Decluttering and Weight Loss

Reader Patricia requested a post on de-cluttering and weight loss. Others have written on this topic from the perspective of de-cluttering their homes and as the junk came out of their house, the “junk in their trunk” melted almost effortlessly away.

This makes sense to me. Once you start down the path of asking, “What is enough?” in one area of your life, it begins to infiltrate others.

But since it’s been years since I had to do a big de-clutter, that has not been my story. My problem has been a combination of too much to do and a tendency toward perfectionism. This combination keeps me pushing myself to do “one more thing” before I collapse in exhaustion at the end of the day. And I have tried to “fuel” that push with caffeine, sugar or alcohol. That is where my enough point gets out of whack.

If I give up the endless To-Do list, if I pull back from my perfectionism to “good enough” levels and allow my body the rest it needs, my weight settles into a healthy place.

How about you all? What are the enough spots that create healthy weight for you?

Power Outage

Yesterday, the power went out for an hour or so. And due to my simple living practices, it barely affected me. Within 30 minutes of the outage, one of my neighbors was at my step to discuss what we were “going to do.”

Hmmm. Not much different, really. It was hot, but if the inside air got hotter than the outside air, I would just open the windows. Despite the fact that I had been grocery shopping earlier in the day, there was nothing in my fridge that would spoil before I could use it. Even the cream could be made into a nice soup.

I could still fix supper on my gas stove, as long as I used matches to ignite the burners. And while it did delay this post to you all, I had plenty to do while the power was out. I scrubbed the kitchen floor.

2014 Count of Personal Items

It is that time of year again my friends. Here is the count: 93 personal items.

Miscellaneous items: #20

Miscellaneous stuff

If you peer with your magnifier at this photo, you will see from back to front, left to right: Laundry basket, shredder, suitcase, backpack (behind coffee pot), towel with hair dryer laying on top, briefcase, coffee pot, to-go mug, iron, laptop, three pair glasses (bi-focal sunglasses, distance glasses and readers) and two glasses cases, watch. Missing from the photo are the car, ironing board (it is the same one for the past 5 years) and cell phone (as it is taking this photo.)

Bed includes 2 pillows, sheets and comforter

Clothing: #60

there are four sets, here are three of them

winter coat and rain coat

three work outfits

one work outfit, one days-off outfit

another days-off outfit. You have seen this one before

two days-off outfits

fourth days-off outfit

Black dress (and sweater for winter)–counts as one outfit

winter fleece and long-sleeved T-shirt and vest (3 items)

Footwear

paint clothes, sweatshirt, swimsuit

2 pair gloves, ear warmer headband, 2 pair earrings, bracelet, basket with 6 pair socks, 4 bras, 6 panties, pantyhose

Personal Care: #13

basket, conditioner, soap, floss/toothbrush/toothpaste, nail clippers, grooming scissors, mascara, bottle of oil, foundation retainer, razor. Not pictured: lip balm

2015 Meet-up?

Are there readers out there that would be interested in a meet-up in Springfield, Illinois in 2015?

The main attraction here (other than Fawn, of course) is Abraham Lincoln. First is the world-class presidential museum, and you can tour the only house Abe and Mary ever owned and where the four boys were born. Also, in Springfield, is the Lincoln-Herndon law office and the Old State Capitol, where he was a member of the legislature. A forty minute drive is New Salem, where he lived as a young single man that is kept up as a village of the time he lived there.

Other attractions include a beautiful Frank Lloyd Wright home http://www.dana-thomas.org/ and vast designed garden on Springfield lake http://www.lincolnmemorialgarden.org/.

What do you say?

“Soccer Mom” to the Band

Youngest son’s new band formed about 6 months ago.

I “heart” the Panzys

I was pleased for him as he does better with the focus and teamwork that a band requires. But there were a few bumps in the beginning.

For one, when they are on the microphone and the amps are on, the neighbors get a (loud) ring-side seat to the practice.

For two, we are talking about 15-16 year old boys here, and sometimes the words that come out of their mouths do not need to be amplified. Plus, they were leaving their trash scattered about.

So we had a meeting…OK, I went down the basement steps and laid down some ground rules, including that if any neighbor called to complain about their words or sound levels, that practice at this address would cease. And that they would put their trash in the trash can, or in the sink for me to wash and be recycled.

A couple of weeks after that, I was told I was like a “soccer mom” to the band. It may have been said ironically at first. But all the boys are respectful of me and our shared space. I give them and the equipment rides to the performance venue and I pull the equipment out of the flood that occurs in my basement after a hard rain.

I have gotten to know the band members a bit, and have learned that most of them have been let down by the adults in their life and that I am a bit of an anomaly to them. One of them has started calling me “Mom.”

This is the payoff for knowing what enough is, for living the simple life, for pursuing my dreams and encouraging others to do the same. I am rich beyond measure.