As you may know, Sofia’s Ideas was sick for a few days last week. Luckily, my blog paramedic (my brother) was able to cure it of its infection, and Google quickly cleared it from its quarantine. Phew!
I wanted to first say “thank you” to those who reached out to me to let me know something was wrong. I actually had no idea. I want you to know that I truly appreciated you taking the time.
I also wanted to say “thank you” to those who encouraged me to continue when I expressed my doubts about this space. The task of rebuilding this blog felt daunting and I was wondering if it was even worth it. Honestly, I am still wondering… and I am pensive, to say the least.
The truth is, I’ve been feeling chaotic lately; easily overstimulated, to the point where I feel kinda crazy. I even mandated another technology and electricity fast (more on that later…) which I quickly regretted. Cuz its not just Sofia’s Ideas, its the life I live offline, with its many trials and tribulations. I feel tested… I feel “uncomfortable” and I’ve been humbled by it. Now I’m ready to get my head on straight.
In order to do that, I know I need to be gracious to myself. So, I’m giving myself permission to focus on one thing at a time, to embrace my extremist personality, harness my tunnel vision and put it to good use. I think a bit of housekeeping is in order, in every sense of the word…
Housekeeping (noun)
1. the maintenance of a house or domestic establishment.
2. the management of household affairs.
3. the management, care, and servicing of property and equipment of an industrial or commercial building or organization.
4. the ongoing routine, procedures, operations, and management of a commercial enterprise, government, organization, or the like.
5. Computers. system tasks, as initialization and managing peripheral devices, that must be done to permit a computer program to execute properly but that do not directly contribute to program output.
Yes, all. of. that! I feel the urge to purge! I feel overwhelmed and find myself saying “we have too much stuff” and “you’re sucked into the vortex” and “Mommy needs a time out!”. So, yes to all of that. Yes, to getting this house clear of everything that we absolutely do not need or use. Yes, to getting “the abyss” (my desk) tackled. Yes, to organizing my unkempt computer files. Yes, to lovingly nudging Papa to clear out his side of the garage. Yes, to augmenting the back end of this blog… just yes.
I know that by saying yes to this, I’m also saying yes to some much needed tranquility…
What about you? What’s your “housekeeping” style? Do you ever feel the “urge to purge”?
{ 12 comments… read them below or add one }
I hear ya. There are days where I want to throw EVERYTHING away and start over. There are days where bloggin overwhlems me. SO i don’t. When I need to purge, I pick a cabinet or closet and take a trash bag with me. It makes me feel better!
I love your attitude about it all. I try to convince myself that I can adopt those ways of being, but my ocd and perfectionism inevitably sneak up on me, and I find myself right back where I started. It is a constant struggle between my ocd and the life I want to live…
totally understand and relate!
I’m an extremist with ya, so last time I felt overwhelmed like this I deleted my facebook account and felt in awe of the immense quiet I felt. I don’t think I will ever go back to that!
I do think you should continue blogging and sharing your stories/thoughts/pictures (when it suits YOU!). I love this space you’ve created here.
good luck with the purging! Space clearing is one of the best medicines I know : )
Laura Emily, do you? Thank goodness! There is always a sigh of relief when someone shares their empathy – I know I’m not alone.
I can not tell you how many times I have wanted to delete my facebook account. I left my account idle for a very long time (over a year, I think) so I know exactly what you mean by “immense quiet” – it perfectly describes what I feel when we are on a technology fast. BUT, I found that I was missing out on family events like recitals & shows. It seems that a lot of people rely on fb for that ease of communication, so in a way, I felt “forced” to get back on. Does that make sense?
Also, a ton of people admitted they only ever access my blog when I post a link on fb! Can you believe the nerve? lol! They said they would read my blog if I would just stop being so stubborn and just make a fan page already! So I did.
Thank you for your encouragement… I truly do appreciate it!
yes! I cannot even begin to express all the events, parties, bazaars, crafting nights I’ve missed out on only because I deleted my facebook! What bugs me the most is missing out in the coupon world- so many businesses offer great deals via facebook that you can’t find anywhere else.
but still it was a time vortex for me and seemed to suck my energy out. It was a hard adjustment. I say though, if you can make facebook work for YOU, all the more power to ya!
Thanks for visiting my site, and your kind words.
the GFC hasn’t been working- or any of the subscribing gadgets. Blogger/google gadgets are not my friends apparently. I’ve been trying to fix it, but no luck yet. Thanks for letting me know though!
laura emily recently posted..gratitude is the best song i know.
I left FB a few months ago. I kept the account active so I can keep up with news from fan pages (much more organized to have it all in one spot) and to keep the message account for friends who don’t use regular email. I have noticed an immense feeling of calm since I left. It became stressful to feel that I needed to keep up, and I found myself annoyed at people who use FB as a replacement for acctual friendship. I’ve been reminded who my friends are and who really was just “noise” in my life.
I love that quote, although I don’t know who said it… “Be careful who you open up to. Only a handful care, the others are just curious.”
I feel a calm and quiet too when I am away from facebook, but then I also feel like I’m missing out on tons of stuff because everyone and their mother is on there and its the only way they communicate! :{
I’m right there with ya! My husband and I are both purgers, and I’m sure our constant purging would send a hoarder straight into a stress induced coma! I get on organizing kicks, and can’t stop until I’m done. When we moved into our house I was cracking the unpacking whip and we were fully unpacked in 2 days! And 3 days before our wedding I spent 19 hours straight organizing the entire house…
I have OCD (like actually diagnosed), and it sometimes gets the better of me. I just know that if I don’t do whatever is bothering me at the time now it won’t get done, and a lot of my OCD is focused around symmetry, which can really be a mess to deal with (thank goodness my husband is patient!). Blogging is totally overwhelming sometimes and hard to know if it’s worth it, but know there are people who appreciate your thoughts! Hang in there!
Oh, Kristin! I think we are fast developing a kinship!
Thank you for sharing this with me. I know what you mean – there are days that it gets too be too much to try to overcome the urges and I just have to give myself that day to give in. On those particular days, I’m like “Move! Just get out of my way and let me do it!” Hee! Hee! I laugh, because my husband is also very patient and understanding, and he knows on those days, its just best to let me do it.
Symmetry… hence “asymmetrical joy”! Love it!
Thank you for taking the time to encourage me to continue… I have some thinking to do. But not yet. First, I must do things, and then redo them, and probably redo them again. UGH! ;0
I feel the urge to purge on a weekly basis. It’s refreshing and reminds me to only fill my house with the things I love. I’m also feeling a little overwhelmed lately and sometimes purging can help restore a sense of order.
Laila @OnlyLaila recently posted..Wordless Wednesday: I’m Not Sleepy
I have learned lately more than ever that I truly believe there are times when we sort of need to be knocked down in order to refocus and pick ourselves up in a better way. It’s easy to get caught up in things that don’t really matter, and even easier to let the important things get away from us. I’ve recently had to redefine what is important to me and what isn’t. I’ve had to let certain housekeeping things go right now, but at the same time I’m learning what is important to keep up with no matter what. I did a big purge a few weeks ago, and I wish I could find it as easy to do an emotional purge. This post is a huge reminder to me that taking care of myself is as much a part of housekeeping as anything else is. Thank you for that lesson : )
I loved when you said “…we sort of need to be knocked down in order to refocus and pick ourselves up in a better way. It’s easy to get caught up in things that don’t really matter, and even easier to let the important things get away from us.”
Perfection!
And while I don’t like to admit that it sometimes takes major events for me to refocus, I’m thankful for those times that I am reminded of what is truly important.