The Pain and Pleasures of Decluttering

Over the last few months I’ve, well to be honest, my husband and I have been trying to declutter. You know how easy it is to keep things you really don’t need anymore. Well, we have decided that instead of doing this in stops and starts we need to just get it done in an organized way. The first areas we are working on are his office and my son Jalen’s bedroom.

It’s amazing the amount of things you come across that you had put away until later. We’ve found paid bills dating back years. There are half-finished stories that we have started to write and never completed. We are both avid readers who also love to write. Some stories can be completed and will be kept, but others we will discard.

We’ve found things that made us stop and smile and recall beautiful moments in our lives. A picture taken years ago on a trip to Montego Bay, Jamaica that we thought was lost. There are pictures or notes from loved ones who have passed on. A feeling of grief and pain is the first emotion, and then discussing the happy moments spent with them were precious. Memories to last a lifetime that death can never erase.

Jalen’s job is to go through his toy box and dispose of old toys and give away the ones he has outgrown. While watching him at work it was surprising to see him take up a baby toy and say, ‘Can I keep this for special memories?’ Just like us, children like to hold on to things that have special meaning.

Organising

While decluttering we are also organizing this time around. This way we will be better able to keep stock of what we have and periodically dispose of as the need arises. We are stocking our novels separately from our nonfiction books. Marketing books will be kept together, and the same will be done for books on writing. Yep, my librarian and indexer training are being put to good use.

We plan on buying a few plastic storage boxes and CD-storage racks to help us make better use of our limited space. There are quite a few duplicate CDs that can be given away, plus lots of floppy discs we can’t access. I guess if they’ve been lying around for years we can well do without whatever secrets they hold.

If I was doing the decluttering all by myself it would be a big chore, but sharing it with my family makes it fun. I’m looking forward to continuing the job next week.

Getting Upset Is Natural – Isn’t It?

Anger “ Bitterness is like cancer. It eats upon the host. But anger is like fire. It burns it all clean .” Maya Angelou I must confess that sometimes I blow off steam by getting upset. I will allow things to build up and then when I feel overwhelmed, I explode for the simplest thing. There was a time when I used to feel really bad when I got upset, but I’m beginning to learn that it is good to let off steam, sometimes. Anger can be positive and I know that after I calm down I tend to see things differently. I actually make an effort to see what I can change about the situation that upset me in the first place. While anger can also be disruptive and can cause hurt, it can be used for good. In fact, anger tends to motivate me to work harder and to achieve my goals. I know that I can be hard on myself – feeling that I fail if I do not live up to my own expectations. I know that unbridled anger can have negative health effects, but so can holding anger in. I remember reading abo...

Being Thankful for Life’s Challenges

I realize that we sometimes get so caught up we cuss when we face some of life’s challenges. Even the smallest thing can sometimes get our goat. Today, I’m resolving to be grateful for life’s challenges for many reasons. Challenges help me garner experience; if I made a bad decision once, when faced with the same situation in the future, it is unlikely that I will make the same mistake again. There is more than a little truth to the old adage experience teaches wisdom . While I know that many people have lost their jobs and it has caused all sorts of financial challenges, I know more than a few for whom being fired has been a blessing in disguise. Just recently, a young woman I know with four kids to take care lost her job. I was worrying about her, even though I knew she didn't like the job she had. A few weeks later, she landed another job, but even better, she was earning almost two-times what she was before. Others have taken the loss of a job as ...

Jamaica Public Service, Again

I’m so angry I could scream. I received my electricity bill from the Jamaica Public Service Company and once again the amount is staggering…a whopping five thousand plus dollars. This is just a measly $174 less than the previous month. The funniest part of it is the following: - I foolishly put in fluorescent bulbs since they claim that it lowers usage. - During the period billed we had 9 1/2 hours of power outages. Granted this is an estimate because it just covers the period when someone was home and was able to record the outage time. I knew there were outages when no one is home because I have an old fashion fax machine that spits out pieces of paper each time the power goes and returns. - We rarely leave an outside light on anymore So my question to JPS is: What am I to do to have my electricity bills at a reasonable rate? In the past two years my bill has jumped quite a lot. I really would love to know why this is happening. Sadly, consumers in Jamaica do not have much recour...

“Blooming from Brokenness: One Woman’s Rise from Despair to Divine Purpose”

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