In a worrisome, troubled world, people took comfort when President Hinckley said, in his fatherly, assuring way, "It isn't as bad as you sometimes think it is. It all works out."

Saturday, August 29, 2009

Keeping In Touch

I had a great chat with my brother, Randy last night.
Randy and his family live in Hawaii so we don't get to visit in person.
I am so glad that we can "bump" into each other on line every few weeks and have a chat.
It makes me miss him and feel closer to him at the same time.
Randy, I loved looking at the pictures on your blog.
Hope you find time to read mine and leave a comment or two.
That goes for everyone else also.
Let me know what you think of my rambling.

Friday, August 14, 2009

Clutter, Clutter Everywhere

Clutter clutter everywhere and not an end do I see.
Shhhhh.
Don't tell anyone.
I'm decluttering my house and therefore my life.
As hard as it is to believe, I save "stuff".
There I said it, I'm a PackRat.
Hello, My name is Sherrie and I am a "collector".

Now don't get me wrong I haven't stepped over the edge into "hoarder" but I'm close. I do NOT need an intervention though.
They say the first step is admitting you have a problem.
Well I admit it and I'm in the process of doing something about it.
The problem is compounded by the fact that I married another of the PackRat species, but he will never admit it.
What do you get when two of a kind marry and have lived in the same house for 30 years? You get an unimaginable amount of "things".
I also love gadgets that I usually use once and then just pack away.
Plus the fact that I am a sentimental sap who saves anything that has even the least amount of tug on my heartstrings.
Oh and I have more craft supplies than an army for crafters could possibly use in three lifetimes, but that is a story for another post.

Well, you probably get the picture. We are working on it though.
Yes, I have managed to convince my fellow PackRat that if we don't want to become the lead story on the six o'clock news, "Couple found beneath mountain of clutter", that he has to own some responsibility for the situation and thus must help with the solution.

So, to make a long story even longer,
see I'm even excessive in my writing.
Maybe there is no hope for me.

Anywaaaay,
We are on a quest to reclaim our home that I so lovingly wrote of in my previous post.

Here is the big plan.
Ever so slowly we will sort and purge.
This takes a tremendous amount of self control
of which I have very little.
Now before you say,
"Yeah right, I've heard her claims of cleaning out before."
let me tell you that it is not just a plan of action,
but that it has begun.
And I don't mean just the usual shifting of boxes from
one room to the other.
We have made actual "progress".

Our bedroom and the closet have been "decluttered" and three bags of clothes were taken to Good Will or the dump depending of the decade of said clothes.

The living room closet, formerly know as the game closet, is now a coat closet.

The next adventure was the laundry room, which is actually a closet, but in which you had to move things off the washer in order to do a load of laundry.
I am proud to announce that that is no longer necessary.

Our most recent project was the kitchen, which is still a work in progress.
It is looking much better though if I do say so myself.

All of this has included numerous trips to the dump with garbage bags full of what I now see as useless clutter.

Oh, I almost forgot.
Bryan, under much protest, cleaned out his rolltop desk.
He even threw away ancient receipts etc.
I am so proud of him.

Next on the agenda is the computer room/office/guest room.
Then it is on to the craft room/guest room.
hhhmmm Our house is so small that every room has a dual purpose.
Multitasking to the extreme!

The big finale will be "THE DUNGEON".
This is actually our garage which was many years ago converted to a game room and in which, under a monstrous amount of who knows what,is actually a pool table.
We will probably have to demolish that to get it out of the house.
I kind of like the thought of taking a sledge hammer to something.
When this herculean task is finished it will become a playroom for grandchildren/guest room.
See, dual purpose again.

So, I am very proud of our progress so far
(She said, trying not to break her arm while patting herself on the back.)

My goal is to have the mission accomplished by the holidays.
Wish me luck.

Saturday, August 1, 2009

Home

Thursday, in an effort to be a more positive person, I decided to choose one thing each day that I'm thankful for and focus on appreciating that.
Since so many people are losing their houses, I decided I would focus on my Home. Notice that I said my "HOME" not my house.
A "house" is just somewhere to live.
A "HOME" is where you spend your "life".
My home is tiny, old, and in need of much repair. When we moved here 30 years ago it was only going to be temporary until we could build a bigger house. Well life got in the way as it usually does. Now I wouldn't trade my home for anything bigger, fancier or in a "better" neighborhood. This is where I belong. This is "HOME". We have raised our family here. There have good times and difficult times; happy times and sad times. There have been slumber parties, birthday parties, cook-outs, Thanksgiving feasts and Christmas mornings. I marked my children's growth on the kitchen wallpaper (which was saved when the awful 70s paper came down). There has been play dough smushed into the carpet, crayon masterpieces on the wall and later the occasional hole punched through the wall. There have been teenagers playing pool and loud music. There was the Mulberry tree in the back yard for climbing and a tire swing. The backyard was the place for football, volleyball, badminton, and bike ramps. The basketball hoop still hangs on the front of the garage. We have drawn on the driveway with sidewalk chalk and played in the sprinkler. We have built the occasional snowman and with stood hurricanes. We have rescued baby animal of all types. We have had dogs, cats, bird, hamsters, gerbils, guinea pigs, turtles, frogs lizards, geckos and rabbits as our many pets. From our home we have sent our children off to college, on missions and then off to make homes of their own when they got married. Our babies and now grand babies have been rocked to sleep, fed, and loved here. They have brought total chaos and much happiness. My home is much like the stuffed rabbit in the story "The Velveteen Rabbit". It is quite simply loved. What more can I say "This Is HOME"