Many of you have known me for a long time - and even known my husband a while. So you'll maybe know that he goes hunting every October.
I think he's missed once since we moved to Northern Utah in 1998. That once was because we were dealing with pretty extreme circumstances: he was starting a new job in South Carolina, I was readying our house to sell in Pennsylvania, and I was nine months pregnant. We actually moved November 1st, and little Jack came into our family on November 15th. So, it was really crazy.
Other than that, though, he has been pretty religious about it. Me, I've not been so happy about it. I'm a little bugged most times, to be honest. We've had little kids, I worked at home until we had four (again, little Jack's arrival), and we've been far, far away from the hunting grounds...meaning he was
really gone.
Okay, whine, whine, whine. Here's what I really think, now that the kids are older: it is time to clean. Simplify. Toss.
Doug can tend toward pack-rattiness. He will absolutely deny it, asserting that he just keeps what he might need at some point. Case in point: I have two large pasta serving dishes. We have used them once in the 10 years we have owned them. I'm ready to toss them. He is not. He likes them, therefore, they stay.
And I have to dust around them, move them around to get at what I actually use and need. Argh.
He is like this about every thing in the house. Whereas I have the mantra: if it isn't beautiful, sentimental, or useful,
get rid of it. When he's in the house, he stresses big-time. So I do it when he's out of the house. Ha.
This gets interesting this year, as I have to hobble about to clear things out. Never fear, though, I will press on. Even when I can actually
feel the internal bleeding. Black toes are
awesome. TMI? Sorry about that. No, not really.
Another example? Sure, I'd love to. This is my dining linen cupboard, stuffed with tablecloths, chair covers and puzzles:
These all belong in here. However, we only use tablecloths on holidays. At other times, I am just not interested in the extra laundry. There are linens in here that I will not use, though - too fussy, too stained (seriously, if we're using them for holidays, they should look nice), or even too small. Rolling the eyes. Why are we keeping something that is too small?
So they are off to Deseret Industries, a local "recycling" place for stuff - operated by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, it takes stuff and uses it for people who need it, sells extra stuff to have money to help those in need, and provides jobs for those looking for work. It's a cool place.
 |
The piles of crap. The Dora one? A fitted twin sheet that goes over my table
so the tablecloth doesn't slide around. |
There are linens that I keep just for material - if it's not stained, probably won't work for someone else, or is a little sentimental (the lacy tablecloth my mother gave me), I can conceivably use it for a project. Now you're rolling your eyes. Yes, it'll be a cold day in the bad place before I get to it, but still.
And now,
viola!, a clean cupboard. With more room for puzzles, which is really what I want in here. My youngest two love puzzles, and I love to work with them when they're puzzling. One cupboard down, many to go.
Just don't tell Doug I look forward to this. Promise?
