Tag thinking through our choices

What’s your week looking like?

Mine is looking up. It would have to be considering last week. I was pretty much confined to the sofa last week while I nurse my Planter’s Fasciitis, and because of my hand I wasn’t able to use them either.

But it hasn’t been all bad.

While it’s no fun being sidelined, it also gives us time to think and “ponder”. Sometimes we get so busy, we just run through our days, seldom giving thought to what we’re doing and why.

I realized that I”ve done way too much “shopping” for that perfect accessory, lamp, rug, for the house. Because I’ve been pursuing lots of blogs, I’ve found myself feeling as though I’m a long way from getting my house just right.

And yet.

When I look around, when I walk through my rooms, I like what I see. So why do I always feel the need to change something?

I’ve written often about our homes and the importance of liking our space but there’s also another way to look at it.

It’s just as good to learn to love what you already have.

That doesn’t mean we develop a “Hey, it’s good enough”. but that we find that our happy place between loving what we have while still having dreams for what we’d like our homes to look like.

You can always move it around. Paint it. Group it with something else.

And, of course, you can always “shop” your own house. I do this all the time. One of my goals for this next year is to take pictures of everything I have in terms of accessories so I don’t go out and buy the same thing again.

Have you done that? I certainly don’t need any more candle holders, for example.

But the other reason I’m doing this is because I have thrown away pieces I’ve later regretted. Mostly because I’ve been in a clearing out mode. And it’s that time again.

So this time I’m taking a more methodical approach, thinking through each item.

For example, remember those candle holders? That’s one item I never throw away. I don’t have to think about those.

But what about the other “stuff”? That’s where it gets tricky.

I read somewhere that if we can replace it for $5.00 or under and we can’t use it any other place in the house in the foreseeable future, then ditch it.

Then there’s that famous saying by interior designer, William Morris.

It’s a good philosophy. But a word of caution. The useful part may require a little extra thought. Some things may not be useful today but might be in the future. Also, make sure you can’t make it “beautiful” by altering it in some way. If it can be painted, then you might find it beautiful.

I have three vases I bought at Hobby Lobby last year. No matter how I try to convince myself, I just can’t make myself like them. They are black and white and that’s usually good in my book. But I don’t like them. So I’m going to paint them gold. Yep. gold.

Every once in a while I like me some gold.

If I don’t use them now, I will use them for Christmas. And that’s where; we run into difficulty. Think ahead to the Holidays before you ditch something. There are some items I have a tendency to hold on to and vases are one of them because they do span the seasons.

But when something doesn’t work, I don’t try to convince myself it will. Do you remember this piece?

It’s a great piece but serves absolutely no purpose. Plus it’s heavy. It really should be hung on the wall but I don’t like putting heavy things on my walls. I painted it white and brought it in the house. I tried it in the only place  I thought it would work and immediately knew it was history. And I’m not going to force myself to find a place for it just because I own it.

I’ve also done too much of that.

I would feel bad about it but it’s the only real bad purchase I’ve made in a long time so I’m giving myself a break.

How about you?

Whether you are male or female, there’s probably some spring cleaning you need to be doing. Don’t do what I’ve done and just throw it away because you are in a “cleaning-out” fury.

Think of your friends that might like your cast-offs. If you can’t think of someone, at least donate it to Goodwill or some similar store. Don’t just throw it in the garbage. That’s something I never do. I like the thought of a stranger finding one of my cast-offs and feeling like they’ve found a “treasure”. Just like I do when I find a cast-off item that is just what I was looking for.

Well, it’s time to “ice” my foot and hand again.

God bless and have a great day.