Navigating Thanksgiving and Organizing

Another Thanksgiving has come and gone, and I'm pleasantly surprised. My mother actually stuck to a healthy menu. She's had her own ups and downs with weight, and this past six months she's gained about 20 lbs. I didn't quite know what to expect for Thanksgiving, if she had gone back to her old ways. But nope, she's back to eating healthy.  Over the course of the long weekend we ate roast beef, roast mixed root vegetables, baked fish, mini-veggie quiches. And for the big day, on the menu: organic roasted chicken, veggie casserole, and a kale salad. KALE! Between the good eats and all the yard work that I did around her place, I didn't gain any weight. That includes two pieces of homemade apple pie.

I did get to a TOPS meeting a couple of weeks ago and it was really good. Nice welcoming people, great vibe, and good tips. The only thing is that it is really out of my way, as in it took me almost two hours to get home by public transportation. None of the members live in my area so I'll have to mull  over joining. The costs are pretty low, $36 per year and a $5 monthly Chapter fee. It might be worth the hassle...

Otherwise, things have been busy in my corner of the world. A couple of minor colds, and some household maintenance issues: furnace, roof, Fall cleanup outside, and re-organizing the shed.

I've also just finished reading the book The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing by Marie Kondo. It's given me the impetus to declutter some more. About a year and a half ago, I did a major clean up of the house, and actually my entire life.  I donated loads of clothes, kitchen items, books and stuff. I shredded some old bills and other papers that I thought I needed to keep. It was a lot of hard work over the course of several weeks.

But, since then a lot has creeped back in.  The messiness is a reflection of my state of mind at times, and adds unnecessary stress. And I never really tackled all my sentimental keepsakes. Have to admit, I have a hard time letting go of stuff.  But if you were to come and visit, you wouldn't see anything wrong... but if you open the closets or the drawers, look out!

Kondo advises keeping the things you love "that spark joy" and getting rid of the things you don't. Also interesting to me, she advises tidying by category rather than going room by room. Her book does not contain any photos of the method she advises to fold clothing, but there are tons videos on YouTube. And a lot of people have posted their before and afters online as well.

The actual book is translated from the Japanese so some of the writing style is a little odd sounding. And some of the ideas she presents do not apply really to the climate where I live, or my way of life. But it's easy enough to take the ideas that could work well and adapt them. I'm not ready yet to start this week, because I'm too busy in the evenings, but I'll probably give it a go soon, likely starting next week with my clothes, coats, shoes, boots and bags.

Weight down a little to 167.3 lbs.