When Mr. K$ is away, Miss K$ likes to play

Every so often Mr. K$ has to go out of town for his job for a week or two. For some reason, every time he goes away I want to make changes at home. I'll change things, do a big house cleaning, rearrange the furniture, etc. I think it is fun to make improvements and surprise him, unfortunately Mr. K$ does not like surprises.

The time I took a sledgehammer and tore down the decrepit, ugly dirty brick BBQ/fireplace in the backyard (it was on our eventual to-do list) did not go over well, nor did the fact that I had all the old bricks and debris hauled away. But it was so fun! I would love it if I went away for two weeks leaving the house a disaster and returned to find the house sparkly clean and a major bit of work accomplished, but that is just me and not him. I make pouty face about it but I understand and am trying to be better.

So now that he is gone again, what am I to do? I have all this energy! I think I feel this way because I like the idea of a short term goal with a deadline. I really work better with a short deadline. My best work in college was started the day before it was due. Thinking about how my extra payments will pay off my second mortgage in only TEN YEARS instead of thirty, while a very good goal, just isn't as fun.

So what did I decide to do while he is away? Purge my stuff, as I mentioned in my last post. I know that purging only my stuff won't bother him at all. My goal is to have so much stuff gone that I actually have room for new stuff. I'm not planning new stuff, just breathing room. Credit card receipts so old the ink is faded away? Gone! Books I can find at the library if I want to reread them? Gone! Materials for craft projects I'll never get around to? Going! Rearrange the living room? Yes, that too, but at least I warned him this time. I'll have to empty out the drawers of big furniture pieces before I move them so I'm sure some of the contents of those drawers will land in the giveaway pile. Why do I have a huge collection of gift wrap when we don't give lots of gifts in my family anymore? I could pare it down to 20% of what I currently have and still have enough to last for many years. It's going! Why do I have four identical spools of thread in odd colors I am unlikely to use? I'll keep one and get rid of the rest.

I am having a FABULOUS time cleaning out my junk. My trunk is packed with stuff for Goodwill, there is open space visible in my basement, and I don't have trouble shutting any of my dresser drawers. I'd like to have the trunk of my car filled a second time and the recycling bin full by the end of the weekend. Once upon a time I had so much extra stuff that the big house I used to live in wasn't big enough and I had to store many many boxes with my parents. I keep having these periodic purges and I don't buy nearly as much stuff any more so I have less and less stuff and feel better and better about it. I don't store anything with my parents now and soon I will have all my stuff stored in drawers or on shelves, no more piles in closet or basement. Next I want to get rid of so much stuff that I can get rid of some extra furniture that I use to store the extra stuff. I already banished one bookcase, can I get rid of an extra desk?