Purge Without Binging

A big push for 2013 is to minimize the junk.  Living on a property with a 120 year old barn means that there are a lot of discarded junk mementos from families past.  Last week we had a dumpster delivered in order to do a major purge.  We have accomplished quite a bit for a few short days, but I found that the process so far has been much more complex and led to some discarding, but quite a bit of pile making.  We have the donation pile, mostly old bikes and yard toys, but we are also taking this opportunity to clear the attic and basement, so all of the toddler toys are making a long overdue departure.  Then there is the burn pile, bits of old broken wood planks, etc.  There is the recycle pile which is in the back of the truck and making sporadic runs to the recycling dumpster at the office.  Finally, there is the scrap metal pile....we could actually make a few pennies on this one.  Everything else is trash-able, and we have four weeks to complete the job. 

The trick to clearing, organizing and restructuring our stuff, is not to make room just to go on a shopping spree and add more to a bottomless pit of storage.  No, it is to allow us to utilize what we have so that we can move forward with the farm projects that we have planned.  **We have allowed one binge though, ironic it also came this week.  When B was out riding his bike, he passed an old farm that was throwing out 23 matched storm windows.  He talked to the owners and then loaded them up and we put them in the greenhouse staging area of the barn.  So you see, it is only a very temporary and useful binge.

By the way, a 10 minute walk with camera in hand to take in a few moments of broken sun, is well worth the frigid gale.   It clears the mind (a purge of sorts) and allows you to refocus, just enough to see things in new and interesting ways.  I highly recommend it! 

Happy Weekend!