Happy Thanksgiving to my fellow Canadians!
This weekend was a very busy one with Frousin time, Family Thanksgiving on Sunday and Thanksgiving with friends that are like family today. In between, I also had my fifth and sixth driving lessons and have started to take the advice of Marie Kondo – author of “The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up.”
Conquering fears, trying to de-stress and decluttering is really what my Dr. Oz journey has been about this year. Driving is another fear that I am conquering – especially driving in a big city. It’s an adjustment driving again, but every time I get behind the wheel, I feel a little less Miss Daisy, and a little more like I can do this – I can drive faster than 60 kilometres an hour! I can do a 3-point turn! I can drive without running anyone over! I still have a ways to go and need a little more confidence – don’t we all – but I believe I’ll be ready for my road test in December. Wish me luck – or wish yourselves luck if you happen to be a Toronto driver.
In addition to driving, I also have spent a good deal of time starting my next round of decluttering. I know that I wrote many a post about this last year. Like a Smugly McSmug Lady, I bragged about all of the things that I was getting rid of…then I read “The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up – The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing” and realized that my work has just begun. The book divides your home into different categories (part of the KonMari method) and suggests that you tackle one category before you move on to another. You don’t purge rooms – you purge categories. I’ve started with tops, as Marie Kondo suggests starting with clothing and even tells you down to the item, what order you should do this in. Some of her suggestions are hooey – I’m not going to say hi to my home or thank my clothes for serving me, but I do see her point about getting rid of things that you no longer love or have no use for. I also understand her advice about getting rid of things that you may have an emotional attachment to – the memory will still be there, but the item of clothing or knick knack no longer needs to take up space. So far, I have a mouton of clothes, literally, that I’m either going to donate or toss. It’s a lot more than I expected after last year…but it’s been cleansing in more ways than one. I’ll keep you posted on my progress, with photos. Dr. Oz will be very proud of me, and in a weird way, it is relaxing.
As it’s Thanksgiving, I should express some sort of gratitude…but I have to say, it’s been a bit of a challenge this year. I’m always grateful for family and friends, but I think that right now, I’m the most thankful for the life lessons that I’ve learned this year. Right now, the lesson that I’m learning is that it’s ok to get rid of possessions but it’s also ok to keep what you really love. It doesn’t seem like a big deal, until you are in the process of it yourself.
Jill Of Some Trades 