Orchid *

I may have mentioned that cleaning/clean-out has been on my mind. Time has been short, so I've been using the "What can I do in the next 10 minutes?" plan. By breaking big jobs into smaller tasks, there's a sense of accomplishment along the way -- which both inspires and motivates further action.

There's a big cupboard in the kitchen that we use as a sort of pantry. It has two large doors topped by two big drawers. I cleaned out one of the drawers -- the one we never used much -- earlier this week and found two TV antennas, a bunch of candles (including a random "1" and "8"), a rolled up remnant of old wallpaper, a tangle of plate hangers, a couple of broken p&s film cameras, and some other miscellaneous junk!

The other night, I opened the other drawer. I pulled it out, in fact, and dumped a third of the contents on the floor before bringing it to rest on the counter -- no turning back. A few years ago, when I didn't carry a purse, that drawer was where I'd keep my wallet, keys, sunglasses, gloves, all the day-to-day stuff... and other stuff, stuff I didn't know what to do with, and more stuff... holy cow. I found things like a coupon for tampons (um, yeah) that expired in 2004; all of my receipts from Christmas... 2006; Weight Watchers stuff -- folders, calculators, booklets; my folder and time cards from when I worked for the temp service; a bunch of cards I bought but never sent.

I also found a favorite pair of earrings (that I thought I lost), all my vintage watches & watch pins (that I thought I lost), some rings (that I thought I lost) and, best of all, MY GRANDMOTHER'S ENGAGEMENT RING (WHICH, OF COURSE, I THOUGHT I LOST)!! I'm so happy and relieved.

Happy weekend, ever'body! We'll be celebrating birthdays and eating cake.

*From MY birthday! STILL going strong.