Simply Good

Do you ever think you have too much stuff? This time of year we start putting out all the decorations, the trees, the garlands, stringing lights and trying to remember where everything goes and how to plug it all in gets a little stressful. Boxes and boxes of ornaments that were made by our daughters, bought on trips or precious memories from our past.

When we were building the house, we lived in a house at Bella Vista. It was one of those vacation rentals, the house was furnished with everything down to an iron and ironing board. All we had to do was bring our clothes and our toothbrush. It made the interim period from when we were supposed to be in the new house and out of the old house, bearable. The BVPOA managed the rentals, some were used by the owners for summertime fun, the rest of the year they rented them out. It was an older ranch style home, probably built in the 1970's Inside that house where we lived for roughly 12 weeks, was everything you need to be happy. It had the amenities that were common in houses of that time period, i.e. 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. We lived there quite comfortably for 2 1/2 months with one tv and one phone. The kitchen had a stove and refrigerator but no microwave. In the cabinets there were a set of pots and pans, just the basic set... no dutch oven, no omelet pan. It had one cookie sheet and one set of mixing bowls and enough dishes for 4 people to have a meal. When we finished dinner I washed the dishes, there wasn't even a dishwasher. It was kind of nice, simple and uncomplicated.

I think about that sometimes when I'm unloading the dishwasher.... plates and bowls of every size, glasses, mugs for coffee and cups for tea, spatulas and whisks, knives, knives and more knives. How can two people dirty up so many dishes in one day? I.Don't.Know.

We have too much, yet we can't give up a single fork. The sentiment behind so much of what we call our "stuff" keeps us just shy of  "hoarders." I love tidy and efficient so I don't think I'll ever go there. I still like standing at my sink washing my morning coffee cup and breakfast spoon, pretending it's that first apartment on Church Street.