Thursday, December 29, 2016

Cleaning on my mind


The coming New Year always sets off a cleaning frenzy for me.  I don't think I am alone in this.  Files to be organized and papers to be shredded.  Closets to be cleaned and long unworn items to be donated.  Windows to be washed.  I know it is winter and I imagine we will get more rain - but still I'd like to be able to see out.  While I'm at it the blinds could stand some attention.  






Do you know, the more I look into life, the more things it seems to me I can successfully lack—and continue to grow happier. How many kinds of food I do not need, nor cooks to cook them, how much curious clothing nor tailors to make it, how many books that I never read, and pictures that are not worth while! The farther I run, the more I feel like casting aside all such impedimenta—lest I fail to arrive at the far goal of my endeavour.
I like to think of an old Japanese nobleman I once read about, who ornamented his house with a single vase at a time, living with it, absorbing its message of beauty, and when he tired of it, replacing it with another. I wonder if he had the right way, and we, with so many objects to hang on our walls, place on our shelves, drape on our chairs, and spread on our floors, have mistaken our course and placed our hearts upon the multiplicity rather than the quality of our possessions!

David Grayson quote from "Adventures in Friendship"

Does the New Year signal a cleaning spree for you?

6 comments:

  1. I have been filing things away - the tall stacks of paperwork are getting smaller!

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  2. When we moved this past November, I donated many things. We are really just camping out in this rental. I know I have things in boxes I should have donated or sold before we moved, but I will do that as I settle into our new house, hopefully in April or May! Happy New Year!

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  3. I started this process in August when I was pitching so many items in my basement that had molded. You can't believe how much I got rid of, some of it due to the water damage, some of it due to my desire to get rid of it. Last week, my refrigerator was practically bare. Today I have no room in it. Just goes to show I at least eat what I buy and don't waste food. Next I'll be cleaning out my closets and getting rid of all clothes I no longer wear, or care to wear. So for me it's an ongoing process, not just at the new year. I'm glad it is for you, though. BTW, I won't be washing any windows for awhile. Here it's too cold to open them, and washing the inside without doing the outside is a real waste in my opinion.

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  4. Just putting away all the Christmas decorations feels like a mammoth task to me lol. I do have a lot of things that need shredding, so I need to figure out a good time to take care of that.

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  5. I',m ready to throw it all out the door (except my craft stuff) and start over....LOL It would seem to be easier.....kind a like pulling the flowers and leaving the weeds ;))
    But the New Year will call for some serious cleaning out and donating, it always does. *grin*
    I wish you luck and progress with your cleaning
    Happy New Year

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  6. Oh yes, I do enjoy a January clean up, over our Summer holiday time when 'normal life' scarcely exists. So true what you say about the things we no longer need in our lives. I am enjoying passing on some of the quilts I made 20 years ago, when quilting was big in our city. I don't even like seeing a movie unless it is well-reviewed and we both know we will enjoy it - same applies to television. Happy New Year, Darla.

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