Decluttering Feng Shui Style

It is two weeks until the garage sale, my deadline for getting my house decluttered. I'll be honest - for the last few months I've done nothing. I'm in major need of motivation, so it is perfect that I happened to come across this unpublished piece I wrote back in January - it is just what I need to get back in purging mode...

My friend Amy has transformed her life by embracing Buddhism and Feng Shui. She suggested starting the new year with the Feng Shui practice of eliminating nine things a day for nine days to make room for new positive energy in your life.

It is also common Feng Shui practice to acknowledge and appreciate the purpose an item served in your life when you let it go, hence the list that follows.

4 baby blankets given to a friend with a new baby boy - I remember cuddling my little guy in these blankets and how soft and warm they were for both of us.

10 baby outfits given to a family member with a baby boy - my boy brought life to each of these outfits for such a short time before growing too big, it's wonderful that someone else can wear them now.

1 dead Christmas tree - for one month in our house it provided a focal point for a very joyful season.

1 broken vacuum - the first vacuum we bought as a couple, helped us keep the carpets clean in our very first home. Why it's stayed in the closet for years I just don't know.

10 outfits I no longer wear - I remember the phases of my life when I chose each outfit. How spoiled I am to have clothes designed as much for fashion as function.

5 broken Barbie dolls - broken because of many hours of play from my girls - possibly the hardest things to let go because they still "love" the dolls even with the missing arms, legs or head.

1 bag of random toy pieces - ugh - I hope they provided some fun for my kids at one point. I mostly just remember them as being scattered around the house where they didn't belong.

3 bags of store returns - Not Christmas gifts I got, rather gifts I purchased but then decided to give something else instead. These gave me peace of mind that I at least had *something* if the perfect thing never came along.

1 electric clothes drying rack - this was a Christmas gift and it is a good reminder of who I don't want to become. Excess is what I am trying to get rid of and electricity is what I am trying not to waste.

1 pizza cooker - Another gift that falls in the same category as that last. My oven works just fine and we just really don't need to be eating that much pizza.

3 games with missing pieces - These missing pieces may actually be in the bag of junk noted above, but not worth the search. Fun at the time, but just taking up space now.

1 stack of old magazines - I love to read and surely got pleasure from these pages. But recycling them felt so good because hording things like magazines is definitely one of my pack rat issues.

1 bag of plastic dishes - Many meals were served to my kids on these - hopefully not too many chemicals were served at the same time.

2 coats - A warm coat on a cold day is worth so much. I'm glad I had these to wear and I hope they will provide comfort to someone else now.

5 pairs of worn out shoes - These served me well as I wore them to the ground! Not even in condition to donate. I like that.

That did feel good! I now welcome the positive energy (and the organized house).

Misti's Story

Transferred from my "green" blog upon its closure - one of two posts I saved because it is filled with special memories : )

This morning I was sent a chain email warning pet owners about cocoa mulch and the potential toxicity to animals. I never know how much to believe those emails, but scary nonetheless. Immediately it made me think of my little Misti. How I miss that girl.

Misti entered my life Thanksgiving weekend 1996. She was a tiny little ball of black fur. So nervous, but sweet as can be. She was a year old when I adopted her.

It took a couple weeks of transition, but soon Misti and my older cat, Cody, were the best of friends. They would lay together on the couch, bodies entwined, licking each other's fur - it was one of the sweetest things I've ever seen. At the time I was single and lived in an apartment. Those cats were my family.

Our lives changed a lot over the next few years. We moved twice, gained my husband, and welcomed a couple of kids. It wasn't until we moved to our current house in 2002 that the cats started to explore the outdoors sometimes. They loved our wooded lot and all the birds, bugs and chipmunks that came with it. It just felt natural for them to be running around out there.

This story really begins in July of 2005. One sunny afternoon the cats went out to play, but Misti didn't come back. With her nervous tendencies, she was normally the one who hung close to home, so we were immediately worried. We combed the woods and walked the neighborhood calling her name and whistling, but she didn't come.

I went to bed that night feeling sad and lost. I felt like it was my fault for letting her be outside. Then, about midnight my husband woke me to let me know that she had come home. I rushed downstairs to see her, so excited, but right away I knew something was wrong. She didn't seem to respond to me normally and her eyes looked really strange. But it had been extremely hot that day, so we thought maybe she was disoriented because of the heat.

The next morning, Friday, she seemed like herself again. She still wasn't eating normally, but she looked like herself and was reacting to us the way she usually did. We were overjoyed. We resumed our normal patterns.

Saturday, July 15, was our fifth wedding anniversary. We spent the day at a family event and came home late afternoon to get ready for our date night. When I opened the door from the garage to the house, Misti was laying there like she was waiting for us. Her fur was covered with dried blood.

Crying (as I am as I write this), I carried her into the house where I saw trails of bloody vomit everywhere.

The next 24 were spent at the emergency vet where they tried to help her, but one by one her organs were shutting down. It was too late. Misti had been poisoned and the toxins had already spread throughout her body.

The vet suggested it was likely De Con, which someone probably put out to prevent rodents. I didn't even know what De Con was - they had to explain to me. But, I guess we'll never know for sure what happened.

Sunday night I cuddled her and said my goodbyes. I sang her song, "Oh Misti, you're so fine..." My husband held her in his arms when they inserted the needle and she went to sleep.

If we would have brought her in when she came home that first night the story may have had a happier ending. We just truly never even thought of anything like poisoning. It never even occurred to us.

I'm sharing this story in hopes that it could possibly help prevent another family from losing a pet - or worse. Skip the poisons, people. Please!

One Small Change: Every Day Is Earth Day

I have been writing this in my head for a couple days and I intended to post it on Earth Day - but it's okay that I'm a bit late, actually its quite well suited for the title.

It's been a while since I've made an appearance here and there's a couple reasons for that: its been an incredibly busy month for our family and, at the same time, the biggest issue that I've had on my mind is one that I haven't known how to approach in writing - my daughter's health.

I have decided not to go into detail about that here, for her privacy, but know that she is okay. It's just that for the first time since becoming parents we are finally understanding just how seriously our children's health is in our hands.

So what does all this have to do with One Small Change? Well, I believe (know) there is a very direct correlation between nature and health and its about time that I do a better job of helping my family's lifestyle reflect that in everything we do.

Plus, our family has felt good about the small changes that we've made recently and we don't want to end our progress with the conclusion of One Small Change this month.

So...drum roll please...we just launched a new family blog called Family Goes Green where we will document our journey of progress in nuturing both the health of our family and this fine planet we call home. Please join us when you can - we will appreciate all the support we can get.

I am filled with hope and this beautiful spring is providing plenty of inspiration...

(I took both of these pictures with my phone - not bad, huh?!)