MrsBrown's philosophy of life and stuff

Listening to the radio to bring about change

2010-04-26T01:38:31Z

This morning I snuck out of the house for some retail therapy on my own. You can do that sort of thing at 10am on a public holiday when everybody else is still asleep or in bed.

As I drove home I heard a reading from a book. It described the grief and then sense of freedom 6 months later the author felt when he didn't own any books anymore. He described the book as something that sits on a shelf, decaying. He also recounted an anecdote from an art dealer who had observed that serious art collectors didn't own significant book collections. The author suggested this was because book collections are ugly.

I really identified with these observations. I have spent a long time feeling overwhelmed by the stuff I own, not just books. I know one of the reasons I enjoy holidays in rental houses is because of the peace that is available from a space that is clear of clutter. I think my renovation needs to include library space and a major book and stuff cull.

I should probably start on the book/stuff cull sooner, but I'm also overwhelmed by the thought of getting rid of stuff in a sustainable/unwasteful way.

When I got home, I looked up the book. It's actually a "bibliomemoir" and describes this man's life through the books he's read. That's sorta cool. Although I worry about the spirals in my life with the books I re-read. Am I still 8 years old when I re-read the "Little House" books each year or two?

Today's task? Going through my fabric. I'm going to measure all my fabric and cut samples so I know how much I have and where I can find particular things. Its part of a facebook challenge that looks sort of fun. The pinking shears I bought this morning will help I'm sure - I certainly couldn't start until I had them.

The other task is cutting and drying apples.

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too much stuff - a whinge

2010-03-13T10:50:08Z

Given my morose inability lately to do anything about organising the stuff in my house, it's even more astonishing to think about what I spent today doing.

Today we went to the unit my Oma lived in for 25 years and brought home furniture, knick knacks, household linen and pictures.

Why pictures? I already have at least 5 pictures that I haven't hung.

Why furniture? I have pieces of furniture that I decided that I don't want/don't need about 2-4 months ago and they're still in my family room and backyard, cluttering up my life.

I regularly decide that I should do something about them, I stand up and look at them and then get overwhelmed and sit down again.

From the comfort of my couch, perhaps I could manage to write the list of what needs to happen;

I need to put some of it out as hard rubbish. I can ring council and then put it out the night before they come to collect it. Maybe I should do that last, so that the stuff I don't get rid of by other means can go too.

We need to freecycle/offer to friends the stuff that we don't need. This probably includes; ikea kitchen cabinets, computers (if I can persuade mr-bassman that storing 5 year old computers in our laundry is a waste of space), cupboards, a desk,

We need to absorb the stuff I collected from Oma today.

I need to cut down the grapes so that we stop tracking grapes into the house, and they stop just falling and making the backyard smell. The bees are a bit scary too.

Sigh! This is too hard too. Perhaps I should just tackle one room at a time. It would be nice to have the kitchen and family room sorted before Easter.

To cheer myself up, here's a list of some of the stuff I scored from Oma;

A circular wooden clothes dryer, like the one I remember hanging my dolls clothes on when I was 4.
a bunch of cups for at Clifton Hill
an icing gun and biscuit extruder
a nutmeg grinder
a bunch of embroidery fabric and cottons
a print of a drawing by Anton Pieck
An electric mower
a replacement gas stove (and gas lantern and heater)
an extendable oval table for doushkasmum and sacred_chao
a bunch of linen tea towels and bath towels in better knick than the ones I own
a leather jacket
a canvas stretcher bed

I also scored inadequate sleep and an overheating headache.

Blah

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random stuff

2009-10-30T10:36:06Z

Including feeling stuffed, 'cos it's Friday night and I've been agonising about this stupid paper for daaays.

When I planted the squash seeds splodgenoodle gave me, I remembered something we used to do when I was a kid; Our family friends, who I practically lived with on the weekends, had a huge vegetable garden and saved their seeds. They always had too many pumpkin and watermelon seeds, so we used to roam the neighborhood pretending to be commandos and planting the seeds. I remember feeling very anarchic, or something, as I did it. I was about seven at the time. I'm feeling a bit inspired to use the salvo's unproductive soil in a similar way. I've got all these seeds...

MsNotaGoth has a job. She was interviewed by three people for a mail clerk position that will will only go for four weeks. She also needs a police check. Her aunt runs the HR department in the company. There's something weird going on there.

I've dropped out of the principality discussion. It was just making me all angsty and making it easy to avoid writing that technical paper.

The Gothic Bank is amazing!!! I was particularly impressed by the former stock exchange building - the room looks and smells like a cathedral!

And this forum is really cool. They encourage each other to post pictures of historic buildings in Melbourne. There are so many that aren't there anymore.

I need to find out more about this organisation. This looks interesting. From their site:

Trampoline is a self-organising event for those who find the world interesting, have something to offer and share, and have an inquisitive mind. All attendees are expected to come along with participation in mind—the discussions (sessions is a bit too formal, lectures even more so) are suggested and scheduled at the start of the day.

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