Less is More, and More is Less........Sort Of!

My son, who sleeps directly across from me, set his alarm for five am this morning and promptly made noise making coffee and jumping into the shower. Holey Moley!! I may have changed from being a night owl, but there's a difference between five and eight, let me tell you! This will probably continue once a week at least since the restaurant where he is the kitchen manager has just started catering-and they are getting many, many lunch orders. I did manage to go back to sleep for a little while, thank heavens. I am learning that the first few hours and the last hour or so seem to be when I sleep the best.

The upside I suppose is that I got the dishwasher loaded and even managed to go on line and make all of my annual appointments (some with new doctors since my old doctor was also my Gyn and endocrine doc). It's noon and my main goal is to see how many of these napkins and so on I can get done before I feed my favorite canines at four (as well as doing a seating exercise routine somewhere, sometime, since there is ice on the steps).

I'm looking forward to the new year and have been making some priority decisions on money and energy (more on vacations/family/home comforts, moderate amounts on some hobbies, and less on almost everything else). While there's more to write about and to think about I suppose my other big decisions directions are decluttering and downsizing (mind, space and schedule), as well as diving deeper (spending more time and learning more about a few hobbies for example, than trying to do ten)

I am very much not a minimalist and enjoy my stuff. When it's usable. And in fact, I prefer the stuff that I use in general to be pretty and good looking. Give me the bright blue lined cast iron dutch oven, if you know what I mean. Especially if I'm going to see it or use it at least once a week. On the other hand, I don't need ten duplicates of every thing I use (other than scissors, pens and chapsticks. There should be one in every room and in the car as well of each).

As we approach the holidays I'm really trying to find ways to put this into effect. The sewing thing for example. I love making quilts. But family (hell, even I) can only use so many quilts-at least full sized ones. On the other hand, place mats, table runners, candle mats, cloth napkins, coasters, doll quilts for the nieces, barbecue aprons, and even paper towel replacements are things that people I know can actually USE. And depending on the fabrics I choose, use the year around, not justt at Christmas. And as well as being useful, all of the above are sustainable as well. Maybe I should add a couple shopping bags?

For the most part, I'm going with useful and or fun for Christmas this year, with the exception of some true needs for the adult offspring. This may not be the most frugal choice as such. One brother and sister in law (for example) need literally nothing. The other brother and sister in law live far away in a new home and I have no idea what they might want and need. So they are either getting a couples pedicure, a couples massage or a cooking class depending (yes, do absolutely know that they would love any of the three). This may be a slightly more expensive choice, but one that I know is useful-and I'll add cloth napkins and coasters and homemade goodies so they have something to "open" on the big day. Yes, on this side of the family, adults do give gifts to adults. We love it.

The other way I'm going to be downsizing and purging this month is that for the first time in about three years (due to Christmas travel), I am pulling up EVERY Christmas thing I own the day after Thanksgiving. Once I've put out everything that is meaningful, that I'm emotionally attached to and that I feel I'll want to display in the future, IMO going to photograph it-and then box up two separate bins for each kid (and sell and donate anything else).

My final goal for the end of November and December (and one that will take a year) is to go through all the family recipes and pictures and start, start mind you, on a cookbook for each child. done in photo album style with comments and memories added. This is a do it on the days I feel like it for the next year thing,  and then add on each year after that. The only thing is I cannot figure out how to store this stuff as I work on it here and there as the mood hits, so that it's easily accessible, but out of my way. and until I figure out that basic logistical issue, everything will set there, untouched.

Which is fine, because January is supposedly for photographs. Including the five hundred photos my parents took of all the flora and fauna in South Carolina near their home and all the national parks and roadtrips of their retirement.  Then again, maybe I'll wait on that one.