December 10 and 11: I Don't Need to Burn My House Down

Many clutter-reducing experts suggest that no one should have things in their house that they don't know to be useful or believe to be good.

I have never met that ideal. In fact, in Boulder, I sometimes used to fantasize that my house burned down. No more clutter! Just a clean start.

So it has been interesting to populate shelves with only books that I recognize and love. Unread books stay up in the construction trailer. Some books, when I unpacked them, I did not greet with joy. Those I donated to the library.

After four years without photo albums, I felt gratified by the rapturous way the boys greeted the record of their past. If that had burned, that would be horribly sad.

My kitchen is already pretty stripped down, and I'm okay with having a few "extras." Maybe I don't need three 9x13 pans right now, but I think that day is approaching.

I like the feeling of having everything I like and need in one place. I no longer think I will fantasize about house fires.

On the other hand, I am shocked by the quantity of stuff I have yet to deal with. I have stuff in two construction trailers, stuff in the RV and stuff in the white barn.

In order to feel like I was making at least some progress, I spent Tuesday and Wednesday emptying the RV. I went through cupboards and found cookbooks and dozens of DVDs, went through the bathroom closets and found towels and dozens of canning jars. I moved out toiletries and dehydrator, sugar for kombucha and lard for pies.

And, I confess, I paid it forward somewhat, and moved several bulb crates' worth of stuff into the white barn, where I will have to deal with it ... someday.

But one space of the four is now emptied. That is progress!

Phil had a little progress as well. He went to try to toss trash into the dumpster. The sides are probably five feet high, so the bags need to be light enough to lift overhead. Only rarely is a bag filled in space but still light enough for me to lift. Not only that, but we have trash bags in our trash pile that have been there since the spring. After almost a year in the sun and rain, they are disintegrating.

In order to throw our garbage away, Phil used the bucket of the tractor to scoop up the trash and dump it. That worked well and quickly, for the household trash, though he reinjured his ribs in the process. Poor guy: he is so ready to be able to work again!