November 16, 2013 by clumpaday

Short/Long-Term Solutions

Clump #89: Place some online gift orders; clear garage doorsteps.

I really hope I can learn the lessons of this 30-day, 30-clump, 30-post challenge: Project Enjoy Christmas. Ordering Christmas gifts in November is much easier than in December. The likelihood that an item will be in stock is so much higher. And if there’s a glitch that adds a little more time, no problem. Wow.

Of course, Christmas is not the only holiday to be mindful of in November. Thanksgiving is coming! I love Thanksgiving. Every year the holiday gets pushed farther and farther out of the public sphere by earlier and earlier ads and decorations for Christmas … where the big money is. The introspective holiday for gathering and giving thanks gets short shrift.

In the spirit of welcoming guests, I took a hard look at the doorway to our house from the garage (sorry for the fuzziness of the photo; hands shaking with sudden awareness):

My long-deceased sister once gave me sage advice about moving into a new house: “Be careful of short-term solutions … they so easily become long-term solutions.” How many times do I need to live that lesson before it sticks?

New home for boots on a tray I’ve been meaning to make into the “boot home” for ages:

Old, old kids’ video games on left (aww, The Jolly Post Office — loved that), to Goodwill; pile on the right, recycle.

This is the container where they were stored in the garage. Looks like it was trying to set down roots. Almost!

The whole garage could use a cleaning, but that’s a clump for another day. Just getting the entrance swept and the door mats shaken out was a big improvement. Aiming for better, not perfect.

My husband helped with the sorting. I told him that in Feng Shui the entrance to the house is very important. He replied, “We were all Fenged-Up.”

Three things I’m thankful for: my husband’s help and sense of humor, light rain on red berries,

and color in trees, even though devoid of leaves:

November 15, 2013 by clumpaday

Life Cycle

Clump #88: Get a move on Christmas shopping; recycle printer cartridges.

Day 15 of my 30-day, 30-clump, 30-post challenge: Project Enjoy Christmas. Halfway through! Today I had to remind myself of the feeling I get when I know I only have a couple of weeks left in December before the 25th. Crunch time. I’m artificially inducing the adrenaline that kicks in at holiday time. It worked. Shop, shop, shop.

I also got rid of a few things. It’s been a while since I’ve recycled our spent printer ink cartridges:

To the lobby of Best Buy they go. Not to be too paranoid, but I could imagine someone checking the video from the store, “Yeah, there’s that woman again, dropping off recycling. No, she didn’t go in the store to buy anything. Why does she always take a picture?” If I had the chance, I’d tell them that my husband is the one in our family who buys technical gadgets. I throw them away.

I saw this great poster in a lovely gift shop on my travels today. But I couldn’t help thinking that if I bought the poster and put it up, would it become like wallpaper … invisible after the novelty wore off?

One thing helping me “to be wholly alive with all [my] might” is looking at the world more closely through my camera.

As the glorious colors of October burn out …

and fade into November’s grays and taupes …

we don’t need writing on the wall. The whole natural world is reminding us: “Try to be alive. You’ll be dead soon enough.”

Today may you live like hell.

November 14, 2013November 15, 2013 by clumpaday

Just Say Go

Clump #87: Empty metal filing box … again.

The box, below, was cleared out in a previous clump, but I recently filled it again in a quick-pick-up-and-stash when company was coming. Nature, and this metal mesh box, abhor/s a vacuum.

Comically ironic: two of the items in the pile were a magazine and a newspaper article on transforming clutter in one month! The magazine article, though very seductive, was disappointing. It offered a piece of advice for each of 30 days. Day 17 was De-Junk Drawers; Day 19: Paper Purge. As if! This was obviously written by an uber-organized person who has no idea what it’s like to struggle with massive clutter build-up.

The newspaper article, written by Lona O’Connor for The Philadelphia Inquirer, was much more useful. For instance, she wrote, “The on-off switch. Another component of those piles are matters you won’t make a decision about and therefore don’t handle. (‘Well, I might go to that convention, so I’ll just hang on to these registration forms for a while.’) Stop. Think. Then either register for the convention or throw the darn paperwork out. Most decision-making is as simple as an on-off switch — yes or no, stay or go — simple alternatives. What makes it hard is you, adding all those irrelevant ‘maybes’ and ‘what-ifs.’ Make this your mantra: ‘On-off, yes-no, stay or go.’ At least half your decisions will suddenly become simple to make. Paperwork follows decision-making.”

I said “Go” to most of the things in the box. I also took the “yes or no” advice and signed up (right away!) for a class I had wanted to take last year at Longwood Gardens. I had been too slow, not due to “maybes and what-ifs,” just garden variety procrastination. The class, Fearless Watercolor, had been sold-out before I’d gotten to it. But not this time.

After:

Longwood Gardens has an indoor plant conservatory which will be beautiful in February. Maybe by then I will be celebrating better decision making without so much paperwork dogging me. Here are two pictures from the iphone photography class I took at Longwood this fall:

When I was taking this photo, a woman nearby told me the flower was poisonous. Seductive yet poisonous, like articles on how to get rid of clutter that become clutter.

November 13, 2013 by clumpaday

Horse Sense

Uncategorized
Christmas Preparations, Fall, Horses, Life, Photos
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Clump #86: Wrap more presents; make dining room reservations; reconnect with gift list.

Today I reminded myself how easy it is to get a few, or even a big clump of tasks done early for the holidays … and then fall into a false sense of security. And then … AHH! The days have dwindled down. Emails, catalogs, and flyers are blaring the words “There’s Still Time To Order,” but what you had in mind will be more expensive with extra shipping charges, or is no longer in stock and back-ordered into the new year. I might have to have this little talk with myself a few more times before the end of my 30-day, 30-clump, 30-post: Project Enjoy Christmas challenge is over.

I did get a few more gifts wrapped and written on The List, which was a good memory jog for other things I still need to do/buy. Remember, remember!

One item on my to-do list that felt checked off was reserving space in a private dining room where my mom lives for Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners. I had called the woman — twice — who helped me out last year, but no answer. Was she afraid to tell me someone else had beat us to it? Yikes! So today while visiting, I made a point of asking in person. Turns out the woman I spoke with last year is no longer working there. Finally, the job is done and a big weight is off my mind.

Visiting with my mom is such a delightful experience. She is compromised in ways common to people her age, but she has the greatest attitude. Her favorite thing to say, about anything, is “Wonderful, wonderful!” I really hope I’ll be able to face old age with even half her grace and good cheer.

As usual, when driving through Lancaster County, I got onto a photo-taking binge. Regular readers will recognize this goose in the town of Strasburg, PA, who has different outfits for every season. She, let’s call her Lucy Goosey, had broken out her woolens. Highly appropriate for the cold weather we’ve been experiencing.

No matter the weather, Amish farm wives hang out their laundry to dry:

I was taken by a lawn blanketed with fallen ginkgo leaves and a plastic snowman (upper left corner) holding forth. To capture the photo, I had to pull into a street quite a distance away. I was pleasantly surprised by a woman who stopped her car and asked whether I needed a ride. “What wonderful people out here in the country,” I thought. My rosy-eyed view of the locals quickly changed when a man (non-Amish) came out of the house next door to this one, shouting, “What’s going on?!” with a threatening tone. I shouted back, “I was just taking a picture.” He didn’t look satisfied, so I added, “The leaves are so pretty,” to which he turned and retreated. I thought, as I high-tailed it out of there, we say “taking,” not “making” a picture for a reason. An element of trespass is part of the act.

My mom has a deep, longstanding love of horses. When I got closer to home I couldn’t help snapping these photos with her in mind:

As I was walking away, I saw this leaf on the sidewalk making a horse-shaped shadow.

Wonderful, wonderful!

November 12, 2013November 12, 2013 by clumpaday

Cata-tonic

Clump #85: Go through, sort out, and recycle catalogs.

The catalogs are coming — the catalogs are coming! My 30-day, 30-clump, 30-post challenge: Project Enjoy Christmas continues with one of the most vexing problems of the season. Just when my mind gets overloaded with extra holiday planning, the volume of mail explodes with catalogs. Vendors I never hear from the rest of the year know I’m a soft touch for their products in November and December. But at a certain point I become overwhelmed and let them pile up. Here’s the current collection, de-clumped from the study where I had guiltily stashed them:

The job: sort through; recycle ones I will not be ordering from; order — now — the gift items I’ve identified. Trouble comes when I see a good idea, and even with a turned-down page corner, I put the catalog aside and it falls into the void of piled up paper.

Plus, I get distracted. I have a tendency to look through catalogs and realize I’m wondering about the models rather than the products the company is advertising. “They’re really featuring her more than the others,” I think. “Are the other models jealous?” This season’s Lands’ End catalog featured a few models with relationship stories. Maybe I’m not the only one who wants to know the scoop about these beautiful people. A mother and daughter pairing was on the cover, in the photo above.

Also, this caption accompanied the photo below: “Colin is used to having his sisters, Anna & Adrienne, put him through the ropes. But he never expected his wife, Ashley, to take their side.” I’ll never get through the pile at this rate, Lands’ End!

And then there’s my annual letter from my friend, Robert Redford, on behalf of Sundance. When I was in my teens, I was driving with my sister one day and we saw Robert Redford driving the other way. Really. It was over in a flash: “Was that–?!” “Yes!!”

So, naturally, I feel a kinship to him as I read his poetic (cryptic?) holiday letter:

I think he’s telling me to go outside and experience the wonders of nature, but the letter is prefacing a whole lot of beautiful stuff I can buy to clutter up my home.

I did go outside and this is what the sunset looked like this evening. And the birds were singing. Thanks, Bob.

November 11, 2013 by clumpaday

Seasonal Journey

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Decluttering, Fall, Life, Photos, Spring, Trees
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Clump #84: Mail card; recycle paper from study.

The greeting card, below, was one I’ve had for quite a while. I bought it to send to two dear people we know from our Quaker Meeting who have been trying to sell their house and move. The drawn-out process has allowed us to slip into denial that they would really leave. But yesterday was officially their last Sunday at Meeting before taking off. The card is made by a company called quotable cards.

My sense of loss was echoed by a great weeping cherry tree that stands outside our meeting house:

The few leaves left seemed like teardrops.

From the study, where I had recently let clutter creep back in, I pulled out a big pile of papers. Exhibit “A” of “always some object in the way” from the greeting card quote.

Life’s journey seems easier in the Spring (the same tree earlier this year).

But even in my sad state of mind, I thrilled to the sensation of rustling through fall leaves. “Happiness is the way.”

November 10, 2013 by clumpaday

Sea Change

Clump #83: Change Summer bedspread; clear two bags from study.

I have trouble transitioning. I should have switched out our bedspread quite a while ago. This one is really not warm enough for the cool temperatures of late.

One reason I’ve been lagging is that the fabric design reminds me of the beach and, in particular, this photo taken Memorial Day Weekend at Higbee Beach, NJ:

Subconsciously, I want to go back. Another purple plant picture taken there:

Okay, enough of fantasy land. Time to fess up. I’ve had a relapse. Readers who have been following along know I had cleared out a very onerous clutter pile in our study. It was full of sad and sentimental things belonging to my parents, and/or related to my father’s death. If not for this blog and the support issuing from it, I would not have had the will to accomplish the job. After finishing, I would look into that room for inspiration to tackle other clumps, thinking, “Well, if I could do that …”

And then, the other day, I impulsively invited a good friend over so she could catch up on the latest episodes of the TV show, The Voice (we’re both addicted), which I had recorded. The trouble was, this friend is a self-avowed clean-aholic. So many things still in the sorting-out stage and physical to-do list box were scattered around our living areas. They had grown arms, legs, and tentacles. I madly pried them from many surfaces and shoveled them into the pristine study. Defiled again!

But I will not let this bank of flotsam and jetsam remain. It will ebb away … one … clump … a … day. Here was today’s clump: items taken out of cars and needing to be sorted into piles of keep (and replace), give away, or toss/shred/recycle. Done.

It’s funny how things happen serendipitously. Not long ago the bristle part of my brush became unglued and flew off onto the bathroom counter, smashing this glass container filled with found beach pebbles and shells. It had been there a long time collecting dust, and, honestly, I really didn’t notice it very much anymore; so I don’t feel the need to replace it.

I’m trying to follow the adage that you should only have things in your home that are useful or make you smile, or both. I won’t wait for them to be destroyed to make that determination.

November 9, 2013November 9, 2013 by clumpaday

Taking Control

Clump #82: Recycle old remote controls.

Recycling remote controls at Best Buy: easy. Getting rid of duvet from kids’ bunk beds: difficult. One step at a time.

My husband and I saw the movie About Time last night. I highly recommend it. Funny, touching, romantic, and profound. (“I laughed, I cried …”)

Near the end of the movie, the main character goes through two identical days, but with different results. I was reminded of a quote I had copied down from an Honest Tea bottle cap:

Bread and water can so easily be toast and tea. –Maele Moore

November 8, 2013 by clumpaday

Shade, Sun & Drinking Rainbows

Clump #81: Order window shades.

Okay, so once again, I have no shame. I can’t believe I’m posting this photo of the window in our kids’ bathroom for the world to see. I guess three kids taking showers next to it for so many years finally did in the shade’s glue. I didn’t have time to order a new blind this summer while preparing for a visit from our older daughter and a friend. Thus, my short-term solution.

Soon enough, guests leave, the window is out of sight, out of mind … until the holiday season wakes me up. It’s then I take a close look around the house and think, “I can’t believe we’re living like this!”

Today I used a groupon to order new blinds, for this room and two others. Soon not one more guest will have to suffer from (more likely laugh at) the sight of my contraption.

Outside the window yesterday it was raining as I took the photo, below. I hopped into our car and heard the Mamas & the Papas on the radio singing “All the leaves are brown, and the sky is grey …” from the song California Dreaming. Perfect timing.

And this morning the sun came out. I noticed the sun and the steam from my tea were making rainbows.

Now I can’t get the Carly Simon song You’re So Vain out of my head (channeling oldies), with the line, “I had some dreams, they were clouds in my coffee …” I’ll take rainbows in my tea any day.

November 8, 2013November 8, 2013 by clumpaday

Food for Thought

Clump #80: Wrap presents on hand.

My older sister and I have a long tradition of staying up until the wee hours of Christmas morning wrapping presents. Hear ye, Hear ye: Let it be known that this year I started wrapping Christmas presents on November seventh. Impossible, you say? Well, here’s the proof:

On many Christmas Eves of yore, my sister has bailed me out. One year I went a little haywire at garage sales, buying and stashing away so many bargains that I was shocked and overwhelmed at the volume when I finally put them all together. I couldn’t have done the wrapping without her.

Then there was the year our younger daughter was testing the magic of Santa Claus by hiding a little rolled up paper on which she had written difficult questions only Santa would know. I think “How do you say Merry Christmas in Chinese?” was one. That year my sister was in charge of research while I wrapped.

Last year we were both busy wrapping while the movie Auntie Mame played on TV, starring the incomparable Rosalind Russell.

I love Auntie Mame’s motto: “Life is a banquet and most poor suckers are starving to death!”

Sometimes when coming up with gift ideas, my mind is like a hamster running round and round on its wheel, never making any progress. In recent years I’ve often done this while thinking of gifts for our young nieces and nephews. The older they get, the harder it becomes to hit on a gift they might really like. Should I give similar gifts to both sisters? Will one like the other one’s gift better? Will their male cousin think it is too baby-ish?

I’m taking Auntie Mame’s advice on this now. If I have fun and enjoyment picking out and wrapping the gift, that’s the most I can expect. There are no guarantees, so why sweat it? Life is too short to get wound up about such, ultimately, trivial things.

Rather than meager worries, I choose a banquet of abundant joy.

Clump A Day

postcards from the clogosphere

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