Connection & Clutter

These are the two words that have kept me from posting for so long!

"Connection" is the word I picked for my Word of the Year. I was pretty excited about it at the time, because it is so meaningful on so many levels:

• CONNECTION to my Authentic Self

• CONNECTION to the present moment

• CONNECTION to my family and friends

• building meaningful CONNECTIONs with many people in my new profession

• all those fun learning CONNECTIONs that happen in unschooling

• keeping myself open to unexpected CONNECTIONs of all kinds because you never know where they will lead next!

Well, ever since I picked CONNECTION as my Word of the Year, I have been caught up in a whirlwind of connections of all kinds that have kept me happily busy - so busy that I have neglected a lot of things (like this blog for instance) as I ride this wild wave!! Hopefully I will not be kept so busy *connecting* all year that I don't have a chance to share more details here.

Ah, and now on to the CLUTTER...

I am really not a pack rat at heart and I thought I had done a pretty good job of purging unwanted stuff on a regular basis over the years. So I was kind of surprised when, after hearing a friend of mine mention the book Clear Your Clutter with Feng Shui on an email list, I felt an uncontrollable urge to see if my library had a copy. They did, and I picked it up last week. Ever since then I have been on a clutter-busting rampage the likes of which I have never experienced before. For two days straight I was pulling open cupboards and closets and tossing, tossing, tossing!! Our recycling bins and trash can are MUCH fuller than usual this week, and I have large stacks of usable items awaiting new ownership through Freecycle (or, if all else fails, a trip to Value Village to drop it in the donation bin!) Needless to say, I was quite shocked to see how much stuff we've accumulated that we don't need or use anymore. There is still more to be done but I'm going to slow down a bit (the dog's looking a bit worried I might toss him in a donation pile, LOL!). Our house suddenly feels much calmer, more serene and spacious, and I want to keep it that way. Definitely a great way to start a new year!