The Sandcastle

If you sit back and look at the mess your home has become it can be overwhelming. You feel like there’s way too much to do. So, you decide to have another cup of coffee instead.

I suggest you simply do one thing a day to get rid of all that stuff.

Day 1: Create a donation station. Ours is a box in the coat closet. That’s where we put anything that has at least has a little value to it that we want to leave our home.

Day 2: Open your kitchen utensil drawer and gather any duplicate items plus any one use items you don’t really use. Put them in the box.

Day 3: Open your closet and remove anything that still has the tags on it. Put them in the box.

Day 4: Go back to your closet and remove anything that’s stained or torn. Put them in the rag bag or trash. No one else wants to wear them either.

Day 5. Go to your entertainment center and find any games no one ever plays and put them in the box.

Day 6: Go to your desk and throw away any pens that don’t work then decide how many of those left you actually use and put the rest in the box.

Repeat with dresser drawers, kitchen cabinets, book cases, etc.

Be sure the contents of the donation box actually get donated every now and then.

Decluttering does not have to happen quickly. Any progress is good. The load gets lighter every day until one day you realize what an amazing thing you have done.

TTYL,

Linda

That’s what many people say minimalism is about.

You must only buy quality things so they last.

But we are old. How long must things last?

When we needed to buy new furniture in 2012 we bought it all from IKEA.

Our daughter does not want to inherit our furniture even if it was, once again, the good stuff.

So why spend money on it that would be better saved to support our quality of life instead of quality of stuff?

TTYL,

Linda

A blogger I read daily listed her 10 essentials the other day and I found myself wondering what mine are.

1. What I wear: A. a long-sleeve, v-neck t-shirt usually with a hoodie. B. Crocs with wool socks if I’m going out, slippers if I’m staying home. C. glasses; never wore contacts. D. hearing aids, but only when watching TV or actually needing to be able to hear people.

2. What I listen to: silence. To me, most sounds are just noise. Dave plays his music quietly so it doesn’t bug me.

3. What I drink: Diet Dr. Pepper (one a day) and black raspberry ICE sparking water.

4. What I eat: Meat/cheese and fruit. Yes, I eat other things but those are my go to foods.

5. What I write on: My laptop mostly. Some using Notes on my phone.

6. What entertains me: My tablet–reading ebooks and playing games. Right now I am thoroughly hooked on The Sims FreePlay.

7. What inspires me: Other people’s blogs.

8. What I’d grab in a fire: My chargers! I can do nothing without my electronics.

Hmmm. That’s only eight things. I guess I’m a minimalist even in my essentials.

TTYL,

Linda

Yesterday I heard myself asking Dave, “Can I…” and suddenly I heard my father’s voice.

My father was a man of precision.

According to him, “Can I…” was asking about ability.

And “May I…” was asking for permission.

So when I tried to use “Can I…” to ask permission, Dad would respond, “I don’t know; can you?”

TTYL,

Linda

If I say to Dave, “Will you put a new box of tissues in the kitchen, please?”

He will inevitably say, “What?”

So, I tried something new yesterday.

I pointed at the bathroom where we keep extra tissues and said, “Kleenex.”

Then I pointed to the kitchen and said, “Kitchen.”

And he promptly delivered a new box of tissues to the kitchen.

I wonder if I had added the word, “Please,” if that would have been too many words.

And he would have replied, “What?”

TTYL,

Linda