the garden

The garden isn't what you would call minimalist.  Officially, we're taking the Permaculture approach. We're attempting to create an ecosystem.  In order to grow the plants we want and not have them become overrun with pests, we need predators for the pests.  These might be insects or birds.  Nature is naturally diverse and welcoming the diversity will yield a healthy harvest.

It's hard for me to wrap my head around leaving so many weeds.  I want to declutter... but my husband resists.
"Those? The bees love them!"
The bees apparently help pollinate our food plants.  My first reaction to all the insects was that the entire yard needed fumigating.  Parsley and catnip are so prevalent in our yard; the blossoms are beautiful, but the burrs in the autumn are nasty.

It took a long time to clear the garbage out of the yard when we moved in.  Now the garden is beginning to turn into a full blown food forest.  The soil is coming to life again.  Berries and trees that were stunted are bearing fruit again.  I think they've recovered from being hacked down to nothing before we moved in, and then sprayed down with Roundup.

We cleaned the shed as well.  I pulled everything out of the garden shed, swept away the spider webs, and raked the dirt floor.  Only half of what was in the shed could go back in.  Broken garden pots, decrepit tools, and split hoses were left out.  It's hard to see so much go to the dump.  Sometimes I call home purgatory.  It's that place between the thrift store and the dump where nothing belongs.  Finally getting rid of all that stuff feels amazing.  Now the shed looks organized when you walk in, and makes gardening more efficient.  Everything you need to garden, laid out in plain sight and in a central location.

purging paper

All my years of writing had accumulated into a pile of notepads.  Any ideas that came to me were scribbled down.  I had to harvest the pearls of wisdom from the perils of their pages.  I could find out what my former self was thinking.  I imagined her with a creative mind.

I've since heard that the mind is cyclical (has a tendency to think itself in circles).  I had my proof.  Mostly illegible, the memos contained bizarre calculations, shopping lists, and revealed obsession with shopping and taking control of my environment.

There were to-do lists.

-get tires switched
-practice finger waves
-Summerville thrift store
-find out the truth about raisins
-become the town eccentric
-get advice from mum about basting interfacing

There were lists that required lots of money.

-fly first class
-ride a limousine
-wear diamond studs
-visit vegas with the girls at work
-hire a trustworthy cleaner

There were lists that were cheaper.

-meditate
-go to the library
-build a sandcastle
-finish my sewing projects (pincushion, cape, curtains, and a dress)
-become half as clever as my mum
-practice music daily or at least once in a while
-cut garbage down to one bag a week
-grow lavender

There were some lists that fell in between.

-visit Portland
-taste wine in Oregon
-see the giant Redwoods
-get rid of entire back lawn to grow food
-join the urban agriculture association
-raise chickens

With our new cleaner lifestyle and throwing away fifty things we no longer have room for old notepads full of lists.  We can't have repeated words cluttering our cupboards or creating cobwebs in our minds.  Urban homesteading is a lot of work, which is why we need to pare down our stuff, which will create space and time.

vacation

We took a week off work and only left the house for one night.  When we arrived at Grandma's we found her on a mission to purge.  At 82 she didn't want to wait until one foot was in the grave to declutter.  Out came the photo albums, the thrift store purchases, and the gifts and art I had given to her as a child.

The hand painted 'we love grandpa' sweater didn't really fit but I took it.  Even though I had the same edition in 'grandma' at home.  Somehow the eyelet lace dress my mum had made her in 1977 didn't seem to be with us when we unpacked back at home.  I felt guilty for not taking everything she had offered, if only to get it out of her house and make it easier for her new cleaner to dust.  I was worried that if I took everything she would go on a thrift store bender and replace everything that was gone.

The rest of the week has been spent gardening and of course, purging.  Grandma's treasures went into the junk pile, minus the best photos.  My husband asked if I was going to go through the whole house again now that every corner was clean.  I suppose we could downsize even more.  No one could have accused us of being hoarders in the past but the amount of garbage and recycling that comes with downsizing is disgusting!

I like to put the piles of stuff on the side of the road in front of my house and make a sign that says, 'free'.  In this manner I'm sure we've disposed of truckloads of stuff and I like to keep things out of the money system whenever possible.  It never fails to amaze me how people can be such scavengers!  We live in a somewhat high-end neighbourhood and have the only house without a manicured lawn.  Instead we have a giant organic garden that produces food which we enjoy all year.  I worry the neighbours don't approve of my free pile but it's never lasted long enough for a complaint to be issued.  Perhaps the same neighbours are now hoarding our old junk?

diary declutter

I found a book called "Get Rid of Fifty Things" which appeared to be full of good advice.  I didn't read the book, only the title, but I've been on a mission to follow its instructions.

I also love lists and the piles of notepads need to be downsized eliminated.  I want to go digital.  What was once cluttering my home is now residing on your computer screen.  Have a nice day!

Stuff I secretly want to throw away
-piano
-printer
-table saw

The piano was picked up last week by a happy family ("Free! OMG!").  The (broken) printer has long since been recycled and the table saw is being borrowed by family for renovations.  They've been renovating for years!