I’ve been a woman on a mission for several months, clearing out our side yard, updating photo albums, and disposing of unwanted items in our garage and home.
It’s not difficult for me to let things go. I’m sentimental about letters and photographs, but not much else. That said, a few items require negotiations when married and with two sons.
Now that both of my young men have graduated from university and moved into their own space, it’s been a good time to assess. My younger son hung on to wires, cables, electronics, defunct phones, etc., which I knew would never again see the light of day. He willingly went through it on his last visit home, and just like that, 95% went to an e-waste location with just a few treasures remaining. My husband, Mike, is also a “cable guy,” so that apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. We also sorted my son’s backpacking and camping gear and donated a bag of things he’s outgrown. It feels good.
I relocated several of the photos he took in high school from the hallway into his room and had one series of pictures framed and hung over the bed. The photo series spells out SLEEP. Now, I can frame his diploma and graduation photo and put it next to his brother’s in the hallway.
The messiest job involved clearing out the side yard. Since we don’t have a basement or a usable attic, we use this side yard for storage. I have a RubberMade storage container that fits the width of the area, and we’re using it for off-season items.
I consolidated two bins and made room for both in the shed. I passed on two small patio tables and a few planter boxes to a gardening friend, and the remaining items were recycled or tossed. After years of working as a professional organizer, I’ve found ways to dispose of most things responsibly. While I’m happy to give something away, I’m not crazy about adding to the landfill.
Our water tanks also line the side of the house. I hung a piece of upholstery fabric behind a trellis, so this area is camouflaged when we sit on the garden swing.
Next up, the garage. Now that paint stores can color match from a small swatch; it’s no longer necessary to keep back-up paint. Further, I’ve learned from experience that the paint on the walls fades, so touching up a scratch only works for about a year after painting.
Benjamin Moore Paint sells tiny containers in all colors and sheens, about the size of a spice jar so that you can try a small sample with far less waste. I took eight gallons of half-used paint to a local PaintCare site, making room on a lower, more accessible shelf for other items.
With a nod to Swedish death cleaning, I unpacked four small cedar boxes with the cremains of beloved but long-deceased cats. The boxes were difficult to open, part of why I didn’t deal with them in the past, and the accompanying emotions. It didn’t feel right leaving them in a cupboard for my sons to deal with after we’re gone.
One by one, I scattered the cremains of Slinky, Grant, Collar-Collar, and Fluffy on different days and in various areas of the garden.
It’s been an emotional journey but a cleansing one and a gift to myself and the ones I love.
I’ve had an idea bouncing around in my head for a while and wanted to give it a try. I’ve been drying a few hydrangea blooms, now faded to a soft purple-gray. The sage is winding down the season, but still has plenty of purple plumage to spare. The thought was to wrap strands of the soft sage along the edges of the wreath, punctuated with three hydrangeas and a bit of ribbon. The colors are lovely, but the implementation is all wrong. Further, the more I worked with the hydrangea, the more I damaged the brittle blooms. Stay tuned for my sad little tale later this week.
Gardening Nirvana 