My Tireless Retirement - Week 46

  

Howdy doodie tootie fruitee!  I realized it had been over three weeks since I had left the house (checking the mail doesn't count) and I didn't need to really, but I figured I should get out and interact with other human beings.  So I jumped in the truck and went to the dollar store and picked up some stickers to use in my journal.  Exciting stuff, huh?

 

I saw my first robin this year and was thrilled to see it.  I found out this:  A few things that the robin symbolizes are family, community, living in the moment, leaving the past behind, the season of spring, rejuvenation, fresh starts, joy through song & music, feeling abundant and being grateful.  Pretty much sums up how I've been feeling and a lot of what I've been thinking about lately.

 

I donated all of this stuff including the hangers

Apparently the third time really is the charm or at least the third go around in my decluttering adventure is.  Once again I went through my closet and drawers and I got real this time.  I pulled out everything I hadn't worn since I retired as well as everything that I didn't like, didn't fit or was worn out and it was a HUGE pile.  It even included some of my designer purses, a cocktail dress with the tags still on it that I've held onto for fifteen years along and the shoes that went with it.  Yep, I needed to get real about what I was hanging onto and why.

 

I filled up two more trash bags and will be taking them to the thrift store to donate.  How do I feel now?  Absolutely amazing!  An enormous weight off my shoulders, truth be told.  That stuff was weighing me down far more than I had realized.  Since retiring I've literally culled my wardrobe by half and now I'm only keeping things I like, I wear, are comfortable and they fit.  I was super proud of myself for getting this done.

 

Looks good, huh?

Last week I did something I'd never done but have been wanting to do for quite some time.  I canned butter.  Five pounds of it in little jelly jars so it is shelf stable instead of sitting in the freezer.  Did you know that it can last up to five years?  It was a fun little project.

 

More containers I emptied and scrubbed up

Along with canning butter I thawed five pounds of ground beef I had bought around this time last year and I got it all canned too.  I made up some sloppy joes, another quick and easy meal to have on the shelf, and canned the rest of it plain to add to other recipes.

 

In the use it up category I finished a small bottle of hand lotion that has been kicking around here for forever, a 16 ounce bag of blueberries I've been trying to use up for a while now and a crossword puzzle book I've been working on for a few months.  I keep finding stuff too, like I currently have three open cans of Comet cleanser going.  ???  Anybody else on a mission to use up stuff that has been hanging around the house too long?