal task with grim determination.  The goal is to uncover more shelf and closet space which will lead to a bare, minimalistic lifestyle. I have a recurrent dream where I reside in a serene, organized world devoid of human clutter.  And so, I have begun a waking journey to bring that dream alive.  And even though my family all laugh at the improbability of such a result, minimalism is still my goal.

GOODBYE OLD CLOTHES – WELCOME SPACE AND ORDER

First I managed to donate a bunch of not-so-flattering apparel to a worthy cause.  So there!  Even though most things were out of date or waste-cinching to the point of asphyxiation, discarding them was still painful.  What if I lost 40 pounds and fit into that skinny mini skirt?   And even though I haven’t worn that sweater in 15 years, it was one of my favorites.  What if it comes back in style?

Sweet success! I gleefully gave bags of clothes away and after three trips in three days to the Good Will box, Ralph (the fellow who helps me unload) is now a best friend.  Yes, it was an agonizing sacrifice but how noble I feel!   And the real bonus is all that extra space!  Look at that bare shelf would you?  This is what life is all about – downsizing toward minimalism!

Then I received a coupon in the mail!  It was for 25% off my entire purchase at a favorite local department store.  Well, I had to check that out didn’t I?  And I came home with some real bargains because there was a big secondary sale on that day too.  Uh Oh!  The empty slots in the closets and drawers are filling up again.  I have to try something else…..

BASKETS GALORE – OUT THE DOOR

I love baskets.  I suppose you would say I collect them because they are upstairs, downstairs, in cabinets and closets, and in the corners and niches of every room.  You can do so many things with baskets.  Once again, grimly determined, I went at this project with a brutal cut-and-run attitude.  I found new owners for twelve of the baskets, and then, puffed up with pride I thought, “Voila!  Spaces in the corners again!  Wow!  I am definitely a minimalist!”

Then yesterday I stopped at our local Habitat for Humanity thrift store and simply could not resist the perfect basket for holding magazines (only 50 cents!), and another for sorting mail, and there was a  wine basket that would be perfect for summer flower arrangements! I wound up purchasing six new baskets.  Well, I have the room now don’t I? And the total was only $7.50.   Uh Oh!  Available home space is becoming limited.

USE BY 2009 – OUT THE DOOR IN 2012

Two shelves in a kitchen cabinet are dedicated to health giving supplements, vitamins, and other medicinal remedies. Things don’t fall out when you open a door, but there is still  an element of chaotic confusion.  What vitamins are hidden way way back in the dark recesses of those cabinet shelves?   O.K., it’s time to inspect the Use By dates again.  I am pleased to report I discarded at least six bottles of things that are no longer applicable and which might cause instant death upon ingesting.  O.K. – I know where I am now and can say to myself,  “We have enough of that, and that, and everything is up to date.  I will save that in case someone else wants to take it. I’m organized. This is it.  I have created order out of chaos and I am now a minimalist!”

On second thought, I did need  B vitamins – so I ordered two bottles of that.  The multivitamin is also running low, so I might as well get extras of everything now.  We’re o.k. on calcium but the catalog has that on sale, so I’ll get eight bottles of that too.  Really, it’s something I always take so it won’t go to waste.  What if there is a pandemic?  So I’m restocked and guess what?  There is still chaos in those two cabinets.

You can see where this is going.

I’m downsizing.

But I’m upsizing at the same time!

There is less space and order now than when I began the project!  If I juggle some things around and trash some others, my family many not discover I’m failing at the minimalist goal.

Now don’t tell me you are laughing too!

“For the most part, we, who could choose simplicity, choose complication.”
~Anne Morrow Lindbergh, in Gift From the Sea

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