Giant Dwarf vs. Hello Kitty

I've been encouraged by a few people to write a blog, but the reason I'm starting it now is because, when I told C. I was going to take a "staycation" this week and purge stuff from my apartment, she suggested that I blog about it. So this may not be interesting to everyone else, but C. better be reading.

I originally asked for this week off to go to a destination wedding. When I realized that (A) I couldn't bring a date, and (B) I wouldn't know any of the guests, I decided to stay at home and do what I've been needing to do for, well, years.

I come from hoarding stock. Well, only one generation. My grandparents weren't packrats, per se. They had lots of stuff, but I wasn't scared to open the closets. My mother, however, has a problem. My father is continually offering to rent a giant dumpster and get rid of all the collected crap, but my mother laughs it off, clearly hiding the anguish she is experiencing at the thought of this activity.

The good news is, I'm not a terrible hoarder. But I do let things get out of control and have to find time to get them in control. To my credit, I believe some of this has to do with my height. For instance, my kitchen cabinets are so high that I can only reach the first set of shelves. Everything above that requires a step-stool and thus, as new things get added, old things just move to the back. I discovered this today as I tackled my kitchen.

Now, first I must tell you, I made a schedule for this first day of my purge. Why? Well, I may not be a certifiable hoarder, but I am definitely a textbook procrastinator. Left to my own devices, I would sleep till noon, watch movies all afternoon, maybe take a walk, then futz on the computer. Then, around 10:00 pm, I would get this enormous burst of energy, whirl through my tasks, and then leave a mess to deal with in the morning. Thus, a schedule is required.

I did allow myself to sleep in today. For those of you who know my work schedule, you are probably laughing, thinking "Jeez, how much later can she sleep?" Good question. I woke up at my normal waking hour this morning, but the best part was that I got to move slowly and I didn't have to get ready for work.

I'll blog on my battle with the health insurance company another time. It's a whole other entry. Suffice it to say, however, that it put my whole schedule off. I'll also write about my yoga class another time as well....I've just started taking Iyengar Yoga and I truly believe it is a form of torture. Anyhoo.......

The Kitchen. Holy shitballs. I have half a truckbed of stuff just from there. (And many thanks to A. for coming over and helping me, despite his easy distractibility.) Does anyone still use a breadmaker? I actually did use mine....back in 1999. And does anyone know if canned food actually goes bad? I mean, there are sell-by dates on the cans, but really? Wouldn't they still be edible? I got rid of 7 vases, multiple "Tupperware"-like containers, a wine carrier, a lamp (yes, in my kitchen), a juicer (not the fancy kind), cups, tins, a dozen or so mini-liquor bottles (which I gave to A. as compensation for helping me today), oh wow, lots of things. I was doing well until I had my first emotional crisis. It's in the "to go" pile, but I don't know if I can go through with it.

It's my Hello Kitty Sandwich Maker. I love it. I haven't used it in years, but it was well-loved when I did use it. I inaugurated it for White Trash party where I made grilled cheese sandwiches on the press (which emblazoned faces of Hello Kitty on the bread slices) and my friend J. made Spam musubi. We served Strawberry Hill and watched Glitter and Crossroads. It was perfect. And so were the grilled cheese sandwiches. How can I get rid of that kind of memory?

And therein lies the problem. So I'm going to sleep on it. I have three more days of purge. I'm sure I'll see a sign.