Wednesday, May 19, 2010

Never Seems Clean Enough

No matter how much I straighten and clean, I believe that it never seems to be enough for my mother's visit. Floors done. Dusting done. Magazines straighten. Top of the refrigerator.....um, no. Funny how its something like this that I feel will be noticed the most during her visit. Which leads me to think, if I clean the top of the refrigerator, dust the vertical blinds and vacuum beneath the couch cushions, will an unswept floor, dusty coffee table and askew magazines be just as noticeable? Hum. Okay, so maybe the white glove test isn't really administered but in the eyes of my mother I'd like to be seen as a perfect housekeeper. I'd even settle for being a pretty good housekeeper. Oh, only 10 hours before her arrival...make that a decent housekeeper who still needs to clean the top of the refrigerator. Sparkling Blessings!

Saturday, May 15, 2010

I'm Rich!

Ah, the yards sale is over and the unsold items were donated to the Salvation Army. It was a beautiful day despite the South Florida heat (I was sweating by 8am). With everything tallied up it can be said that I'm rich...or better yet enriched. I spent a great day with my family, I joked and haggled with my neighbors and I got to share the memories I had attached to the items with those adopting them into their homes. As for the money....well the $28 I made (most stuff was marked $1 or under) may not be enough to retire on but will benefit the Safe Harbor Animal Sanctuary. Sparkling Blessings!

Friday, May 14, 2010

The Final Walk-Through

I'm ready to let go (both physically and emotionally) many things at tomorrow's yard sale. Just need to do a final walk-through of my home tonight to see if there are any other items that I can thank for their service and send on their way to a new home. I realized that things do outgrow their purpose and need to be released which in return clears space in my life to attract the things needed on the next part of my journey to domestic well being. Anything not sold will be donated to local charities. A win-win situation as I've got more breathing room and hopefully the items will be a benefit in someone else's life. Now, if I can only get my family to agree to start the yard sale at 9am instead of 7am. Sparkling Blessings!

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Almost Gone But Not Forgotten

Unfortunately, I allowed myself to be in such a foul mood yesterday that I didn't post anything. My family is having a yard sale on Saturday and I have boxes and bags full of things to be sold. For weeks I have been riding that high you feel when purging the items no longer of value or of use. Then yesterday, I crashed...literally in my living room where all the stuff to go is piled up. Logically, the items no longer have a place in my life, but I'm going to miss them anyway and in the light of a new day I know its okay to feel this way. So, out with the old but not to be forgotten and in with the re-newed sense of domestic well being. Sparkling Blessings!

Monday, May 10, 2010

Houston...We Have a Mail Problem

I still get excited to check the day's mail. There may be a letter from a friend or the new issue of a favorite magazine. Then there's the bills and the filler (i.e. ads and flyers, etc.). It's the filler that created the problem as it's the non-urgent and non-important stuff that got launched into my to-do-someday in-box. It got to be where you couldn't see the in-box anymore. I did managed to sort through a good portion of it and then stuffed the rest in a cardboard box to be dealt with after Yule and the other December holidays. To ensure 2010's mail does not become a problem, I established a Mail Control Center. I have a counter-top size shredder, a little plastic mail sorter and a basket to hold pens and sticky notes to keep due dates in check. Any unwanted filler goes right into the recycling bin. There are those days when I just let it pile up. When I do, it becomes my first chore on Saturday morning. This reminds me...I think the box with last year's filler "accidentally" got put in the attic with the Yule boxes. Sparkling Blessings!

Sunday, May 09, 2010

8~8~8

For me, Sunday is dish wrangling day. Most of the heard is already in the holding pen awaiting the weekly hose down (pretty fancy way of saying dishwasher, right?) but before turning it on I search the plains of my home for any dish gone astray....a bowl on the coffee table, a plate on the nightstand and so on. Being a Solitary (in more ways than one), in a week's time I go through my dish set (8 plates, 8 saucers and 8 bowls). It is what I like to see in my kitchen cabinet at the end of the weekend 8~8~8. To me, it's a silent tribute to Vesta....to wash away this week's crumbs and to prepare for what the new week will serve up. Now, if only I could say the same about my laundry....so if you see a stray pink argyle sock wandering out on your plains be sure to steer it back my way. Sparkling Blessings!

Saturday, May 08, 2010

Welcome!

Welcome to Calling Vesta! As the saying goes, every journey begins with a single step and in my case a single blog post. I'm calling on Vesta, the Goddess of Hearth, Home and Family to walk with me on this journey. By sharing my experiences with a hoarder and how it has affected me, I hope to re-route my path from hoarding to domestic well being. Also, I hope to join hands with other like-souls (over the current piles of laundry, books, etc) as we walk towards cleaner pastures. Sparkling Blessings!