1. I should have known better-- whenever I decide to cough "write a real series of posts" and I set aside time to work on them, when I sit down to write, every idea I have disappears like wisps of smoke. I can't even remember what I was going to write about. It was kind of vaguely about crafting a spiritual life that is religion-adjacent, I think. I had a mental list of half a dozen posts that would build on each other. I mapped them out while I was on a solo road trip back in mid-September, but I didn't write any of it down, because genius ideas like that aren't going to just disappear, right?
Except (predictably) they did. So I guess I'm just back to posting more-or-less on Fridays about haphazard things, and maybe the elusive series will reappear in smaller doses over time.
2. I've been cleaning out closets. Not getting rid of as much stuff as I had hoped, but at least getting rid of some, and reorganizing the rest so that it doesn't look like a towering inferno of mess when you open a closet door. It's a good feeling. Such a good feeling that it's surprisingly self-reinforcing. Cleaning out a closet and seeing the results really makes me want to do another one.
3. I was looking for a specific de-cluttering post I wrote many years ago and couldn't find it, but I did find this one, which reminded me to say that the kind of decluttering I'm doing is for empty-nesters. If you're still young, just do what you can, but don't feel pressured by the project I'm doing.
4. So here are two things that I already knew but had forgotten about since it had been so long since I got serious about organizing our stuff. Actually, three things, because the first one is just that: this is not a one-time thing. Unless you're moving to a desert island, about every 6-8 years you have to do a serious clean-out. Because stuff just piles up. All the time. Even when you're consciously trying not to accumulate more stuff.
5. The second one is: to clean out a closet, don't just stand there and poke around. Pull everything out. All of it, so that you're looking at empty shelves. Then only put back the stuff you want to keep, and pitch or donate the rest. If you freak out, as I do, about throwing things away, I will pass along one of the most helpful things I ever read in all those de-cluttering books: if it's trash, it's trash whether it's sitting in your closet, or sitting in the trash can. Holding onto it doesn't make it worth keeping. That is really hard for our generation, I think. If it's not something you want, and it's either worn out or not something anyone else is going to want, throw it out. If you don't, your kids are going to have to do it after you're gone.
The third one is: as soon as you get a bag or a box of stuff together to donate, take it to the donation place. Don't wait until you've finished decluttering the whole house, because it will creep back in, or spread out, or otherwise behave like an invasive species of weed. (That is the voice of experience.) Or you'll forget it's there, and that box in the garage will still be sitting there a year later. (also the voice of experience.) It only takes a minute or two to drive up, drop off your box, and be on your way.
6. Still really, really miss our dog. We've always had a dog (since 1987) and now we don't. The house is too quiet (even though Sadie wasn't a noisy dog). We still have a cat, and she is a lovely, affectionate feline being, but it's not the same.
7. We went to see two movies in one week last week! The new Sense and Sensibility started off awkwardly--for one thing, who in the world thought that choreography was a good idea? But by the end, we were won over. Both the Emma Thompson version and the BBC version are much beloved by us, but this one was good enough that we were glad we went.
The second movie was Wildwood, which is a stop-action movie based on the book by Colin Meloy, the lead guitarist of The Decemberists. (Also he is from Montana, born in Helena and a University of Montana alum.) Wildwood is really well done. If you're wondering about taking kids, I think they'd need to be at least 12, but any kid who loves the Lord of the Rings movies would probably be ok with it. It's sort of a mash-up of LOTR, Willow, Stardust, Narnia, and the Wee Free Men, all of which are big favorites of ours.
Two movies in one week and we liked both of them. Will wonders never cease. Have a good weekend.
updated on Saturday to add: it is belatedly occurring to me that you might reasonably expect me to have something to say about the election this past Tuesday. And if I had written this post on Wednesday, or maybe even Thursday, I might have. But by Friday night (which is when I wrote this, backdating it a bit when I published), it was clear that the orange guy has not learned anything at all, and by his choice of chief of staff, he is in fact doubling down on meanness and cruelty. Conservative columnist David French has argued persuasively for quite awhile now (here here and here, for example) that the far right confuses meanness, cruelty, and bullying with strength and courage. Point well taken. I hope that at least part of what happened on Tuesday was a rejection of this on the part of American voters. If so, the choice of chief of staff will spectacularly backfire. Fingers crossed. Do your part for common kindness and decency, people. That's all I've got to say.
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