The declutter project seemed like a good idea at the time, back at the beginning of January, when it was too cold to go outside if one didn't absolutely have to and when nothing much was going on. And it was definitely successful, I got a lot done and threw out so much stuff, tidied up several areas of my home and donated quite a number of items to be enjoyed by someone else. But now that the weather is getting warmer, we Canadians are starting to come out of hibernation, which means it's time to get social again, head out on a few excursions - there's more stuff to do outside and you don't have to wear 27 layers of warm clothing if you want to go out. Which means I am less and less inclined to stay indoors to sort and shred paper. Which is pretty much all that I have left to do. Okay, that's not quite true. My two craft bookcases, one holding bead supplies and one filled with paint and paper crafting supplies, still need a major overhaul. Not sure exactly when that is going to happen but it will and I'll let you know when it does.
I've also got two big trips coming up, one at the end of April (Art & Soul Hampton, which involves a week in Virginia with my buddy Heather, can't wait) and one at the end of June (Portugal with Teesha and Tracy Moore - major quivers of excitement), which means that most weekends in between now and then will be spent either getting ready for said trips, actually being away and/or opening up the cottage (which is still a month away but it's getting closer all the time). Oh yeah, and heading out to outdoor antique shows because that time is also drawing very near - yippee! Then once the cottage is open, it is definitely game over for the decluttering project until the cold weather comes back again and the cottage gets closed up in October.
So for now, I am giving myself permission to not focus on decluttering for the next several months. Which doesn't mean it won't still happen, just that the focus will become slightly smaller and less frequent. As Kyle Cassidy said today on his blog, "Do something awesome today, even if it's small; it might grow up into something bigger." Not only is that a great philosophy for daily living, it encourages me to keep the decluttering going on a smaller scale. Those bookcases will get done, perhaps an hour or two over several weeknights in the next few weeks (especially as I try and find the supplies I need to pack for these 2 upcoming trips), and the big tasks themselves, which seem rather overwhelming as a whole, will definitely be easier to accomplish if, for example, I choose to focus on only one shelf at a time instead of thinking I have to do an entire bookcase all at once.
By the way, Kyle also talked in the comment section of today's blog (and linked back to a post written back in 2009 on the same subject) about how being around creative people encourages you to be creative too, because, as he said, "having friends who are always doing something amazing, new books, new plays, new movies, whatever, motivates me to work harder, lest I have nothing to bring to Show and Tell." That is so very true and I must say I am definitely feeling the urge to create percolating in my soul much stronger than the urge to clean. It feels like it has been a long, slow, cold winter and now that the spring is here (although still on a somewhat sporadic basis), ideas are start to flow through my brain like maple syrup running through the trees and I'd much rather be creating something than cleaning something any day of the week!
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| Photo courtesy of perthchamber.com |
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