On Friday, when I got the January Cure e-mail from Janel at Apartment Therapy, I thought there was no way I was going to get the assignment done on time. Day 18: Weekend Chores: Flowers, Living Room, Empty Your Outbox
Tuvia had been sick for a week and half, overlapping with Aiden who is still semi-recovering and by Thursday night, I had a nasty tickle in my throat. Friday morning came and I was down for the count (see my sports term reference Tuv?)
Tuvia took care of everything on Friday. EVERYTHING. I’m so grateful for that guy. I spent the entire day in bed, only getting up to take some meds (sparingly) and nurse Mia.
By Saturday morning I was feeling better and by Saturday night, I had a burst of energy so I finally bit the bullet and created my first attempt at a mobile for Mia.
I think my next attempt will be with sewing. No matter how amateur I am, I think the stitches will beat the glue showing through. Anyway….
Flowers, Living Room, Outbox:
1- We are getting flowers tomorrow
2- We cleaned the living room

We obviously need to update this with pictures of Mia and more recent pictures of Aiden (the last ones being before he turned 1!)

We made the large-scale art with a wooden frame and Marimekko fabric and the baby grand was a gift
3- and most importantly and satisfyingly…we emptied the outbox!

It is so embarrassing how much junk we have amassed over the years, but that much more satisfying when we outbox it!

We got down to two vases and a plastic container that we don’t know what to do with. I’m inclined to just throw them out…
It felt AMAZING To get rid of all those things! Not one thing that went in ended up coming out. Somehow, having the space where I could put things I wasn’t sure about helped me really look at things more clearly. I am extremely sentimental about objects, but they’re not memories. My future great-grandchildren don’t need to see the first checks Tuvia and I wrote as a married couple (that would be cute though). It was also hard to get rid of things that were gifts because I felt like I was betraying the gifter or something! But I’m not doing anyone any favors by keeping things that we have no need for. So out it went!
We separated things into sell, donate/give away, and throw away. The throw away pile went right into garbage bags and down the chute. The donate/give away pile was further separated into clothing, toys, home goods, and books. Clothing, toys, and home goods were donated, books were kept for family and friends to go through and the rest will be donated before I celebrate the end of the Cure, and the things that we are selling are listed on e-bay and Craigslist.
It’s an incredible way to start the last week of the Cure. And maybe no one in our little family will be sick this week either, making it the best week of January by far.
Plus, today we had my delicious nieces’ fifth birthday party (tutus and Paris!) and I haven’t sent the photos to my sister yet, but here’s one of Mia all dressed up with her Aunt Sabra.
Yay Gilit!