Pleasures for the “Simple” Minded

“Hoarding” was the topic on Oprah a few weeks ago. I felt smothered and claustrophobic just watching it. I could only stand it so long, and then I decided to step over my piles of laundry and papers, out to my flower beds which always revive me.  But alas,  they had the same symptoms as the house spotlighted on TV.

Hardy perennials were overgrown, Calendulas crowded their neighbors, and oregano spilled out of its allotted space like a tangled green octopus.  Inspired by the show, I started pulling out the overgrown and over productive plants, giving their less assertive neighbors more space, air, and sun.  I filled a whole wheel barrow in about 15 minutes, and it made such a difference.  There is something very liberating and need-satisfying about cleaning things out.  Everything needs space to breath and grow whether they be plants, homes, or teenagers. 

My Corner Contribution of recycled clutter that week only consisted of three things: an end table and two towels, but I was so glad when someone came by and retrieved them, and my front room now has a little more space because of it.  As I watched Oprah I was dumbfounded that anyone would literally have clothes piled high in EVERY room of their 3 level house.   I couldn’t help but think of all the humanitarian programs in need of good clothing.  That woman needed a cause to help her overcome her addiction so she and her husband simplify and reclaim their lives.  My worst nightmare would be to leave this life, with a huge mess for my children to take care of.  If we live another 20 years, maybe we’ll have the garage cleaned out!

After watching “The Hoarding Horror Movie," I next decided to clean out a corner shelf in our family room.  I found two undelivered wedding gifts, three misplaced recipe books, seven errant quilting books, and then Bonanza!-- a Prevention Magazine titled “The Simpler Way.” 

Just the titles of the articles confirmed my recent efforts:

--Cut the clutter and have more “breathing Space”.  (Already I know my plants are happier!)

--Rev-up your energy and feel great! (Ripping out weed and overgrowth --What a rush!)

--Say Good-bye to Personal “Money Robbers!”  (We become rich because of the things we do without, not because the things we buy.)

--And Move into a Larger House—Without Moving!  (When there is less “stuff” in a house, it’s less stuffed, and it is bigger!)

Simple living is the goal of provident living, and without knowing it most of us have built layers and layers of complexity around us.  We have more gadgets, appliances, CDs, toys, and tools than we can keep track of, much less store.   Gandhi once wrote, “There is more to life than increasing its speed.”  When we declutter we let go of the things that entangle us, so we can “stroll” through life with greater grace and ease.  That means getting rid of entanglements.

  Another great mind, Albert Einstein knew a few things also about being focused and organized.  His mantra:

--Out of clutter, find simplicity

--From discord, find harmony

--In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity.

While you work to reclaim your life and your home, it helps to change things up throughout the work day.  A 20 minute nap is a great recharger.   Mix seat work, with tasks that require movement.  And them Mom’s famous quote: “A change is as good as a rest,” which I truly believe.  Well, that’s the summary of that little booklet, which was really designed to sell a bigger book…now it’s processed and tossed away, and I feel good-- and motivated!  Hope you do too.  Let me hear about your success stories: 42janetkw@gmail.com

Provident Nightmares--EeeK Moments

     Eeek! It was one of those Nighmare on Elm Street moments. I remember the first time I felt this way. It was when one of Blanding’s icons passed away, and the family photo collection was divided up, and then put in a garage. Shortly thereafter these irreplaceable photos were severely water damaged. My heart twisted in agony!

     Again I cringed when a dear elderly grandmother in our neighborhood died, and I learned that boxes of her historic photos were thrown out in the trash. Before such historic treasures are trashed, families should consider donating the collection to the San Juan Historical Society.  They can at least archive the collection keeping it intact, safe and secure. Such a decision conserves history for posterity & community.  

 

hese are pages from my grandmother's album

which I scanned about 2004.  Then I used 

Photoshop and dissected then into individual

photos, filing them by categories. My Dad is in 

eachof these photos.  I really treasure them.

     If you don't want to do that, then start organizing and digitizing your photos now. You don't have to store all of your slides, photos, mementos.  Take photos of them, or scan then, then identify them by year, and organize them all on your computer, so you can find them when you write your history some day.  Or teach your teen ager how to do it.

     This week’s Eeek! Moment came when I learned a neighbor’s well-meaning (but not provident) family had carted off all her canning jars to the dump. I couldn’t help but think of all the people who could have benefited from their use. This year promises to be a “summer of plenty” and canning is a way to conserve its abundance. The last jars I got were from Jacquie Moses’ curbside last summer!   Many of my favorite “trash to treasure finds” I discovered in someone else’s garbage. I know it’s embarrassing to my walking partners, and probably my children as well, but if something can be used, whether a high chair, an ironing board, lawn decoration, or canning bottles, I have no qualms about asking if I can have it. Your trash may likewise, be another’s treasure. Think outside the box (‘er . . .trash can) and share.

      For the past 4 years as I’ve tried to simplify and declutter my life, I have found it a simple matter to set out on our corner things we don’t need, in hopes that someone else may find a use for them. I am always happy when they’re gone by the next day, and hope they find a “new purpose under heaven.” My heroine in this behavioral change has been the aforementioned Jacquie, a woman who practices real conservation. She has a wealth of provident pointers, if you’re ready to change.

     Enough on recycling…let’s get our hands dirty. It’s time to start gardening in Blanding. May 15 is typically the last killing frost, so unless you’re a gambler and already have your seeds in, it’s time to prepare your soil and plant.

     Nothing advertisers can promise can match home-grown fresh tomatoes, corn, beans, & peaches. They are superior in flavor, nutrition and therapy. Ada Rigby is Blanding’s guru gardener. She told me many years ago that her father recommended working in dirt for mental, emotion, and physical therapy. She followed his advice and learned “bushels” full of information the past 60 years, while she and Truman produced some of the best and most varied gardens in town.

There is something wonderful about working with plants and having quiet time to ponder and plan while pulling weeds. My first missionary companion was a metaphor queen, a true transcendentalist. She found lessons of life in nature, whether in a cracked sidewalk, or a faded bloom. While pulling mallow I, too learned that weeds not plucked young, grown deeply and may require a crowbar to eradicate. Like addictions and sin, old roots die hard.

    Gardening helps to counteract Mammon’s Malaise which William Wordsworth described 200 years ago:

The world is too much with us; late and soon,

Getting and spending, we lay waste our powers;

Little we see in Nature that is ours;

We have given our hearts away, a sordid boon!

I memorized this in college, but have spent the past 40 years trying to practice it-- a lesson that is easily practiced while gardening.