Clearing

It's astonishing how much not-really-necessary stuff one can accumulate in a few months time. I've begun the process of sorting and organizing, and it isn't pretty. We have a huge cardboard box in front of the trailer for things we want to give away. Our own personal Free Box is filling up embarrassingly fast, and I'm depending on Mitzi and Serena to come over and take some of this stuff off my hands. So far, we've off-loaded two stacking plastic chairs, one folding lounge chair, one plastic cocktail table, my beloved Tiki Torch, and a bunch of decorative yard crap, which we refer to as SOS, or S--t On a Stick. We sold the kayak on Craigslist, sigh..., and have takers (Mitzi and Serena), for my two folding studio tables, desk chair, and rolling shop stool. I'm tossing odd kitchen and clothing items into the Free Box too, along with worn out dog clothes -- yes, Heidi has clothes -- excess books, and about a dozen hats that I couldn't stop myself from knitting last winter.

I'm really quite humbled by my Stuff. I can't believe we've allowed all this to come into our lives so quickly. I guess some of it was necessary, like studio stuff. You know my motto -- A girl's gotta make a living. And some of it was gifts, even though I've been telling people for two years, If it's not consumable in some way, don't give it to me. They don't believe me. They only give me smaller gifts, rationalizing that small things will fit in our small space. Actually, small things really efficiently clutter up a small space. Aside from the few bits of small and lovely art I've received, if you want to give me something, please keep in mind, consumables, friends, give me consumables!

There is one area of weakness for me in all this. And it's a bad one. I have a thing for purses. There, I said it. I brought along a couple of practical bags, and one very impractical ballerina pink Betsey Johnson confection with a huge rhinestone studded silver bow on the front. My sister gave me that one, and I just couldn't leave it in storage with all those nasty little mice. Besides, it's so over the top, it has a certain trailer trashiness that suits me these days. What can I say about my love for purses? Another of my many mottoes is -- A girl's gotta haul her own stuff. And what better way to do it than in a beautiful, stylish bag? I also feel that when the weight of the world is too much for my shoulders, a new purse is just the thing to make it feel lighter.

The bags I brought along should have been enough, but no... I wanted more. I ordered a lovely wine colored tapestry bag from someone on Etsy, and later found the perfect knitting bag, a beautiful blue thing with a big bird on the side. I get a lot of compliments on that one, and in my own defense, I use it all the time. But there's one purse out there that taunts me on a regular basis. It's a Susan Nichole bag, which means nothing to me really, but it's so beautiful, and vegan to boot. I've been lusting after this bag for months, and today a real test of my commitment to simplicity landed in my email box.

The marketing devils at Susan Nichole must be wracking their brains to boost sales, same as everyone else who's trying to sell unnecessary luxuries these days. They came up with a good one. A one day, buy-one-get-one sale. Oh, the torture! You have no idea how hard my bag-loving brain is trying to justify buying this purse. I could have two! I could give one away, but I probably wouldn't. I could feel good about buying a recyclable, earth-friendly, animal-friendly accessory. I could update my entire fall wardrobe with this one little bag...

Or I could close my computer and let it go. Again. I mean, if I can't walk my talk, who can? I believe in letting things go, in order to make room for new things to come to us. Maybe... yes maybe when we sell our house, that will be enough of a letting-go that I can let myself have that beautiful purse. Until then, if you want to take advantage of the 24 sale for yourself, the password is "BOGO". I'm deleting their email and backing away from the computer. I have a Free Box to fill.