August 31, 2010

guilt free

I’m going to make this commitment while I have a clear head that is free from the overwhelming stress brought on by the sight of boxes and unorganized piles.

I, Mara Hansen, solemnly swear not to unpack a single object without knowing its intended purpose. All unnecessary possessions will be removed in a timely fashion.

I began “The Happiness Project” by Gretchen Rubin in which the author accounts of her year-long happiness project. Early in the book Rubin aims to boost her energy, a task that includes eliminating physical clutter. Relating far too often, I recognized that I am being oppressed by a few kinds of clutter.

Bargain Clutter: the result of buying unnecessary items simply because they are on sale

Conservation Clutter: the result of keeping things that are useful, but not to me

And a particularly eye-opening moment:
“The kind of clutter that I found most disagreeable was buyer’s remorse clutter, when, rather than admit that I’d made a bad purchase, I hung on to things until somehow I felt they’d been “used up” by sitting in a closet or on a shelf—“ p.28

Oh God. I have Buyer’s Remorse Clutter. If I may, I’d like to add my own-- Guilt Clutter-- which is made up of items that you would feel guilty for discarding.

For my 18th birthday my sister ordered me a personalized, thoughtful gift that was meant to hang on the wall. The problem was I didn’t care for the gift. Over the course of three years I would randomly find the piece of art in a box under my bed and feel guilty and helpless. I blamed myself for not liking the gift. What’s worse is that a small part of me actually blamed her for my unrest. Before my most recent move I found the gift one last time and started to cry. I knew I would never utilize the gift and my anxiety was rising. A split second decision prompted me to pick up the phone and call Alie. I had to tell her and decided to ask if she wanted the gift. She said yes and I was free of the unnecessary guilt.

I bet most people have a similar possession. The problem was not that I disliked the gift, the problem was that the gift was housing the guilt. The gift was not important. By getting rid of the gift I did not get rid of the love and thoughtfulness my sister intended when she placed the order. However, even now that is hard for me to realize.

I need clutter out of my life.

And you, yeah you! Read “The Happiness Project”.

August 17, 2010

I'm behind.

It's been a stupendously eventful summer. I actually thought I updated but it turns out I never hit "Publish Post." Most of the past few weeks is old news. And I'm sure most of you keep up with Jethro who posted a ridiculously humorous update here.

Basically, we are still in the process of breaking the bear-infested, dream, mountain chalet lease and have successfully moved into a cute place in downtown Asheville. When I say move, I mean our stuff is still in boxes because the place is overrun with fleas. I love this apartment and am so driven to make it amazing. I actually want to make unpacking and decorating my full time job for about a month. I have another month long project in mind:

30 Day Clothes Cleanse
Every day for a month I plan to purge one article of clothing. At the end, I will sell what I can and donate the rest. This needs to happen if I want to keep my boyfriend who when asked, "How do you feel about moving?" responded, "You have a lot of clothes."

I also want to be more diligent about keeping this blog. I have a bunch of ideas and finally the time to execute.  High-five, I'm jobless!

Next week I am headed to Seattle and Vancouver with my mom. After that, start looking here more frequently... and ride me for updates.

August 5, 2010

Nightmare

Moving,  man. Moving is a funny thing.You plan, you organize, you have expectations and no matter what, crap goes awry.

In case you haven't heard, there has been a bear sighting. Or four. In two days. Our first full day at the house we stepped out of the car, arms overflowing with toilet paper, cleaning products and random food, to find a bear hauling ass down the tree twenty feet from our faces. Cool. Whatever.  At least I can die saying I saw a bear. But four? I can't pretend to feel interested.

Or safe.

So like I said. Crap has gone awry and some big changes are about to be made. Stay tuned for Split Second Decisions With  Jethro and Mara Part 5.