whatever

I’ve been on fire for the past … four weeks.  In a good way.  Spring cleaning.  Decluttering.  Getting stuff done.  I thank momentum. 

I’ve made two stops at the donation center.  How could I have stuff to get rid of?  Since the pandemic started, I confess I haven’t kept up with keeping the clutter out.  Highly recommended: listening to a Marie Kondo audiobook (free through a library app) while sorting stuff. 

Output.  Input.  Having donated boxes and boxes of unused small kitchen appliances out west, I am mindful of what gets replaced.  After MUCH thought, I bought two small appliances last month.  First, a rice cooker.  Impressed with how easy it is (no worry about boiling over, undercooking, or burning), I’ve been using it twice a week and eating more variety of healthy grains.  Love it.  Second, an electric coffee grinder.  To simplify and de-electrify when living in the tiny house, I had used a hand grinder.  After five years, I was ready (particularly my achy shoulder) to go back to electric. 

When I moved into my one-bedroom apartment in December 2019, I bought a sofa, some IKEA items, a retro side table, some small repurposed wood tables, and a modern bed frame.  Some of my furniture items were hand-me-downs that I planned to use temporarily until I found what I really wanted.  Then the pandemic started and I put any more furniture shopping on hold.  So it’s overdue: finding the rest of the items that I want to surround myself with because, as Marie Kondo would say, they spark joy.

My first find was a small teak and oak MCM telephone bench that fits in perfectly in the hallway.  Enid the Cat figured out quickly that the cushion on the bench is a comfy spot to hang out while waiting for me to come home.

I haven’t had such a long sustained feeling of lightness since … I don’t know, maybe 2015?  One of the causes is the momentum of getting things done.  But a big factor (which allows more time for getting things done) is that four weeks ago, I stopped looking at social media and I stopped reading the news other than local items and headlines.  Reading the details of too many articles and the hard feelings on social media has been a big effing distraction for me since this pandemic started in a way it has never been for me before.  I’m out.

Last week, I removed and moved some furniture in the living room to create more space.  Enid has more room to run.  I have more room to do yoga.  I changed the feeling in the room by hanging a painting.  I bought frames and hung meaningful documents.  AND I finally got to the bottom of the laundry hamper (where the one-off’s and hand-washing-required hang out).  AND, since spring suddenly seem to start last week in Nova Scotia, I filled a bucket and scrubbed every inch of my balcony that I could reach and then I sat outside.   

References and related links:

• MCM: Mid-Century Modern.
• the cat bed (post #142)