PURGE

So last week when I wrote about throwing things away and rearranging furniture to better suit the function I need from my house, I went straight home and did it. I cleaned out three drawers, made room for my napkins (which will hopefully be here today) and then I rearranged the dining area to accommodate the new dining bench. Let me tell you, it’s been a completely life changing moment!

I haven’t had a proper table and chairs to eat at in about 13 years. I’ve had various substitute set ups that were less than desirable and I always ended up just sitting on the sofa.

Eating at a proper height dining table with both my feet on the floor has made such a huge impact on my life in this short time I can’t even tell you!

There’s a new rule in my house which consists entirely of the notion that no food shall be consumed elsewhere than the dining table. There is no more sofa sitting and eating.

Meal time is now defined. I still watch TV while I eat and that’s something that I would eventually like to change also, but for now, this is working.

Because I’m eating at a table with a place mat and a proper table setting, I’m more likely to want to eat a proper meal that consists of sides or a salad. I eat less because I eat slower and even though I am still watching TV, I’m able to concentrate more on what I’m eating. Eating dinner (because lunch and breakfast are consumed at work) takes longer but when I’m done I feel content and I take my dishes into the kitchen and clean up dinner straight away.

All these things may seem like normal every day fare to some and it is, but for me, it’s a completely new lifestyle! I love it!

With the idea in mind that change is good, I changed a few more things around my house this weekend. I rearranged some of the other furniture to function better and I put some items for sale on Craigslist as well. One of the items sold and while I’m glad to be rid of it and have the cash instead, I could have done without the buyers lingering in my apartment and making me feel awkward for wanting them to leave.

The small changes that I made to my house have lightened my spirit (which I actually didn’t know needed lightening) and made me feel even more at home in my home. I have a very full next three months coming up that include 99 hours of volunteer training, a friend coming from out of town and some other things planned that will take up time, so the more organized and functional my house is, the better!

I also did one other thing that made me feel better about the clutter in my life. I deleted a bunch of people off my Twitter feed that did nothing but serve to irritate me. I realize that Twitter is a mechanism for attention seeking at its worst and we’re all obviously guilty of putting 140 characters of ‘hey, look at me’ out there, but there’s that and then there’s the length many people go to get attention. For example:

I can’t decide if I want a piece of cheese or not
My sister emailed me a baby picture
I’m going to have quiche for dinner
I don’t like the color green

I mean seriously! It’s not necessary to publish every thought that runs through your head. The sort of attention one receives for having verbal diarrhea is superficial and unnecessary. Keep a few things to yourself.. it’s not necessary to describe your bowel movements due to your dairy allergy on the internet… it’s just not!

Now, I’m, of course, not suggesting people change to suit me. If you’re immature, you’re immature and that’s fine, you’re the one that has to live your life. I don’t care about your moral cheese dilemma and I find it a bit insulting that people who write this type of nonsense obviously think their followers SHOULD care… That said, I went through the list of people that I follow and it’s now a much shorter, but a more mature, reasonable selection of nonsense!

It’s amazing what getting rid of a bit of irritation does for the mindset.
I’m off to Costco tonight to see about getting my deep freeze delivered and maybe a passport photo taken and then it’s home to make Mexican Pasta Sauce (this being chili without the beans) and go to bed early before my first day of being out of the house at 7:20 and not back again until close to 11.