Without preamble, here are things I want to do more, or less, of in 2011.
Item the first:
I've fought The Battle of Stuff my whole life. I've had a tendency to keep almost everything: old movie ticket stubs, receipts for everthing, boxes for appliances... The parts of our apartment that are on public view are uncluttered and tidy - but I have a guilty secret of boxes and bags of random items crammed into closets. Every year I've resolved to get organized, to find storage solutions; to get a handle on all my stuff.
This year, I have a different priority. It's been creeping up on me over the last couple of years, but the last couple of months, especially, have made one thing clear to me: I don't need more storage. I need less stuff.
Resolved: In 2011, at least one item a day will be removed from my home, never to return. I look forward to really evaluating the worth of these things I'm holding on to, to freeing up room in my physical world, and to similarly removing clutter from my mental and emotional space. I find just looking at extraneous stuff tiring - it's the visual equivalent of being at a party where the music is just a little bit too loud. Except I can't leave. So I'm moving the noise out instead.
Item the second:
I haven't posted anything to my photography blog in months. It just became yet one more thing I was struggling to keep up with, and I let it go. Except now I'm realizing how much it fed my soul, and I miss it. I miss the photo walks and bike rides, I miss looking at my surroundings with an eye for the interesting within the mundane, and I miss seeking and finding the factoids that gave the photos meaning when I posted them on my blog.
Resolved: In 2011, I will start posting again regularly to Vancouver Daily Photo.
Item the third:
A purely practical matter.
Resolved: I will hang my towel on the hook on the back of the bathroom door when I'm done with it after my shower so I don't have to run dripping through the apartment looking for it every. goddamn. morning.
And you, what are your resolutions?
You get extra points for doability. But I need to know WHEN you will hang that hook ;)
ReplyDeleteLove getting rid of stuff. LOVE it.
Working on my resos. Will report back. LOL.
Harriet, the hook has been there since we moved into the apartment. The photo is, in fact, my towel hanging on the hook. Now I need to do that every day instead of just for photo ops. :)
ReplyDeleteStuff, even treasured/valuable stuff, can be a burden, even unto the next generation. Over the holidays the next generation (having made their own resolution) inquired of our ticket-to-ride plans. Turns out what they really wanted to know what we planned for the science fiction collection. Knowing they had total freedom to act as they saw fit at the time took that burden off them. Their interest in our prepaid cremation, etc., was vastly less than their interest in the burden of our STUFF.
ReplyDeleteI hang my towel, and then certain little people whose names rhyme with Hannah and Jacob make off with it. And then they engage in an all-out battle to decide who gets to return it to me. Sadly, I don't think any resolution on my part will solve this one. Too bad. :(
ReplyDeleteAs for me, I am resolving to find more space in my life in 2011. It's nebulous, and I like it that way.