RID 44

Yesterday, my wife and I attempted to unite to clean up some things around the house. Going in, I wasn't sure how much would be accomplished because although the goal was 4-6 hours of work, we had 3 different rooms of focus and scheduling 6 hours doesn't mean we'll stick to it. But, I was hopeful some progress would be made and some items would be marked for moving on.

What went out?
1. Trash, multiple bags
2. Star-shaped candle holder with candle
3. Green, square plate with matching saucers
4. White plates (2)
5. White plate with gold trimming
6. 7 foot long green rug. It's a lovely rug but the wife says green is not our color theme :). I gave it away in a local free group.
7.  Janet Jackson Runaway CD
8. Eliza Carthy CD
9. Lesser of Two CD
10. Tropical Oasis CD
11. Randy Roos PrimalVision CD
12. Pink pedometer
13 Lids
14. Large pots
15. Cookie pan
16. Greeting cards. Not all of them but I parted with a few from around 2012, including one that sings except the batteries were bad ☺
17. A book on conscientious shopping. It was short so I photographed it; perhaps I'll post it in a separate entry.
18. Votive candle holder
19. Cast iron skillet, small
20-21. Cassettes
22. Small, outside butterfly inspired table

3 bowls have been marked to leave the house but I have not yet decided rather or not I am going to hold on to them. I know I want to use one at work; I think the other two will be set free but stay tuned.

My wife parted with a a votive candle holder, 3 piece luggage set, and 3 piece rug set.

We are continuing to shed. The house looks worse now that we're done with our 5 hour session. It can be so frustrating how things look worse before they get better. We were supposed to join forces in tackling the living room so we can have a sleep over with nieces and nephews in a few weeks. There was some miscommunication concerning that but the main goals of that area were accomplished. I would feel fine with you coming over and sitting down in there. In fact, it makes me want to answer the other door so that is the space people walk into instead of the kitchen. The kitchen has parts that are more organized but there is also a bumfunk of stuff off center in the floor. My wife really wants to clear the kitchen floor. I remember when we did that before. I wonder how long it will last this time :/. It's the crux of the house and so many things land there as we move things from one side to another, clearing out one room or another. The den was the third room of focus and doesn't have much to rejoice over. I did empty out a box that was turned into a goodwill box, which is good for clearing things out. But, I have a ton of stuff on the coffee table from me pulling out and unwrapping trinkets but then being pulled to a different room before a home or even organized holding session for those items was created. So, it looks like a tornado threw up in here just a bit. Progress, not perfection. Bit by bit, almost room by room, we continue to push forward. Organize and rehome. RID.

organizing from the inside out 1

I have made a step towards accomplishing my 2011 goal of reading at least 5 books that I own by completing Organizing from the Inside Out by Julie Morgenstern. Now, I am working the steps and principles in her book. She encourages readers to answer 5 assessment questions before starting to organize and get rid of their clutter:

1. What's working?



2. What's not working?




3. What items are most essential to you?




4. Why do you want to get organized? and




5. What's causing the problems? (which I'm currently skipping due to disinterest)

I have altered some of my actions, habits, and environment as a result of reading this book prior to completing the book. Tonight, I noticed that I've changed a number of things. I'd get to a not working and go, "well actually, I've already fixed that." Answering questions 1-4 made me feel accomplished.

I'm choosing to work this book now in hopes of me setting up a neater shop when I move to Jackson. Having more space in Jackson will also help. Part of me wants to move in Mphs even if Jackson doesn't work out (except I LOVE my complex and can't afford much larger with my current pay rate).

You can see some of my other 2011 goals here.

today's actions, today's thoughts

Right now, I'm tired and experiencing a rare moment where I don't feel the urgent need to do anything in particular. I spent three hard working hours uncluttering my apartment with my Aunt Bev. Before, you could see my couch and parts of my dining table and coffee table. Now, you can see my couch AND love seat and have full use of both tables. That was a lot of paper to throw away. We both took 2 arms full of trash to the garbage bin, largely because we unpacked my newest, small appliances and had those boxes to throw out (but it sounds glamorous and productive to say we had 2 arms full of things to throw out). After she left, I took a number of items to my mom's house for semi-permanent storage or for loan. Objectively, my living room and dining room are a lot cleaner now. Surprisingly, they feel about the same to me as they always did. I guess it's because they're still mine. "Hello home." I've dallied here and there to properly put up a few lingering items. Now, I'm officially done with cleaning for the day. I found a bunch of sheets and towels I didn't know I had. They'll get folded tomorrow or Tuesday.

Yesterday, I ate party food and played games with my family and some of their childhood friends. It was mostly enjoyable. There was a spell where I wanted to leave because a couple of people kept cheating, which ruined the game to me instead of being amusing as they probably intended. Thankfully, other ppl were getting annoyed too so the perpetrators finally stopped, given the outcry. We were playing the game where you tape a name on a person's back and they have to figure out who they are by asking yes and no questions about their identity. We decided that I should have my birthday party on July 2 because I'll be out of the town the weekend before my birthday and 2 days before the 4th shouldn't really interfere with ppl's plans of cooking. We hope. Maybe. I'll lose everyone that plans to go out of town for the 4th. My birthday's in a bit of a crappy corner for gatherings.

I've been thinking some about Christianity and homosexuality. It amazes me the degree to which people are not willing to examine and question the possibility that their belief that homosexuality is a sin is wrong. It's like suggesting that God loves gays just as fully as He loves straights threatens the foundation of Christianity and individual beliefs. If God's okay with Mary and Mary, then maybe Jesus didn't die for my sins. Huh? It doesn't work that way and I'm not sure why the idea of misinterpreting those few verses of scripture seem to translate to foundational questions for believers. I have a hard time understanding why people reject the possibility that homosexuality isn't a sin after engaging in a discussion of those "globber verses". I remember feeling the need to check and recheck the context, word translations, and whatever I saw that suggested that my pastor had been wrong and I was incorrectly identifying sin in my brethren. I remember being afraid of being wrong by suggesting it wasn't a sin and living my life in accordance with that new belief. I really, really didn't want to be wrong on that issue and move forward. If you're betting that hell doesn't exist, then you better be right (or somehow that saying goes). In part, I think it was because I was the president of a religious-based program on campus and changing my belief on that issue could reflect back on both the school chapter and national organization that I represented. I had to make sure I was right. And I think I strongly suspected that I was queer by then; I think I was "in love" with that girl, or at least wanted to pursue a relationship with her. For both our sakes, I couldn't be wrong. I was pretty close to the southern baptist church when I embarked on my study of the bible and homosexuality. I attended a Methodist church which I joked was a southern baptist church that said the doxology. I did not live in a world where my new suspicion was okay. I think part of the issue with changing one's belief on this is that you're swimming against the flow in your head. When you speak out or live out that belief, you put a target on your back. Perhaps at some unconscious level, we recognize all of this when someone comes to us and suggests that we reexamine our beliefs of what the Bible says about homosexuality. It's dangerous to be different. Jesus was different and He was killed. Dr. King believed in something different and was very vocal about that; he was killed. Mother Teresa believed differently and acted on those beliefs; she died a saint but lived an excruciatingly difficult life that included doubting in God's goodness and existence. Believing different has definitely taken me there. One of my relatives recently told me they don't want to meet my Christian, lesbian friends because they believe I have been under some wrong teaching and Satan is trying to distract me to prevent God's plan for my life to be fully manifested. Wow. Ouch, but I asked the question. In a way, they're right. People will discount me and judge me in a number of ways for being bisexual. I disagree with her assessment, however, because I think it is people like her that are being misled by Satan, if one wants to use such language. Love liberated Jesus, not judgment.

In this moment, I am okay with who I am and feel loved by my "church" family. I can't ask for much more than that for me. Globally, however, there is much more to be desired. Hatred seems to have existed for all of human kind; maybe I'm ignorant to suggest that we decrease its hold on society now. Perhaps lgbt ppl can only be liberated if another group is spiritually battered and made the outcast. I just don't understand, in this nation that so enthusiastically claims to love God and be His people, how so much injustice abounds. Let me be employed, housed, and love. Let me be; stop holding your breath.