The Excesses of Life are Weighing Me Down

My need to purge is huge.

I feel like I'm walking around carrying lead weights but in reality I am walking through the mire of the excess I have collected within our home over the course of the past sixteen years or so.

Ever since I opened my daycare, I have had a hard time throwing or giving things away. "This" might be handy for a craft; the kids could use "that" for play; "the other things" all just got piled up in closets, cupboards and rooms.

It is no longer just about the daycare.

Excess has crept into every nook and cranny of our home. It is stalking me, mocking me, telling me "You don't have the power to get rid of me!"

The kitchen cupboards contain items that have been collecting dust for a minimum of five years. What is that saying about "If you haven't used it in a year, get rid of it?" I think I need to paste that statement onto the kitchen wall and get busy.

The laundry room is an area where underused artifacts go to die. Yes, it is a place where seasonal storage happens. But what about all of those other shelves of "stuff". It is time to go and have a look.

Dare I mention the garage?

My Second Son cleaned out the garage at least a half dozen times over the course of the four years he lived here. He moved out nine months ago and the excess has gone forth and multiplied in his absence. I don't think I have anyone to hold accountable except for myself.

The drawers, the closets and the spare bedrooms (we now have three of those) are full. We have too much stuff!

Don't even let me get started on the computer.

I have not gone back and deleted 99% of what I should have worked on, printed off and then discarded. It takes a few extra minutes at the time. But now?? It is taking up about 431 GB out of the 931 GB available to me. There is still lots of room left.

Isn't that what it all boils down to?

Where there is excess room, there comes the ability to fill that space items that could otherwise be donated, sold or thrown away.

We have 2000 square feet (not including the garage) of room for two people, two cats and a daycare family of four. I believe I could say we have filled the house to approximately the same ratio of used up space on the computer. There is still lots of room left but there is a lot that could be deleted and never missed.

I don't have an excuse. Oh, I'll definitely come up with one. "I work weekends"; "I have no energy or enthusiasm for this at the end of my daycare day"; "I don't know where to begin" ... but the truth of the matter is I am simply overwhelmed.

I'm looking at the entire house, garage and playhouse (yes, we have a playhouse filled to exactly the same free-to-used-space ratio) and I don't know where to start. I am like a child who has been told to clean up their room after they can no longer see the floor.

It is too big and too tall and too wide to handle in one sitting.

One step at a time.

I know exactly where to start. It is in the living room. I know what I need to do. I need to turn off the TV!

The television set in the living room has destroyed me. It is self destruction. I know. I am fully accountable for this. But I turn on the television set, knowing full well that it sucks the energy right out of me.

It is time to turn up the music and turn off the TV. It is time to tackle this monster. One small cupboard at a time.

To be continued ...