A Minimalist - Positive Chi

February 15,2016

Thats right! The chi in my home was stale and bringing me down. I had to change it and fast.

As I mentioned in the previous post, I did a thorough cleaning and almost immediately you could feel the positive energy flowing in the house.

I removed that old dark oriental rug that was in the living room, I tossed it outside and the bad energy went with it. Sometimes objects just don`t belong, they still have bad energy connected to them from where they once lived and that was at a hoarders house, does not matter than she hoarded expensive things or not.

I went into the bathroom and took away all of the dark colors. The shower curtain is colorful but not the color that is needed to enhance the chi, the bathroom is connected to the money area so purple, green and blue is what now is in there. It was not difficult to change a show curtain, bath mat and towels, as I change every few months. Maybe the next time around I will need the warm colors again. I washed and put these away.

Today I am doing a cleaning of the main money section of my home, Its not that its actually that dirty, it just needs that little extra to make the good energy flow better.

The health area is also housing my new seedlings and plants, I will find a new place for them to live since career is actually the front porch, and clean this area thoroughly. I am feeling better by the day already.

I have to pay attention to those closets too, they to are a part of having good chi.

The weather is getting better and we are about to get into Springtime, with this I can do another clearing of unwanted things and things that just are not needed to live a happy, clean life.

How about you? Do you have a good positive energy flow in your home?

By Andria Perry

A Minimalist - Frustrated By Dust

Sunday February 14,2016

I think the nice furniture I inherited has a curse. 

I have been lazy to dust this furniture since I got it, and like its owner before me, she did not like to dust it often, the the bedroom suit before this one I kept cleaned weekly, fast and no problems. 

But I bit the bullet and got to work today in my bedroom and my bathroom.

I made my bed and put away ALL stray clothes and jackets. Then I made sure I vacuumed every spot I could to get as much of the dust in the floors up.

Then I did a good lemon Lysol wipe down and I dried with a hand towel. I am not just dusting but getting rid of germs that may be lingering from that cold I had. I did the same in my bathroom and then I washed the throw rugs and mopped the floor.

Next was "that" living room, Oh my God! Tony has coughed on it for a month, no matter how many times I wiped it always felt as if it needed more. Today I gave it more.

I took out the Oriental rug. I hated that thing! Tony liked it and that is why it made it inside the house. He said nothing when he walked into the room that was freshly vacuumed and the rug was gone. I dusted everything except the top of the mantle and I asked Tony to do that, he did when he seen it was full of dust.

The kitchen is always being cleaned, seems at times I cannot get out of this room to do anything in any other room. I did a quick sweep up and mopped it after I washed up all the dirty dishes and wiped down the counters.

I took out all the trash and the recyclables. 

I washed MORE clothes. Two loads. I reckon that can only say one thing about us, we wear clean clothes :)

The dining room awaits me, I thank God its small and not much to dust, but I do have my paper work scattered about the dining table.

I really don`t wanna cook dinner tonight, because I don`t want to mess up the kitchen!

Now I am back to myself, its feeling like clean out time!

The energy in the house feels better, that is exactly what I needed.

By Andria Perry

A Dirty House

 

 

Yes that is what I have and there is no doubt about it, especially since I am bring dirt in the house and spilling it everywhere.

Back On January 1st. I started my new business, that is growing and selling plants, I do have to have plants to sell so I had a massive seed sowing and now I am doing more and more work. No, this is not a complaint because this work is comforting to me. 

 

 

Watching the miracle of life in any form is completely amazing to me. 

But there is one problem with running a business from home and that is doing this one inside my home. I have yet to get the greenhouse but I know one is on the way, I can feel it from my growing bank account :) Yes I have saved a few hundred from blogging to do a project, although I want to buy solar something I may have to just do this one first because its happening and now.

Last night I was about to set down and write about being a minimalist and cleaning but then I looked at my even at work and said to myself " That is not clean, water ran in the floor and I used a towel to dry it, but the dirt is still there." So how can I preach what I did not practice? I don`t and I wont. 

Instead I am posting photographs of my mess " Miss keep it clean" big mess. I have to say that usually I do clean up right after I make a huge mess but this one I left ALL night.

For one to let everyone know that life is messy and two because no one is perfect and I don`t want people thinking that I think I am . In fact I do make messes, I do have dirty floors at times and I do skip a day from making the beds, I will leave dirty dishes and crumbs on the counter.

With all that being said, I do enjoy a clean home and I do feel better when its clean.

Photo- I am using the breakfast nook as my potting station but I have plants scattered all over the house, by windows for full sun, the tabletop is glass so that is why you can see the floor. That nasty smeared look in the floor is actually nasty from a couple spills :)

 

 

 

 

By Andria Perry

Photos By Andria Perry

A Minimalist - Selling

Last year I really got into selling things not like before with the couple times of the year yard sale and not just my things but things that were given to me, inheritances and gifts. Mostly through Craig`s list because of the furniture but still doing yard sales.

Then I moved into selling more of my unwanted clothing and books. But I used ebay for this and I did pretty good till January, I reckon people had enough since Christmas. But now that its nearly mid February I am beginning to see more buying again.

I am beginning to get Spring fever early because I have another yard sale in mind, or maybe I will toss some more furniture in and make it an estate sale, everyone loves an estate sale, right? Oh and old tools, costume jewelry! People always ask for those.

Well before I get excited with snow flurries on the way I better stick to right now, in time, Winter.

What to do? I can prepare, go through thinks and put them aside to sell and it gets things cleaned up, again.

I sold a book! Yes one book does not sound like a big deal but to me getting rid of a book I bought for $1 and making around $4 clear, after all costs is good to me, and one less thing in this house.

Also, I did a major haul off today of the recycling. I know that I do not make that much money but I`m NOT paying for someone to dump my trash into a landfill. 

Here is the break down:

Seven pounds of mixed paper ( old mail) Paying $11.25 per ton= .04

Twenty pounds of cardboard ( Pepsi cartons and boxes)- Paying $28.80 per ton = .29

Twenty six pounds of aluminum cans ( soda cans) - Paying .35 per pound =$9.10

Thirty pounds of Newspaper - Paying $29.15 = .44

Total $9.87.  They paid me for trash! I am always amazed and I don`t understand why other people toss trash and not get paid for it.

I reckon I need to sit down and write up my plan so that I will remember everything I want to get done and to get rid of or sell, so not to forget when I do have time and warmth outdoors.

How about you? Do you recycle?

By Andria Perry

A Minimalist - The Week In Review

February 7, 2016

Last week was one of those weeks that was very trying, on the mind and body.

I worked outside the home for the most part being a landlady and a driver.

If I would have made all my appointments, I did have if not for me and Tony, or one or another a doctor appointment everyday. But there was no way I would make all of those so I had to dropped the Chiropractor a couple days for me but I did manage four days of doctors, two days with two appointments each. Anyways we are both better than before :) I am completely over that cold and Tony is mending, I am getting better with my upper back too.

Regardless of being gone, I did keep the house picked up and neat. Its easy if I just put things away after using them but sometimes others in the house won`t do that so its left for me to follow behind them.

After I had a pain block and I was not supposed to do anything but I still worked, sitting down. I was filing paper work and managing coupons. Making up the deals. Yes to bring in MORE!

Yes, I did bring in foods this past week, I had buy one get one free pizza`s at $4.50 each!  and diet cokes $2.00 per twelve packs cans. I also restocked a little on the dogs food, there were coupons and sales that matched up.

I did go to a cousins yard sale because she always came to mine. But I bought flower pots for the new business and my sister some new lace curtains. (I just washed and dried those) I kind of got another outside table and chairs, I really did not want them but he sort of forced them on me. My sister is interested but she is a tightwad :) I have plenty of yard furniture but she has none, maybe she`ll come around.

Today is laundry day and I only had two loads, one more if I add the curtains, and that is a good thing. I got those washed, dried, folded and put away. I did get both beds changed and clean sheets back on those.

I took a couple trash bags of trash to my sisters because she has garbage pick up and I donated the plastic. It was not out of the way either because I had to make sure that the one rental house trash was waiting by the curb, They are evicted and have disappeared and I could not leave two trash cans packed full of trash just sitting, thats to nasty for me to walk away and leave, AND the cans are mind. I will drop by and get them out of the road after the trash truck runs.

On Monday I have a truck load of recyclables to take and cash out for money. I have not taken any this year so I have four trash bags of just aluminum cans. I also have two type of paper and cardboard to recycle.

Since its cold and hot and back and forth I have not been able to make another clear out and clean up. But I am serious about getting more out of my life and become the minimalist that I crave to be.

How about you? Did you manage anything big or small last week?

By Andria Perry

A Minimalist - The Yard

January 31, 2016

You would think that I ditched all the work inside when I worked outside but that is hardly the case.

I did both.

This morning I made my bed, picked up stuff in the living room put it in its place and I put on a couple pounds of dry red beans to cook, they cooked on low while I was outside working in the yard and working on the outside of the house.

First I nailed down the nails that had worked up over the cold Winter. When the lumber in the deck gets cold and draws up the nails ease up and I trip on them or worst, I get my sock hung and it rips. 

Then I did the same to the metal shed, and I did hear a few things fall and I had to go inside to put it back into its place. 

Clearing more land can be hard at times and it most certainly is an upper arm workout. I trimmed back about a five foot by thirty foot section. The old hedge bushes had grown tall and were leaning over, some small as a pencil some big as ball bats, I only trimmed the ones that I could cut with the loppers. I intend to buy a chainsaw, soon.

When I came inside the beans were done. I started dinner, we had red beans and rice. The red beans that were left over I canned, as well as one jar of red beans and rice that was left over. I have learned to can my food and it lasts so much longer, plus its ready to eat when I don't have time to cook, another plus is its cheap and healthy.

After dinner I started the laundry and I got that finished by time the beans were finished processing in the pressure canner. Then I washed up the dishes.

I decided to sit down for a little while so I clipped coupons and listened to the t.v., there really isn`t anything on interesting this Sunday night, I did catch one episode of bar rescue I had not seen before.

Now I am all set for the week ahead of me.

How was your weekend, did you get anything accomplished? get rid of anything? Clean up a space?

By Andria Perry