In This Moment...

A few years ago, it was a really rough time for my family. We lost my mother, great uncle and great aunt (brother & sister). There was also a dearly beloved family pet that had to be put to sleep. While the deaths were all very sad, nothing compares to the ongoing stress of dealing with the possessions that are inevitably left behind. My sister is dealing with our mother's estate. The process is much more in-depth and emotional for her since she was there and completely involved at the time. I live in another state and I was involved with the great aunt & uncle. They were older and so sickness that is fatal isn't as shocking. They were raised during the Great Depression... I am sure I don't need to elaborate much more about their living styles after stating that.

I have volunteered to help the family clear out the estate. There have been TWO estate sales and we are planning more. There was a packed garage, two sheds in the back and oh yeah, ANOTHER HOUSE! I must say that this is completely overwhelming. I really only got fully invested in this project after the first estate sale happened and yet there was still so much leftover. There are piles of books, multiple sets of dishes, several VCRs and so much more! It is several lifetimes worth of stuff. Right now I am sitting in the dining room that has 3 tables in it covered in glassware and knick knacks.

Maybe this is part of the reason why I keep striving, no matter what, to make my life more simplified. I don't want to ever leave this kind of legacy for my loved ones. I would rather people focus on the good memories rather than the turmoil of dividing and disposing of possessions. Time to get back to work...

Day 22 - Bluetooth Headset

Laws are popping up everywhere for safe driving with a cell phone and rightly so. This was purchased for my last phone which was great because they used the same charger! Now I have an iPhone and it came with the corded handsfree earphones. I am satisfied with that option since the earphones/handsfree speaker are multi-tasking. I always carry a pair of earphones in my purse and don't have to worry about my handsfree device dying or the need to have an additional charger with me... very simple and easy!

Day 21 - Wallet Sized Tip Chart

My high school business teacher gave everyone in the class one of these little cards. I think it was supposed to help us save face at business lunches or something so we wouldn't under tip. It bothers me more to think if I am paying for a meal that someone is watching me fill out that section of the receipt! I usually calculate tips in my head which doesn't seem very hard and I am extremely math averse! If I were still struggling, I would use the calculator on my cell phone.

Day 20 - Travel Spirograph

I had a Spirograph at my grandparents house that I used to spend hours and hours playing with. This definitely reminded me of those memories and I am sure that is what inspired me to buy a travel version. I haven't used it in years though. It seems like it would be a fun thing to keep in a desk drawer at an office, but I think I will just let this one go.

Day 19 - School Related Items

So maybe some of you are noticing how late my daily post is. I have a good excuse though, I swear! I was working frantically on my required research paper that was due. This research paper had an entire class devoted to its undertaking. It has been described as a mini-dissertation by some. All I know is that I am glad it is done and I hope to never have to write another one again! This was the last class that I needed to get my bachelors degree!!!

In honor of this fantastic milestone, I am THRILLED to be tossing the huge stack of research articles I printed into the recycle bin! Equally as thrilling is getting rid of the highlighters I was using to comb through each of the articles. It was very late in the game when I realized that Apple has fantastic annotation tools for PDFs, which means I could have gone totally paperless. That would have saved a lot of time and resources, but now I can use the tools for any future highlighting needs! I will reserve just one physical highlighter since I don't need the rainbow assortment any longer. Also getting the boot are all of my leftover test forms.

I have to admit that this particular purge feels so great. The biggest purge is actually in my mind since I am not obligated to worry and stress out about getting my schooling completed any longer. I am sure it will take some time to clear it out completely, as old habits can be tough to break. I look forward to this next chapter though.

Day 18 - Body Jewelry

I believe I was about 20 years old when I thought getting a belly button piercing would be cool. What was very UNCOOL was the fact that the piercer did it wrong (and I went to an extremely reputable place) and pierced a spot where it would rub against my pants when I sat, therefore it stayed chronically infected. Fun times, huh? Good riddance to these beasts of torture!

Day 17 - Christmas Themed Picture Frame

It is sad, but I believe there already Christmas advertising that was happening in a local mall somewhere last month! The television reporter asked how the girl felt about shopping for Christmas in July and the young twenty-something year old exclaimed how wonderful it was since "you can never get too early of a start on Christmas shopping"! I don't know why exactly, but I was rather shocked by her remarks. I am hoping she was paid for her enthusiasm because everyone that I know has downshifted when it comes to Christmas spending, which means less time in a mall. Maybe I am just projecting here though. In my efforts to strive for simplicity, I went through my box of Christmas decorations and got rid of any superfluous items. I have a small 4 ft. Christmas tree and a couple of stockings. I don't need items to decorate the entire house, nor do I decorate for any other holiday. Having pictures in holiday frames isn't necessary for me which is rather evident since this has never been used!