We’re always in somewhat of a muddle and a mess chez-nous, partly because we are absent-minded and put things down and leave things in unexpected places, partly because we have so much stuff, partly because tidying is lowdown on our list of things to do – a long way behind going out to investigate a small village/pub/bookshop/museum/et al that we’ve never been to before, partly because (yes we confess) we are a trifle lazy (for ‘trifle ‘read ‘very’), partly because… well… um… er…
Anyway – we now have an important reason to make an effort, not just to be tidy, but to get rid of unwanted stuff which has not helped us to be tidy. When we got together we each had our own homes, so although we tried to be sensible, we did start our lives as a couple with more than either of us had before. We had a family and of course, that involved more things – and as the children got older they acquired possessions too. Sadly, and inevitably, our parents died and – yes, it’s obvious, that although we donated and disposed of most of their furniture, possessions and household items, we kept things for various reasons. We both have hobbies, and although writing does mostly only require something to write on and with, I need reference books and material… and talking of books, we’re both addicted readers and although we have e-readers, there’s nothing quite like the feel of a book in your hands! My husband is an artist (lots of stuff) a drummer (three drum kits, plus a small one, plus an electric one, plus random tom-toms, percussion, hardware etc) a guitarist (3 guitars – that I know of!) and we both love cooking… You no doubt get the picture.
We’ve made umpteen trips to various charity shops, and to the municipal waste disposal site, we have donated items to people we know, we even have a skip on the drive for stuff that we reluctantly admit is – well, junk. And then there are the books. Books are the hardest possible things to give away – there are books which have sentimental attachment, books which are useful (but do I really need so many cookery books?) books we haven’t read, books we might want to read again, books which are part of a set, books, books, books. I was trying to tidy the bedroom and came across a hidden stash of books… it’s a nightmare!
As I was sorting out the bedroom stash I came across a series of diaries I’d completely forgotten I had. They are slightly bigger than A5, and they are called the ‘Mind, Body, Spirit Book of Days’. On each double page are the days of the week, plus across the top, words of wisdom. There’s a meaningful quote at the bottom, and some helpful suggestions of things to focus on along the top. There’s only really room for a brief paragraph of an entry, a reflection I guess of how the day has fared.
The sort of thing I wrote was “Busy day at work, non-stop, went to quiz, didn’t win”, or “Took kids to dentist, reports to write this evening, nice sunset”. Trivia really, nothing profound, although of course there were things which I recorded which were serious, or sad, or very personal, many things I’ve forgotten, and to be honest, even though they are just jottings, I’m not sure I want to read them. But I probably will. I don’t know why I stopped writing, the last in the series only had entries for part of January. I guess in a way this blog has become my diary, it’s certainly interesting for me to look back at what I wrote several years ago!
My featured image is of where I lived as a child. When we were there it had been built as four flats. Now they are no longer flats, but two semi-detached properties. Our flat was very sparsely furnished – typical in those days, ordinary people only had what would not be called the basics!
Lois Elsden 
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