The move is
complete and we are all moved in. I begin work at a new facility Monday. This
prison facility is far larger than the one I left behind. Where I was, the
inmate population was approximately 1,530 inmates. Where I will be working the
inmate censes is approximately 5,065. Yes indeed, a 33.1% increase.
This new adventure
in our lives has not been without its challenges, disappointments, and
frustrations. It is merely another sampling of life in its totality. We have
run the gamut of mourning the loss of our home, to wondering “what were we thinking?”
to looking at each other and resolving, “we can do this… we’re going to be
alright.” Living in an apartment complex is a melding of people into community. Yes, I can do this.
Poring over 17 years of
accumulations and determining what we will keep and what can go has been
difficult at times and at the very least, thought provoking. I believe we have saved family members the
grief of having to sort through items “in the event of”. Mind you, we still
have plenty, just not the mass quantities we previously had.
I’ve commented a number of
times that someone from a third world nation could live off my discards and I
am not kidding!
Once the movers unloaded
all our possessions from the house (1,400 square feet) into the apartment (700
square feet) it was immediately obvious we STILL had too many items.
The other evening I went
through our DVD collection with the intent of purging. I did the initial sort
with the discard pile and the keep pile. I got up, fixed myself a glass of ice
water (it has been extremely hot here in the SW, even for the SW) then set back
down and went through the keep pile a second time. I am finding this method of
culling the herd works best for me. We have a wonderful used book / DVD / CD
music store called Bookman’s close by. We will be taking the excess DVD’s and
books there for exchange credit. Recycling at its finest!
I brought twelve purses
with me and did not have the storage area for them. Again, I purged, then I purged
yet a second time. That left me with four purses. We found female neighbors
willing to take them off our hands. Twelve purses – REALLY? What was I
thinking? Did I suppose I needed one for each month of the year?
We eliminated all of our
Christmas decorations (containers and containers of them). I did keep my tree
topper, but even as I look around the apartment I cannot fathom where anything
other than a 2-foot tree might go. I’ll consider this further during the holiday
season as it really isn’t pertinent now. (Really, I’m thinking a Norfolk pine…)
I have learned something
about myself. Something others have subtly pointed out or laughed about before – I become paralyzed with clutter! There was a Captain at work who would occasionally set something in the filing room, then approach me and say, "Is this going to be OK?
You’re not going to ‘vapor lock’ or anything, are you?” I would always assure
him it was alright, but honestly, when I entered the room, I could feel myself
tense up and hurry to finish my task and leave the area!
I must also say that I am not
that person who will rent a storage facility to store items I am not using!
REALLY? If not using them then sell, donate or give them away!
Joshua Becker has a
wonderful blog – becoming
minimalist (you can visit by clicking on the link). His eBook was
a helpful inspiration in determining what to keep and what to eliminate. It is
a weekend read chock full of helpful hints in how to eliminate the clutter of
our lives.
My next adventure in
culling will be my closet. I say my closet because there is no room for
Husband’s clothing items in there! His are in bedroom #2’s closet, taking up
all of probably 18 inches of space. With this being said, I already eliminated
the three bags of “maybe someday I will fit into this again” clothing. If I
ever do lose the weight, I want new clothes. So, from this day forward, I
promise to not bring something new into my closet unless I remove something
from it. A one for one trade is my goal, my plan.
As much as it hurts to say
this, I also want to eliminate shoes. I have perhaps three pair that are my “go
to” shoes. Why are the others taking up valuable space? It is my mother, isn’t
it? She is the one who gave me such a love of shoes! Generally speaking, my
philosophy towards clothing, purses, shoes and accessories was a girl can’t
have too many!
My decorating is much
simpler. I will not have as much on the
walls. It consists of one picture, one clock, one plaque, and my collection of
crosses. All items will be looked at for having a dual purpose – can it be used
for storage? Is it multi-functional? Under bed storage is my new reality for
blankets and bed linens. We purchased a hassock that doubles as a storage unit
for board games, DVD’s and art supplies.
We have a lovely dresser
with a mirror that will NOT fit into either bedroom. We hate to break up the
set, but we will be posting it on Craig’s List for sale. Right now, the TV is
sitting on it and the mirror is in the small storage area where the water
heater is located.
We are next going to sort
through our many photographs and sort out selections for our children. We will
accumulate a box for him and a box for her. Then we will send them out to them,
with exception… The exception to this rule is our son. We did rent a storage
unit for his possessions and we will put his pictures in there for safe
keeping.
Purely, simply, I want to
own my possessions and not the other way around. I want them to be functional
and useful, not sitting and accumulating dust. I don’t want someone going
through my items “in the event of” and wondering, “What was she thinking?”
I watched with wonder at
the persons who came to “shop” our moving sale. I wondered about how their
homes looked. There were a few whom I felt surely must be hoarders. Through the
years I’ve seen them at every yard sale I’ve ever attended.
Our advertised sale was to
begin at 7 am and people began to arrive before 6 am. We opened early as we
didn’t want to not sell an item and have to move it with us! All in all, it was
a most successful moving sale.
Even with yard &
moving sales, organization is important. Having similar items grouped together
as well as a semblance of organization helps persons to find an area of
interest and comb over it.
Some items hadn’t even
been priced as we opened the doors, so when an inquiry was made, we would say, “What
seems fair and reasonable to you?” and we were off on negotiating a fair price.
We visited a church this
morning that is relatively close to our home. It is a United Methodist and we
selected the contemporary service. We enjoyed the worship and the senior pastor
seems to have a sincere passion for his vocation. He challenged the congregation
by stating several times that God has given us all a call in our lives, what is
that call? Indeed, what is my call?
I do know what I am
passionate about and it does seem to be issues that deal with justice and its application
within the community.
In doing my devotional the
other day, the saint that is being spot lighted is Alice Paul (on July 9th).
They had a brief bio on Ms Paul and stated that if she had taken a spiritual
gifts test, she probably would have been a “prophet”. They had a link for a
spiritual gifts test, so I took it. It turns out that I too, tested out as a
prophet! Who knew?
We will see where the Lord
leads us to worship next week. We are in no hurry to make a decision just yet.
With all this being said
(read written…) the Lord has been faithful to hold my feet to the task of
simplifying and minimizing my life!
Simply yours,
Tamara
Proverbs 13:7
The Message (MSG)
7 A pretentious, showy life is an empty life;
a plain and simple life is a full life.
