Cleaning & Dreaming More

Important update for me!

I am proud to say that after a couple of rough day's away from the project, along with a few important interruptions this morning...

I am now fully into the last stages of making a bigger mess, and enjoying the beginning stages of hauling away, shelving keeper stuff, and breaking down all those empty boxes I've stored forever. Those silly hording seeds anyway!

The big test now?

Will Honey be able to take the donation pile without going through it first?

I have faith in him...

I just want to add, that as I get closer to getting the basement cleaned out, my mind seems to be settling down too.

Funny how that works :)

Monday August 8, 2011

So the thing about having an unfinished basement is, for me, that it ends up being a catch all. Or should I say a stack all?

I am a stacker who is trying to diminish said stacks into submission. I have come to the brilliant conclusion that a clean house may be some of the key to clearing out more than just our living space, but also to clear out some of the stacks I have accumulated in my own mind.

A very troubling thing is that, in order to clean out clutter, diminish stacks, and reclaim your space and serenity, it seems you need to make a bigger mess...

In order to reclaim living space in the basement I have enlisted the help of Busy Momma. Together we pulled everything out, started separating it out into five stacks. She is my voice of reason in this process, I hold up a long lost treasure while telling it's story, she listens then says the important things that I need to hear said;
That is a really nice memory, but how long has it been in there?
So, you have lived without it for how long?
Is it something you can take a picture of to keep the memory?
What pile does that thing need to go into?

Did I mention that we have five? Yes. Five.
#1 keeper.
#2 Donation.
#3 garbage.
# 4 (This is the embarrassing one!) Empty boxes to be broken down and recycled. I confess to having boxes with empty boxes in them, in case I needed to wrap a gift or mail something. 'Is it the seed's of hording?!'
# 5 Stuff other people have been storing here that will be going back home to them a.s.a.p.

Once everything has been sorted into pile's # 1 and #2, each will be sorted out into three piles.

It is a lot of work, but I am confident that once finished, it will be a livable, workable, comfortable place to spend time.
Right now it's hard to see it...But I know it is there.

My brain is a lot like my basement.

The same sort of things build up in there, some of it mine, some of it other peoples things, some useful, some out dated, and some just plain junk. A lot of it tends to run around like a hamster on a wheel at night when I should be sleeping.

Cleaning out my brain is not something I can really have someone come in to do for me. It's a completely personal inside job. It is coming along as well as the basement project.

Over the years I have found some interesting things that are helping me to sort things out in my life, so that I can dream the dream's that I need to be dreaming...

It really does feel good to clean and unclutter our living spaces.