A few months ago I read a great book called "The Paris Letters." It's a true story of a girl who somehow saved enough money to quit her job and give herself 2 stress free years living in Paris. Naturally, I loved it because it's about travel and Paris and being artsy crafty creative. However, I do admit, I was skeptical. I don't think I could ever, ever do that, as much as I'd want to. (I see how I pack for 2 weeks in a foreign land, I can't imagine trying to do so for 2 years!)
Anyway, one of her helpful suggestions during her lead-up time was to declutter everything in her life. She sold off a lot of her clothes and only kept the essentials. She sold books that she never read and DVDs she never watched. She even, (I can't believe I'm saying this) sold off a lot of her craft supplies that she never used. What she noticed after doing this, was that her life was free-r of stress. She didn't have to think about what she wore so much or what she read. She just read or wore what she had.
That's where I lost her. I have crazy ideas when it comes to clothes and hate that I always wear the same thing. I try to think of new outfits and new ways to wear certain things. I love having bookshelves upon bookshelves full of books. And I buy craft supplies like the nuclear holocaust is coming and all that will save us is fancy scissors and glitter stickers.
But in the last few months, in trying to decode my crazy mixed up brain cells, I've realized that, quite possibly, the over-abundance of choices might actually be holding me up. I've been trying to decide what book to read for ages even though I have at least 20 sitting on my shelf right now un-read, but they're not new, and therefore I'm not really feeling them. I spend inordinate amounts of time in bed at night going over what's in my closet to wear to work the next morning and still grab the same pair of black pants and same scarf every week. And most of all, I have so many scrapbook supplies in my house, I could finish 30 albums without ever purchasing something new, but I can't focus long enough to get past my first day of my England album. I have issues.
So, I've been seriously mulling over (it's a process) Project Declutter. I'm never going to be able to live in a foreign country for 2 years - I'm way to attached to things to let that happen - but I just may be able to get more reading done and have the energy to focus on one craft project for more than a day or so.
The only hang-up I have is where the stuff is going to go. I can always send it to good will which is a great cause and what I usually do, but the girl in the Paris Letters profited from her decluttering. At the very least I need some sort of community yard sale to sell off some of my meager belongings. And of course, now that we're heading into winter, that's probably not going to happen anytime soon.
Do you see my conundrum? Why can't my crafty-addled brain think of these fabulous ideas at good times, like for instance, in the beginning of summer when all the world is ready to purchase other people's crap?
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