Still purging …

the clothes.

I've gone through all but one dresser drawer – the only one left has pajamas, swimsuits and workout wear in it. Yesterday I tackled the closet and got through everything but the sweaters. The giveaway pile is growing, and includes the two pair of linen slacks I shrank on purpose earlier in the summer. So sad to be getting rid of them, but they truly are miles too large now.

I have two more old-clothing stashes to go through and then I can start thinking about what I'll need going forward.

This one is taupe, the other one
is chocolate. I know it looks
awful hanging like this, but it
really does look good on!

Both of you may be wondering why I'm getting rid of all these too-big clothes. Well, every time I've hung on to a larger-sized wardrobe in the past, I've grown back into it. I have no intention of doing that this time. I am, in fact, running out of time at my age, and I'd like for my current and future clothes to be smaller sizes than the ones I'm getting rid of.

Back when I was buying all this new stuff in larger sizes (when I'd resigned myself to always being obese), I found a couple knit tunic-length tops that looked great on my monitor. They didn't look so great on me, however, once they arrived, but return shipping was prohibitive, considering what I paid for the tunics. Now, though, they look terrific. And even if they are XLs, I'm keeping them. They will be the exception to the smaller-sized rule. All I need to complete the look is a pair of tights and some riding boots.

Having done a little online sleuthing for tights and boots, I'm glad the tunics were as, um, economical as they were! It seems tights or leggings can be pricey, and as difficult to fit as bras and swimwear. And boots? Ah, well, I'm on the hunt.

At any rate, I'm having fun and amusing my husband. He's beginning to get concerned about all this vanity. I've assured him it won't last. Right now, though, I feel renewed.

And worth it.

Lightening the load

First, I guess I'm a little more OCD than I thought I was if I could use the word "fail" and "100 calories over the target" in the same post. That's not a fail (thank you, Jen), and it was made even more clear to me when I looked at each week's stats and saw that I was well under the target goal for each of the previous weeks. Let's just say I REALLY confused my metabolism by having two consecutive rest days AND a couple extra calories. (I'm referring to calorie cycling here.)

I haven't mentioned the ongoing declutterification project lately. The inspiration for today's post goes to Pinterest, where I found and pinned the image you see on the left. A little bit of thinking about what I've done so far assures me that there is much more to do. But I'm making progress.

I have emptied and organized six of the seven dresser drawers. The untouched seventh drawer contains non-clothing items – mostly costume jewelry – and I don't feel compelled to clean it out at this point. The others resulted in a huge bag for the trash and an equally huge bag to donate. Everything I kept fits neatly and is now folded and organized. I have a lifetime supply of handknit wool socks (and yet I continue to buy sock yarn!).

I have also organized my closet. I have one of those extra closet rods that hooks onto the upper rod, doubling hanging space for shirts. Most of the warm-weather stuff is now on the lower rod. I still have too many clothes I don't wear, but I managed to create a little bit of breathing room, especially on the floor. The shoe rack didn't hold all the shoes, and so – feeling quite ruthless – I tossed half a dozen pairs into either the pitch or give bag.

The heaviest load was from the bookshelves. I donated a very large box of old scrapbooking magazines to Goodwill. Someone else – perhaps someone without internet access – will be inspired by them. I read them when they were delivered and tucked them away "for future reference." And then never looked at them again. I don't scrapbook any more, and if I want to start up again I can find plenty of ideas online.

I've unsubscribed from A LOT of free e-mail newsletters. (A tip I saw yesterday which would have been helpful a couple weeks ago is to filter your e-mails by the word "unsubscribe.") I did it the old-fashioned way. Heh. Every day I went through the new e-mails and unsubbed from the ones I was no longer interested in, or the ones that were a duplication of effort.

By that I mean this: Do I already receive this information on Facebook? If yes, unsub. If no, decide whether to subscribe to a Facebook page or keep the e-mail version. If the e-mail in question was political, I opted to stay up to date on Facebook.

I have always used FB mostly for political stuff. When I post something, it usually goes to a custom list which excludes most of my family, who already know I'm a Democrat and who were getting pretty annoyed by my FB shares. This keeps everyone happy. Or happier, maybe. (If you're a FB friend and would like to be added to my restricted list, speak now. You won't hurt my feelings.)

If my post is appropriate for general consumption, I can easily go in and change the setting for that particular message. There are some things that are JUST TOO GOOD not to share with everyone. Heh.

I'm down to about 40 new e-mails daily, instead of more than a hundred, saving me lots of screen time.

Next project is the secretary, a lovely piece of furniture with a door that folds up, hiding a tangled mess of bits and bobs of paper that I think I need to save. (You saw a corner of the secretary a couple days ago.) Once I go through everything in there, I plan to move the laptop into it. I use the computer at the dining room table. The dining room chairs are somewhat more comfortable than the little chair in front of the secretary. I think I'll be able to trim my screen time even more when I park myself there instead of here. (Maybe when I lose 50 pounds my ass will match the little chair. But that's a problem I'm happy to deal with.)

So there you have it. You're as caught up on my tidying-up projects as I am. I can't believe you've read this far. THANK YOU!

There was no outdoor walking in the Middle of Nowhere yesterday because it was too damned cold and windy. Instead, I watched all of Monday night's DVR'd Biggest Loser from the elliptical. (A two-hour program = 80 minutes when you fast-forward through the commercials.) EIGHTY ELLIPTICAL MINUTES! Today will probably be a repeat performance (with different video entertainment), as the high temperature is predicted to be 23 and the wind chill will make it feel like – wait for it – ZERO.

Oh, Winter, go away. I'm tired of you already.

Lighten(ing) up

Okay, so apparently writing my intentions in a public space is one very motivating way to get me to clean my closet. I haven't done the shoes yet, but I managed to take one full trash bag to the end of the driveway for this morning's pick-up, and another one is ready to donate. I cleaned the dresser drawers, as well.

The sweatshirt experiment ended up in the trash bag. Removing the lower ribbing did, indeed, make the shirts too short for my liking. No matter, I didn't wear them anyway, so the attempt didn't destroy anything useful. Unless you have a use for cut-up sweatshirts. NO, WAIT, THEY'RE ALREADY IN THE TRASH.

Rule #1:

Don't retrieve anything from the garbage 

once it's been placed there. 

That goes for food, too. 

I've also been unsubscribing from e-mail lists, a few each morning, to reduce the amount of time and attention I need to spend in front of this screen. It's very clear to me that I'd rather play solitaire on my phone than just about anything else read e-mails.

Nearly all the cyber-based communications I've backed away from are political. The GOP is doing a pretty good job of self-immolation, and the next election I'll be involved in isn't until the Congressional contests in 2014. Taking some time off just feels right. And light!

Went for a four-mile walk with my friend Lynne yesterday. Here's the cloud shot I took:

And the future looks bright for more walking – we've had some very cold days lately, but temperatures will be comfortable enough next week that I won't need three layers of clothing and two pairs of gloves. Yay for that! Looks like I could start planting peas next week. KIDDING!

Lest you think all is glitter and unicorns – or glittery unicorns – I must report my first fitness FAIL. I was supposed to lift those dumbbells yesterday, but never managed to get around to it. It's not that I didn't have time. I have more time than just about anything else. I did squats and lunges and pliés, oh my, but kept resisting and resisting and RESISTING picking up the dumbbells.

What's up with that? I'm going to do them this morning, go for a walk later and find a good sun salutation yoga video for tomorrow.

I was hungry last night after dinner. Watching the Sugar Bowl will do that. Mmmm, sugar. I ended up drinking a large glass of water (my other fail so far, I'm still not drinking water in the quantities I'd like – BABY STEPS), which helped, and I went to bed before the game was over. Which is a great strategy for not eating, by the way. Rule #2 is

NO EATING IN BED

If it is to be, it's up to me

While many people are beginning to implement their New Year's resolutions today, I started a week ago, and I'm really glad I did. Those extra days of clean eating and daily activity (I logged a mile yesterday, which was my rest day) are going a long way toward improving not just my sense of physical well-being, but my mental attitude, as well.

While I want 2013 to be about getting fit and healthy, I want it to be about more than that. I want to lighten my life. I want 2013 to be about shedding the unnecessary STUFF that clutters my mind, my home and my hard drive. Heh.

I began this morning by unsubscribing from some of the Facebook Groups I've become disenchanted with. I'm a liberal, yes indeed, but I want to be a nice liberal. I don't want to begin this year with, as one moderator put it, an "evil grin" because the Senate passed a fiscal cliff bill with overwhelming bipartisan support. Why should the grin be evil? I'm baffled by people who think that way. If anything we liberals should be sending thank-you notes to the Republican Senators who got on board and did the right thing.

And we should be writing to the Speaker of the House, suggesting that he round up the necessary votes  in Congress, and begin working for We The People. (I did.)

I went through a period earlier this year where I was downloading every free song iTunes and amazon.com offered. I didn't listen to them first, I just added them to my collection. There are a couple of keepers among them, but seriously, not that many and nothing I can't live without. (Except the Killers' Mr. Brightside. Can you believe that was a freebie?) Deleting music I don't listen to will go a long, long way toward freeing up some space computer space.

I have no plans for the extra space. Photos are posted to Instagram, no need to keep them on my phone or computer. I've been saving recipes and knitting patterns as .pdf files, but they don't take up a lot of space. And I'm not saving lots, only items I really think I'll knit or food I really think I'll eat.

Much of my house is in good shape, but my closet and dresser are stuffed, jammed, overflowing. It's way past time to deal with clothes. My favorite sweatshirt is literally falling apart, while half a dozen others are folded, unworn, in a drawer. Why is this one my favorite? Because it doesn't have ribbing at the lower edge. It falls straight, like a tunic, and has vents at each side seam. I want to deconstruct it and make six more because I haven't found any like it to buy.

HAVE I DONE THAT? Well, no, because I'm always wearing it! It's time, though, to finally make a pattern from it, to get rid of the other shirts I don't wear and to wear what I like. Not just what fits. Not just what I already own. And not just shirts.

Going along with that, it's time to toss or give away what doesn't fit and what I don't like. We all make wardrobe mistakes. No sense crying over spilt milk or spent money. Someone will benefit from these clothes; they're not doing anyone – especially me – any good where they are.

So. Clean eating. Clean hard drive. Clean closet. Sounds like a plan.

Happy New Year.