2 boxes

 I unpacked the last two boxes a couple weeks ago.  Super exciting right?  Unfortunately, these two boxes were actually sitting in our house from our move from Utah to Minnesota!  I always knew what was in them, didn't have a current need for them, and had actually forgotten about them (they were tucked away in the corner of our basement in MN!).

 As you might guess, the contents included some old dishes, random knick knacks, and a few wedding gifts that remained untouched 10 years later.  The contents went from these boxes into my car for a trip to the donation center where they will clearly have the chance to be put to better use.

This was so cleansing.  It put into motion a personal dedication to reorganize and reevaluate what we actually use and need with what we actually have.

In my mind, I see myself as an organized person.  Who evaluates things needed most and lets go of the others.  But over the course of time, I noticed that my drawers, closets and pantry were not reflecting what I felt.  Instead they looked like jumbled messes of things thrown together over time.

No longer dwelling on the fact that I haven't acted on this epiphany before, I've decided now is the time to create a better feeling of a house of order.  And, while I won't get everything set up and in a proper place all at once, I've accepted that a piece at a time is progress.  I've started in the places that have contact multiple times per day.

It's refreshing to open an organized drawer, immediately see and find what I wanted, and close it.  No more conversation in my head of how I need to clean this, or wasting time looking for something that should just be in a spot.  Completely satisfying.

Last week, I finished up the pantry.  While the clean out took longer than planned (doesn't it always when you have little helpers!?!), I'm happy with the result.  And refreshed to open it.  Mike laughs that I keep leaving the door open intentionally.  But, hey, it's nice to have things in order, right?