Big Deep Breath

Its been a busy day.

Last night was the last 'hurrah' for Christmas in our house.  We host an after holiday Christmas party for a group of friends we see monthly during the year for gaming.  Whatever the first weekend in January is after the New Year ... that is the date of this party.  I'd love to dismantle Christmas before the New Year - but I hold off until this event is past.

As I put away Christmas for another year, I like to think of the weeks following as a 'purge' time.  The fact I purged greatly 17 months ago to move into this condo doesn't change the fact that stuff still travels in the front door all the time, and if, on balance, stuff doesn't travel out the front door - the clutter builds.  And it is building and building.

So here is the path I'll travel from one task to another:

• My hands are all over Christmas decos and because there are still things that never get displayed - they need to be thinned.  
• Then we move onto the single storage closet I have where Christmas is stored.  Christmas stuff is stored to the back, and I need to pull a lot of stuff out.  Once it is out of the closet - I decide if it goes back in.  That darn closet is next to impossible to step into now. 
• In 6 or 7 weeks a grandchild will grace our lives.  Room to be made - literally.  I have a guest room/yarn room with a closet.   That space is packed.  Some stuff hasn't been touched in 17 months.  My grand daughter will fit comfortably in my condo when I am done.  
• For months I have hated opening my two bathroom linen closets.  Again, again, again - if it hasn't been used in 17 months it needs to go out the door.
• Lastly the kitchen! My pantry is packed to the max.  Reorganize and consolidate.  Because it is such a mess - I find myself buying stuff I already have.  grrr ....  And those kitchen shelves,  generous space for sure ... and because nature abhors a vacuum I filled that space.  Not always a good thing.

See how one thing just leads to another?  I hope I can welcome the spring with a clean slate.  (I can hear the snickers now - 'first day of spring - in which year.')  To my nay sayers ... goals are good. So let's say I pick Spring 2018 to finish - yes, this year.

All these tasks are the perfect winter activity when you are not distracted by all the things that grab your attention outdoors.

When all this gets done - then I can take a breath.  A big deep breath, once again - until the future incoming stuff begins to chip away at my contentment and I am forced to walk this way again.