good feels

here are some things that has made me feel good in recent times

will try to make this a running post. What inspired me to make this post was the end of a migraine i was nursing since last night. It felt so good that i was giddily happy instead of being bitter of having it in the first place. 

- so ya, top of the list - getting well after a hellish migraine

- reading a book. Read 3 this month. 2 non-fiction and 1 fiction. I don't know why i deprived myself of reading all these years. 

- decluttering

two plus years ago, after LXH (late ex husband), i kinda took a harsher look at my finances, with professional help. I was put on an annual budget. You can spend x dollars on travel every year, y dollars on home improvements, and so on... it was more than decided that i have never been able to afford the house that i am living in, ever since our separation when i took it over, and i continue to hurt my retirement by not selling it, even when the market has been so swell. Call me a loser or something, i continue to live here. 

Anyhoos, my bigger nightmare is not the selling of this house, but the moving after it. I envy people when they quickly buy and sell houses and move. For me, it's a nightmarish undertaking. 

So, i decided, instead of calling a dumpster truck when i am selling the house, and having burly folks pick and dump everything, I will do this task slowly. I started the process of - donate, sell, throw. Throw things that are in a bad shape, donate if it's in a decent shape, and knowing that half of donated stuff gets thrown in a river of a third world country, sell it so that you know someone will use it, even if it's extra work and a loss for you, like selling something for 10 dollars, and paying $5.75 for the shipping label. 

Every few months, i get on this project. I have cleared half the shed, 10% of the garage, roughly 2% of the basement, and probably 1-2% of our closets and other cabinets/drawers in the house. A long long long way to go.... 

Every once in a while, i fall off this process. The two places that i use for  donations, they email me every now and then if i have more to donate. Those emails keep me on point and a deadline to plan towards. Also, our township offers free pickup of junk once a year, that's another thing i plan and look forward to. Oh and lastly, anytime i am getting work done in the house and i have to rent a dumpster truck, i go and throw things in that too. 

It's work, but it gives me so. much. satisfaction. 

My friends and family laugh at me when i chose a parking lot to sell something, e.g. a never-used badminton set for $15. I listed it at $25, but a desi woman offered me 15 and i said yes, and the husband awkwardly handed me 15 in exchange, turned back and walked hurriedly back to his car, without even checking it out. All i could say was a meek - enjoy... Super awkward, but boy it feels good knowing it will hopefully be used. Once i was selling a small chandelier (I had bought it but didn't like it much), and it was too heavy, so i allowed someone to come home and get it. Got yelled at by pretty much everyone, so I try to avoid home pickups now. 

It pained me to pack 10 odd pairs of LXH's shoes to donate, but 2 years ago, i could not bring myself to part with them, so I kept the boxes in the basement. Finally donated them yesterday. This time i didn't even open the boxes, in fear that i might keep them for another 2 years if i see them again. 

But everytime i carry close to 20 boxes to my driveway for the donation pickup, i feel so much lighter. These boxes are the amazon boxes, mind you. So whatever virgo-placement that's in me, I feel so much better that i reused them instead of flattening and recycling them on the curbside. 

Little pleasures.

It's amazing how much stuff we accumulate over the years  which only clutters the space and not really needed that much! You have taken a step in the right direction to get rid of it by donating, selling and just throwing it away.