We've moved at least eight times since we've been married (eight years), and three of those moves have involved U-hauls driving across country. Yes, we're crazy. We actually almost lost everything we owned, including our one and only car, when we were moving in a horrific rain storm through the bridges of New Orleans, Louisiana. I was praying that we (and all of our stuff) wouldn't be eaten by the alligators that were no doubtedly living under those bridges as we drove through Mardi Gras at a speed that I would say was "too fast!"--oh, and did I mention we both had the stomach flu?
ANYWAY...
Perhaps we just figured we'd get our crazy moving adventures mostly accomplished before we had kids. Now that we have Howie, Ella, and another little love on the way, I look back and think we were pretty smart. Or, rather, God's plan for us was pretty smart. I really shouldn't take the credit on this one. Even the alligators were part of His gracious plan for us.
I say all this to say, each time we had to pack up that U-haul and move, we got rid of excess "stuff". There just was no room, and neither of us wanted to drag junk that we didn't need into a U-haul and move it across the country only to unpack it--and try to make room for it in our new place--when we didn't have room for it in our current place. Not to mention that we didn't have any use for it.
And, here we are again, New Year's cleaning time. Though we aren't necessarily moving across country, we still have excess. As we've been deep cleaning and purging and organizing, I have to wonder how in the world we lived with all this junk for so long. I know how...we lived with anxiety.
There's a unsettling feeling when you know things are cluttered, is there not? Well, it just so happened that I had/have some clutter to get rid of (creative people are just so good at making excuses for keeping this clutter around!). I'm so thankful for all those big moves early on in our marriage that helped us get rid of the really useless stuff, but even still, it's amazing how much excess can accumulate after you've settled in a house for even just a few years.
And, so, with a new babe on the way, we've decided--it's time to officially finish our house.
Like for real. Deep clean. Purge. Organize. Paint the last three rooms, and wah-lah! But not only wah-lah--but we've developed a wonderful new skill set to help us keep the excess from creeping back. It doesn't mean we'll be perfect at it, it just means that we'll take a few steps to improve. So far, this has been our best way to see success. Over the last few years, we've made strides to delete GMO's and artificial ingredients from our food, exercise more, garden more, compost more, create more, give more...spend less. It, in turn, keeps us more free from distraction and more aware to enjoy life. We're not always great at it, we definitely have slumps, but it has overall changed our entire way of life.
And, thankfully, this year, as we've approached our deep clean, it hasn't been nearly as overwhelming but instead has been much more satisfactory. It's refreshing to look back and see our progress and yet still make room for a few new changes so we can finish this chapter and start a new one.
And, in addition, it gives me clarity and time to work on things that matter to me--like my writing--without having that nagging feeling overwhelming me about how I need to clean out my clothes closet or organize our fifty boxes of crap in the attic. Can I get an amen?
With that, I wanted to let you know I've made some progress with that writing (with special help from Ella's toys). Thanks so much to all of those who have been praying and have sent me some super sweet emails. You ROCK! I've started the big push....ya'll are like a spiritual epidural. Thank you for that!
Happy Monday!
Another great blog entry. I am so pumped about you writing. Can't wait to hear about it.
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