Cleaning House

I'm not talking daily chores here. I'm talking taking inventory, purging, fixing problems. This is what I've been doing with my summer when I haven't been on taxi duty or on vacation. This has not been easy for me, but it has been the best thing I've done in a long time. It's therapeutic. It's freeing.

5 years ago, I became single. Nearly 4 years ago, I became divorced. Since then, a melee of trouble has found its way to me, and it was dealt with (thank you, Lord). During this time, however, things accumulated, much as they do just with the simple passage of time and not just because of a broken marriage. I was fortunate enough to remain a stay-at-home mom until the kids were all school age, then I found a wonderful job. A job that enables me to spend my summers at home (or away) with the kids. That, my friends, was a God thing. He put me in that job, I'm sure of it. Of course, working full time and being Mommy full time leaves little time for Cleaning House in this way. Just keeping up with the day-to-day things can be difficult at times.

Anywho, something I'd been wanting to do, but had just not had the gumption to do was let go of a collection I'd worked on for about 13 years. My Campbell's Soup collection. My kitchen was decked out in Campbell's Soup tin signs and knick-knacks. There was even a service for 12 of Campbell's Soup dishes. There is a LOT of this stuff, and I'd been collecting it my entire marriage, but quit once that ended, for obvious reasons. This summer, I took down all the signs on the walls and the knick-knacks and decided to paint my kitchen. I just didn't put any of the decor back up. Instead, I boxed it up. That was about 5 weeks ago. Today, I boxed up that table service. It's all going to go bye-bye.

It's not all that easy to give up a collection. Collecting certain things endear those things to a person. Since letting these things go, I feel that a weight has been lifted. I had read somewhere that "collecting" can actually cause symptoms of depression and anxiety. Really? Is that true? Well, given how I feel about this "purge," I would say there might be something to that. A lot of clutter can be overwhelming, even if it's in order and tidy. Perhaps too much stuff is just excess baggage? And hey, that stuff is just one less thing to worry about. I also read that a kitchen that has clutter can cause weight gain or the inability to lose weight. Yeah. You go into the kitchen, see the clutter, can't face dealing with the clutter, so it's into the fridge or cupboard for some comfort. Now THAT makes sense to me. My uncluttered kitchen is nice, and I've found that I don't go to the fridge or cupboard as often.

Okay, so maybe this is all wishful thinking on my part. Or maybe, because my Campbell's Soup collection had a bit more significance than just simply collecting, I've let go of more than just a collection (there's probably truth to that as well). Whatever it is, it's had a really good effect, and I highly recommend it to anyone.