One thing...

It's been a mighty lonnnnnng time!  Of all the things I could say about what has been going on in  the past "forever" since I've blogged...I'm going to start at the beginning.  Sometimes beginnings double as endings.

 

One.  Today being June 1st, I've joined a little game instigated by The Minimalists called the 30-day Minimalism Game.  The first day you get rid of one thing, the second day two things, and so on until 30 things go on June 30th.  That will be a total of 465 things.  And yes, I used a calculator to tediously figure that out.

This large white one is a 2 foot tall, 3D 1st birthday prop I made for my kiddos.  They're all past one now!  So, I've symbolically made it my first discard for my "one thing on June 1st" and have posted it for free on the Kansas City freecycle.org.  Tomorrow, I find two things to discard...

In addition to this game, I've been reading Joshua Becker's "The More of Less" and following an online course geared at decluttering your home one room at a time, and most importantly, finding your "WHY" for doing it.

I've been taking loads to the thrift store lately and NOT going inside to shop.  I've been imagining that I'm buying a vintage Airstream (an idea I fantasize about often) and I have to take only what's necessary.

This beginning is an end to having more than I need and being buried alive under things that even if they hold a memory of a special time or person, are weighing down my life.  I've been asking myself hard questions and trying to decide...

Why do I have all this stuff?  What art forms do I love and what materials should I keep or get rid of?  What would it take to have more time with my kids as opposed to standing over the sink doing dishes?  How would we move should we need to?  What do I really want........?

 How do I get here?

Big, deep stuff, you know?!

A short term "WHY" is...I'm decluttering to make room for art making.  I'm clearing surfaces to work on, getting rid of materials I've kept for "just in case" or "maybe I could..." projects.  Most of the stuff is simply recycling!  Paper tubes, tin cans, cardboard...do I really want to work with trash?  Not THAT kind.

I know what I like, I've liked it forever and I keep going back to it.  It calls me from the sidewalk to "pick it up and cherish it".  It catches my eye.  It's here to stay...and sure it's a pretty color, but mostly I love it because it reminds me of how this world and the stuff in it is temporary and will disintegrate....will rust away...