Organizational intervention

Lately I've been really mad at my house for being too small and at the same time being more perfect for me than any other house that comes up for sale in my area, assuming I could justify paying about $75,000 per room for the extra space such a shift would give me, plus moving expenses. And I really can't.

So even though I usually keep Good Friday as a day of quiet reflection, this year I spent the day emptying out all the kitchen cupboards and tossing everything so old as to be unusable (how did I miss those painkillers back in 2005 when they first expired?) or coming from a time when I did things differently than I do now.

And that is the big lesson: as times change, habits change. When I was writing all the time, I baked bread a lot and made elaborate suppers, because those activities make for good mulling of plot points and character motivation. Now I'm doing textiles - more hands on, less mulling required, way less time available. I need tea and quickbreads from the grocery store in the main cupboards, not yeast.

It took about four hours to get the cupboards empty and wiped clean - depressing when you consider exactly how small a space we're talking about here.

I made some sad discoveries, like this bag that could have had anything in it...


... and turned out to have the expensive chocolate-shop treats purchased last July and immediately misplaced.


Also: some happy ones.


I forgot I had collected these vintage Pyrex sweeties, even though I used to use them all the time for all kinds of different things.

When I was partway through I could see light:


And now I am in it.


Everything that used to sit on the counter is now up in a cupboard, and honestly? Walking through the kitchen and seeing that clear space and feeling the mental freedom it gives - that's worth all the effort and then some.