Monday, April 26, 2010

Pruning Past your Comfort Level

Mom and I were doing our spring ritual of walking through her yard and talking plants. I think she hopes these little talks will inspire me to dig in the dirt...which I hope to do. Someday.

We were talking about her rose bush that was almost touching the overhang of the house. Until she pruned it. And I do mean PRUNED it. She and I agreed that when you prune a plant, especially a rose, you prune as much as you can, then do it some more.

Well, I am relating to that pruning, but not in the way you'd guess. Not with anything spiritual...but practically speaking with decluttering while packing. I mean, like Ashlyn said tonight, "We just have to have more than one package of Oreos, since with just two a piece, 14 are gone."

So as I pack pretending to be a minimalist, I still see stacks of boxes as high as mom's pre-pruned rose bush! I really want to just have a few things when we move. If I don't love it, it aint goin' with us. Well, that's the theory anyway. My family insists the purple Dora chair with the burn hole in the back goes. I sure hope it doesn't get lost in the move...

I think the only way to get to my goal of having less stuff is to prune past the pain. That's the highly inspirational thought for the day. 

2 comments:

SuperMom Blues said...

I know how hard de-cluttering is, trust me (you haven't seen OUR room or the kids rooms over here!). It IS hard - but like you said, if you don't LOVE it, it shouldn't go. You're doing a great job though. When you least expect it, you'll look around and see a houseful of boxes, and (other than Grandma's things) nothing else. And remember, if your overwhelmed and need some help, you can always call me!

Anonymous said...

I totally agree, Wendy! I'm doing this in my house, too. If I don't love it, I shouldn't keep it. LOL! You should have seen what came out of my closet! I'm really bad to keep things because I'm afraid it's going to make someone hate me for giving it away, because it's sentimental... some sort of unhealthy string attached somewhere. That's a lot of baggage, if you really think about it.

Consider it a celebration. It's celebrating a new step in a new life in a new house. ;) I'm really excited for you guys. And I'll alibi you in case something happens to the Dora chair. "What chair? I don't know what you're talking about!"