I am completely overwhelmed and don’t know where to begin. It is very unusual for me not to have a single clue about how to proceed with any given project. However, today I must admit I am stalled, unsure and weighted down with the number of decisions I have to make.
Last week Rich and I decided we are moving to Phoenix. We have lived in Philadelphia for just about 8 years and we are ready to begin a new adventure. I’m very excited about it all…but now I am beginning to realize how much needs to be done in the next few months. OMG!! I am having a meltdown!
Rich starts his new position soon (late October) and I will move in December after the semester is over. I have all of October, November and December (except for the holidays) to do the following: travel to Phoenix to look for and buy a new house (we will also look at homes in Scottsdale and other communities in the area) ; clean up, de-clutter and sell our current house; sort through tons of books, art supplies, clothes, and other assorted household paraphernalia so we aren’t moving a lot of crap stuff we’ll never use again, and then pack up everything else we simply cannot live without.
Change is good for the soul. I know I will feel much better once I lighten my load by paring down my belongings. It is cathartic. After all, those are just material possessions…they are not important in the greater scheme of things. With that in mind, Rich and I spent the weekend cleaning out our closets…we tossed out a lot of outdated and ill-fitting clothes. It left me wondering why we had waited so long! Why did we keep all those things we hardly ever wore? I suppose there was a sentimental attachment, but why did I really keep the dress I wore to Alex’s Bar Mitzvah all these years (his Bar Mitzvah was in 1989 for G-d’s sake–that was last century!!)? I am at a loss to explain it…I haven’t worn that dress in 20 years.
After tossing away half the clothes (and shoes) in my closet I am now faced with a new dilemna: I have nothing to wear and I need to go shopping. I wonder if Clinton and Stacey can help me?
I have sorted through most of my books and magazines. The magazines I will eventually bring to school for my Collage Class students to cut up and enjoy. It will be a glorious day for them! Many of the fashion and textile majors will certainly enjoy all the Neiman’s (by the way, here is the famous Neiman Marcus cookie recipe), Bergdorf’s and Saks’s catalogues I have horded for close to 6 years. They were too beautiful to throw away so I kept them all.
Last week, I tried to donate most of my wonderful art books to an art college (the college will remain nameless, but I work there). I was informed by the library staff that I would need to present them with a complete inventory of the books (titles and authors). Can you imagine? I wanted to donate over 175 expensive and hard-to-find art books! The college library could have benefited from a donation worth around $3,500.00 (!) had they been willing to accept those books without an inventory! I realize it is quite a task for the staff to inventory books to accession them, but hey! It is a DONATION! (And a work-study student’s time would have been a good investment on their part.)
So now, the major beneficiary will be Friends of the Free Library of Philadelphia, Inc. They support programs at the Free Library of Philadelphia through sales of books donated to the Book Corner on 20th St. just north of Ben Franklin Parkway.
All the gorgeous art books I donated should be out on their shelves this week. Next week, I will have about 150 (or more) books to donate—this time fiction, non-fiction and poetry. There are some real treasures waiting to be dropped off. Like New Rules by Bill Maher! (Sorry, Bill; even though I am a devoted fan, and even though I loved your book, it’s not going to travel to Phoenix with me. Someone else in Philly will get to enjoy it at a discount. I hope you won’t mind.)
So here I sit, thinking about (Bill Maher and) all I need to do to get organized and what am I doing? Nothing. Absolutely nothing, but spouting off about my books and ridiculous library policies and how much clutter I still must wade through. I had better stop writing for my blog and do something constructive! Like, deciding if I will really need to take a winter coat to Phoenix. And finding the answer to this burning question: Does anyone wear suede in Phoenix?
Content and photos (except photo of Bill Maher) copyright 2007 by Janet Towbin
1 response so far ↓
suburose // October 10, 2007 at 2:56 pm |
you crack me up. i can’t wait to be the recipient of all this “cleaning”.