...but I digress...

Okay so it's a couple of days later and I don't have anything major to show for my efforts at getting my house in shape, but it's coming along nicely. It's not like I'm not otherwise busy. If we are being completely honest, my job is more like full-time-and-a-half. Mostly because while I am trying to get my house sorted out, I am attempting to do the same with my office, only without the lofty 40-bags-in-40-days goal.

The last couple days have been mostly focused on laundry and preparing myself to be away from home for a few days as we round up the gang from work and head to the alleged Las Vegas of the East Coast. (Atlantic City, NJ, for those of you who didn't get the reference.) It's that time of year again for the annual American Camp Association Tri-State Conference. This conference is where, six years ago, I made up my mind to change my career plans. At the time, I was in the second semester of my junior year on my way to a degree in English secondary education. English was never really what I had planned on doing (through high school I was set on either music or microbiology, but we see how well those two panned out...) but when it came time to declare a major, it just made sense. I love reading. I love writing. I love grammar. I love words. I love proofreading. It made perfect sense.

I often wonder what my parents thought when I called and told them that I, like my sister, was making a switch so late in college. I know they told me that whatever I wanted to do was fine with them. But I'm sure they also had a few omg-not-her-too moments. I had reached a point in my education degree where I realized I was almost three years in, but really hadn't learned anything about teaching. It was all about dealing with "the system" and what it required from teachers these days. I got really jaded when all my professors were telling me what I couldn't do in the classroom instead of what I could.

I had only worked at CGT for one summer when I went to my first Tri-State Conference. 2005 was the last year the conference was held in New York City and has been at the Atlantic City Convention Center ever since. It is the largest gathering of camp people...probably in the world. And when I saw thousands of people who were making a career out of amazing summers, I knew I had finally found what I was looking for. So I look forward to this conference every year..not to mention it always falls over St. Patrick's Day, which is always a good time! No green jello for me, thanks!

...but I digress.

The only thing I've rid my house of since my last post is one bag of trash that accumulated from sorting through several boxes of junk. One box of recycling is almost full and the box for the thrift store is slowly filling. It's a process, and it's no secret that I tend to move slowly. Baby steps, my friends, baby steps!

Days till Easter: 40

Number of Bags/Boxes Gone: 2

Please Don't Call A&E!

So first things first. I'm a borderline hoarder. It hasn't reached the point where there are dead animals rotting away under piles of junk in my closets or my neighbors are calling in complaints to the health department. Granted, I don't have any pets and my only real neighbors are sheep, but you get the idea. I accumulate things. That's how I like to put it. Of all the stuff in my house, I actually buy very little of it....I find that a lot comes to me as gifts, hand-me-downs, or terminal borrowing. How else was I able to fully furnish a three-bedroom farmhouse with only what I had in my two-bedroom DC suburban apartment?

Regardless, I have boxes of things I haven't touched or looked through in years. I swear there are some boxes that moved with me from Kentucky to Indiana to New York and finally to Maryland that haven't even been opened in almost four years. So it is probably safe to say that if I haven't seen or used those things in that time, I probably don't need them. Easier said than done. Because as soon as I crack open one box, I find a million reasons why I need to keep everything inside, even if I never use it.

In my defense, I come by it honestly. But don't tell my mom I said that. I also justify my behavior by the fact that I spend very little time at home, and therefore have very little time to spend unpacking and organizing. That's right, I said unpacking. I am aware that I've been living in this house for a little over two months now. I should be more embarrassed than I am to admit that I am still living out of suitcases and used the dishwasher for the first time last night. It's not like I try to hide the fact that I'm a hot mess either.

But this is going to change. One of my high school friends recently posted a link to a blog where the author spent last year's Lenten season doing what she called "40 Bags in 40 Days" (with the understanding that Lent is actually a little more than 40 days long...whatevs). Essentially, she rid her home of 40 bags of stuff, whether it was trash, recycling, regifting, or items to donate to local charity thrift stores. I was intrigued by the idea and thought to myself, "surely I too can do this!"

So here I am, it's day 4 of Lent and I have sent away one box of recyclables, have another that is almost full, and sorted through three boxes of stuff between yesterday and today. Kashmir was a huge help in getting the kitchen mostly organized yesterday and I am looking forward to this challenge. It does help that the parents are coming to visit in about a month, so I need to make some serious headway by then!

Days till Easter: 42

Number of Bags/Boxes Gone: 1