A few YEARS ago now, I told our friend Jamie that I was “on the cusp of complete home organization.” Jamie’s closets would make an organization guru weep tears of joy and his garage cubbies make me salivate. The man knows organization.
I, on the other hand, slipped on and off the cusp, in fits of feng shui (feng-ing it up and shui-ing it to the curb), free-cycling, labeling, and rubbermaid buying. The cusp, it seemed, would be where I every-so-often remained. And no further.
But then, this book came into my life.
I got it out from the library for professional reasons that quickly took a personal turn. I found Mark with his nose in it one day and we haven’t stopped talking about it since.
Seems my forays onto the cusp were mere acclimitization hikes. Now’s the time for the summit bid. The eight boxes in the garage gleaned from the kitchen alone (and I’m not even finished purging the cupboards) would attest to the zeal of this convert. There are plenty of the author’s tips that we’re happily ignoring (such as eating off paper plates every night!), but the “brutal purge”? That, I can relate to. The efficiency demands? Mark loves them.
What, you say, might be in those garage boxes? Here’s a sampling:
1. a fondue pot
2. a meat tenderizer
3. a banged up bundt pan (there’s still another one in the cabinet)
4. a coffee maker
5. about 12 cookbooks
The boxes are multiplying by the day.
The garage sale will be in September. Mark has added three laundry baskets of old technical journals to the recycling bin. We have both sent large boxes of clothes to In the Image.
And after the garage sale, the recycling pick-up, and the charity trips, Jamie will need to join us for a summit party.
4 replies on “my summit bid”
Is Goodwill going to lose all of your business as part of this reorganizaiton/cleaning frenzy??
You could always continue patronizing the resale hot spots, buy more stuff which would mean the garage boxes would multiply. Jamie will be even more impressed!
Tash!
I can read your zeal through your post! I can sense the excitement and sense of accomplishment. Man, oh man, this is inspiring. Maybe you have a future ahead of you helping others do the same?
Currenly, Paul and I are reading the “Not So Big House” which is helping us rethink our space and how we have it allotted. That book, paired with your latest read, would really be a combo. In the “NSBH,” the point that has stuck with me the most is when the author says that when most people think they need to add onto their house, only the gutsi-est of architects can tell the them the truth when they say “you don’t need another room, you simply need to get rid of half your junk.”
Good Grief, I’ll have nothing left to dust!
“feng-ing it up and shui-ing it to the curb”?! You crack me up.