Saturday, April 5, 2008

Spring Clean!

Hi Tiffany,
Oh how I feel your pain!My house is in varying degrees of disarray!My main level is actually functioning beautifully right now,thanks to a surprise visitor!
But the basement is just plain awful! I masterfully hung curtains by a bamboo rod, counter balanced by rocks, to hide the mess in my laundry room (which is visible upon first entering).Instead of seeing a disaster they see an "Asia meets Africa" display of color and texture....' complete with foliage and flowing fountain,because,yeah,my house ALWAYS looks like this!:)
I have been purging for years!And I am seeing results.It can be disheartening to have all of my hard work appear to unravel in a day after my teens and all of their friends are through disrespecting my home.I will admit I suffer from a serious case of "everything- has- unseen -potential-itis"I finally came to that realization that the problem was not just my hoarding,not a severe case but hoarding nonetheless, (which I have since learned disrupts the universal flow/balance of give and take) but also disrespect which was passed down through the generations.Thanks Mom! It is funny how we seldom see it in ourselves.It was not until my teenaged sons had some rambunctious friends over who proceeded to rough-house in the basement and managed to break our new futon in several places,that I understood the problem.Naturally my husband and I were upset.Not only did I feel anger but also was a little hurt that these kids who practically live at my house could be so disrespectful!Then the clouds parted, the sky became clear and the choirs of Angels sang out the epiphony" AAHHHHHHHHH THEY DISRESPECT THE SPACE BECAUSE YOU DISRESPECT THE SPACE!*AAAAA-AMEN-NNNNNN *"
This profound realization was further cemented when my son expressed concern that his brother's friend said,"I love coming to your house, it's like a war zone!"Obviously actions speak louder than words.Good intentions aren't going to save my house or my sanity; far from it actually!
That incident (which was not the first with those kids) finally made me re-evaluate.Sure I had lots of great stuff( I am a yard sale freak)but it was ruining what was most important to me in my home.Peace,sanctity,comfort,serenity....A war zone?.......I shake my head.Those boys who were resposible for the damage are banned from the house for awhile pending an apology and admission to disrespectful behaviour.
The whole house is undertaking a purge like never before!I am parting with items I was before reluctant to part with.For instance I had a rather large and expensive print which I had purchased several years ago but no longer fit in my new location.I didn't want to part with it because it was one of the few things I had purchased new and held some "value".After this above mentioned occurance,I called up a friend and said "Hey do you know anyone who needs some art work and furniture?"
"Yeah,I have a buddy who has bare walls in her apartment."
I got in touch with this girl and she understood the monetary value of these items and graciously agreed to "store" them on her walls and in her house until someone wanted to buy them. She came to pick up the cast-offs and she looked at that large print and said,"Oh my God,I had that same exact picture and when I left my husband he wouldn't let me have it."
Well holy cow,for me this was a moment.Everything I had heard about the flow of give and take was absolutely true! I was so overwhelmed by this (much less than she, I think she thought I was reading into things a little too deeply)I said "This was clearly meant to be. I don't want any money for any of this ,You keep it all."
I now have space on my walls for all the artwork my 5 little artists conjure up, and room to move and freedom to think!
I lost a few bucks but gained some space and the momemtum required to move towards the place I really want to be in, my home, the"PEACE ZONE." now that is value!
Tamara.

1 comment:

Tiffany said...

Good luck!

Tiffany