Whirlwind

What a whirlwind. Right now I'm on a plane heading from Fairhope to Baltimore to see my youngest brother (after a scary turn where we thought his lung cancer had invaded his brain) then the return flight will be to Key West, my new home. Ok, the packing isn't quite complete (affirming the fears of Peter and other family and friends) so I'll need to take a flight back near the end of June to do some final bits as well as getting the house ready to rent but I'm really doing it. Ah... change. I'm both freaked out yet remarkably calm.

Card by Curly Girl Designs

This is some major downsizing. Basically I will almost be reducing my footprint by 75%. No baby steps here. 25 + years of accumulation plus I still hadn't gone through all the items from Mom and Dad's house. It hasn't even been a year yet since Mom died so everything has a memory. I've tried to disassociate and select a few special mementos instead of holding too tightly to every single thing. I've been marginally successful. Once I move there will be another purging, particularly of clothing. The unexpected time crunch means clothes are simply being bagged up without evaluation (Thank you so much Peter) and driven down.

I bought and read the book, "The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up -The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing" by Marie Kondo.  I plan to implement her process as I need to cull half my clothes (at a minimum) There are items two sizes to small and some well over a decade beyond stylish along with some of my mom's old clothes (perfect for a 70 year old but really Laurie, come on), jeans so ripped and torn that no amount of patching will ever put them back together (held on to mostly with the idea of a cool beach quilt to be created in the future) you see, I have a tendency to see potential in everything. And sure with enough time and creativity all my imagined projects could happen BUT really when it been 8 years or more and nothing except additional accumulation has happened, what are the odds I am going to actually do these projects. When I had the room to store extra stuff, it was ok to let things ride, but now I'm afraid not.

It is a perfect time to redefine my clothing to reflect who I am in a more conscience manner.  How fun could that be?  Sort of similar to what I'll be doing in my new little townhouse.  I'm thinking bright clean and happy!  A fresh palette for a fresh start. Turquoise, Red, Coral, Lime.  A modern mash-up of Tropical Boho!

Well I am about to land so until later -Look for the Lovely and Enjoy the Artful Life!

Music: A Little Buffet Fun
Jimmy Buffet -Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes