Day 1 - 30-Day Declutter Challenge . . .

Well alrighty then.  It's December 1st and I said I was going to declutter . . . I'm working with two decluttering calendars.  I figure even with overlap, I'll have something to do every day.  

The suggestions for today are:

• Empty one junk drawer
• Breakfast/Dining Table:  Clear off table; find storage solution for any misc. items.

Cool.  I did these!  It took a few hours.  I can see that if I was still working, it would be more challenging to get stuff done, and I probably would have chosen only one of the suggestions.  

Here's the kitchen table.  

That didn't seem like too much to do - it was actually pretty clear.  So I figured I should also do the dining room table.  Which looked like this:

That looked like a better challenge.  But in order to clear this, I had to finish wrapping the last of the Christmas presents.  I only had six or seven left, so I gathered everything and got to work.  Two of the gifts were for the gift exchange I'm participating in, so I got those done and packed up to ship.  Yay Me!!  And then finished the others and put them under the tree until I can figure out how best to deliver them to my cousin's little girl.  It will likely be a driveby at my cousin's work, since I don't want to go to Indiana at this time (they have very few COVID mitigations in place and the state is now on the quarantine list for Chicago). 

I decided to do some dusting while I was at it - so the kitchen table is clean and the chairs are wiped down.  The hurricane glass is now clean and the sideboard in the dining room is also dusted, as are the majority of surfaces in the living room  :-D  This has to be why it took me most of the morning to accomplish two tasks  :-D

Here is the kitchen table:

 And here is the dining room table!

Next on the list was a random junk drawer.  I chose the bottom drawer of my desk.

I cleared it, vacuumed it, and dusted it before putting the things I wanted to keep back in it.  I have a bag started for the Second Chance Shop, and there were some things I could toss.  I also have things that I'm relocating to places that make more sense for them.  

There were two cassette tapes in this drawer.  I'm going to put them with the others I have, but I don't know what they are . . . I don't think my car even has a cassette player in it!  I have one somewhere, I'm sure, but at the moment, I don't know where.  Old technology . . . 

Anyway, it was a productive and successful morning - probably one of the most productive days I've had since the pandemic started.  I'm not sure what that says about me . . .  Will I be able to keep it up?  I think so.  We shall see what Day 2 brings  :-D 

The other thing that started today is The Healthy Knitter's Knitting for Peace project.  This is something I've participated in with some regularity for the past few Decembers.  I will start knitting on this year's shawl today.  I'm also pounding away on my Kyler shawl and hope to have it finished by the end of the year.  

And one last thing that I figured we could watch every day - haven't done this for some time.  My bestie, T, sent me this Amaryllis as a gift for the first Sunday of Advent.  It arrived yesterday, and I potted it up right away.  It will have a red blossom  :-)  

It's Advent.  The daily Advent devotional I like, Following the Star, started Sunday, which was the first Sunday of Advent.  It's a joint effort of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, the Presbyterian Church (USA), and the Episcopal Church.  I stumbled on to it years ago, now, and they have a daily one all year, but I just do the Advent and Easter ones.  The music is always good, too, so be sure you turn it on.  :-)   This is another devotional that I just discovered thanks to the minister at my church.  It's also from PC(USA) (which is the church I attend when I attend).

For Christians (not all of us are evangelical or far right in our beliefs . . . ), Advent is a time of waiting and watching . . .