I love getting rid of things.  Not that you would know this from visiting my house… I will finally admit that Mom may have been right in always calling me a “frustrated perfectionist,” (I whole-heartedly denied the ‘perfectionist’ part from about age 12 until, oh, probably a day or so ago.  And still… I’m more the frustrated part)  What this means is that stacks and piles of papers and projects tend to profligate under my care. I will abandon a wonderful idea just started because I don’t have time to “really do it right,”  and then wait for that time when I do have time to do it properly.  I’ve begun to catch on to the fact that that time will never come. At least probably not in the next 40 years or so.

That said, i really dislike clutter (Note: my piles of papers and such do not count as clutter, because i know exactly what is in them and that is their proper temporary home) and excess.  If the Barbie shoes are left strewn about the house, I’m vacuuming those puppies right up.  (Oh, I know.  I swore I’d never be the mom that did that kind of thing.  I also swore I’d never utter the phrase “Because I said so.”  Alas…)  And if I’m not wearing it it’s going right to Goodwill.  Of course, there is a downside to that:  during each of my pregnancies I’ve cleaned out my closet, getting rid of all the clothes I’m sure I’ll never wear again.  And each time, a few months later, I’m looking in the closet like, where are my normal clothes?  Did I think I was going to be preggo-sized forever?

Brian can tend to be the same way.  We’re always looking around, re-evaluating:  is this working?  Do we need all this “stuff?”  Can we pare down?  This is not to say we seek a monk-like existence, but that we want to be rid of the excess, keeping just what’s really functional.  You know a couple months ago we cut off our cable– from the normal channels to the most basic of cable, with eight or ten channels.  I thought there’d be some Noggin (the kids) or TLC and HGTV (me) withdrawal, but no, (fortunately!) life went on just fine.

Now, a few weeks ago we did away with our internet.   I know, weird ’cause I’m still here, right?  Well, see, if I sit in just the right spot, or put the computer up on top of the bookcase on a clear day, I can catch just enough signal.  Sometimes.   So we’re saving a little more money each month (always a good thing, right?). And definitely wasting less time.  Definitely a good thing.  But shoot, I really do miss being able to catch up with your blogs, and your pics and comments and my inbox and posting what’s going on in my brain and life whenever.

Officially it’s spring, and nice and warm.  This weekend I plan to unpack my warm-weather clothes.  I’m curious to see what’s left after last summer’s pregnant closet-cleaning spree