My house has a lot of windows, so spring cleaning starts with getting the dog nose prints off all of them! I try to get all the light I can. I moved all my plants around after pruning and feeding and repotting a few, as well as tossing a few that needed to go. So many dust bunnies hiding, and so much pollen dust from outdoors hiding everywhere.
This is a little thing, but it made me happy. I hardly wear jewelry or belts anymore, and I have too many shoes. I started sorting shoes and making a pile to donate or toss, and then organized my remaining belts and am wearing one now just for fun. Then I tackled my jewelry box, which is hundreds of little parts of my life in a box. I am still figuring out what to do with all I haven’t sorted from when my mom passed. I made piles of costume stuff to donate or keep, real silver or gold in a pile for the kids to do whatever with, a few family heirlooms to note and hand off, and last, the stuff I might ever wear again to keep for now. I enjoyed the memories a lot of those pieces brought. I remember all of them, high school, college, gifts, so much sparkle over the years. I don’t really wear my jewelry anymore. But today, I ended up up wearing a pile of necklaces until the right one stepped up. Some of them I wonder what I was thinking, or what dress I must have thrown out years ago that went with those pieces. Time to shed some stuff. Especially the necklaces that tangle my hair!
I have also tackled the spice cabinet. I bought a fancy rack for on the counter and try to keep the rest in the cabinet and tossed before they are decades expired. We also did a little cooking area upgrade, reorganizing so those fancy squeeze bottles of olive oil sit at the ready in a little wooden tray with salt and pepper grinders. It looks very inviting to cook now.
I keep rearranging where we keep our morning coffee stuff, and just pulled everything off the kitchen counters and reorganized by function. My H has taking to baking sourdough, and pizza, which needed its own nook amid all the stuff we choose to keep out.
I haven’t tried yet, but I watch a lot of foodie videos of home salad bars, some incorporated into the fridge, and some actual restaurant types. I am mesmerized and would love to do that, but it works better for more than two. But all the clear containers and super easy access and focus on healthy stuff. Maybe when the garden gets going.
The project I won’t tackle that needs it most is all the memory stuff, years of photo albums, kids school stuff, family photos, journals - so many boxes I moved from our old life and don’t know what to do to not leave a mess behind in this one. Memory stuff is triggery to purge. Maybe next Spring…
BW: 65 WH: 65 Both 57 on Dday, M 38 years, 2 grown kids. WH had 9 year A with MOW, 7 month false R, multiple DDays from 2017 - 2022, with five years of trickle truth and lies. I got rid of her with one email. Reconciling, or trying to.
