Coming in, going out...

Its been just over six months since my knee gave up on me after a stupid fall. During that time, I decided to make a commitment to clean out my flat, and by doing so help clean up and focus my mind. It was a useful way of getting to focus on something other than the pain and feel like the time spent at home was spent with some purpose.

One of the challenges I set myself was to have more things coming out of my home than came in. I realized that was the only way I could actually manage to reduce the amount of stuff I accumulate. And hopefully, over time, that would transform my home into a clutter free zone. You have heard of a few of the things done to reach this objective: cleaning out and reducing my magazine collections, taking a shopping trolley full of cheap airport novels to la cuesta de Claudio Molyano so that they could find a new owner, selecting two bags full of summer clothes that I do not use so that they can find new homes in Haiti...

Now, all those articles that I saved up to read have been read (YUPPIIII!) and are facing recycling and a new incarnation, maybe as the sequel of the Vampire Diaries or some such best seller. One by one, I am using all the notebooks I've collected over the years to write down thoughts, fantastic projects, the outline of a novel or simply a compendium of decorating ideas for when (if) I have a real home of my own. (Or, when my imagination is really on a roll, I imagine it is my masterkey to buying, reconverting and then selling off homes near the sea, up in the mountains and spectacular flats in the most incredible cities the world over) ...

The next step of this plan? To bring into this house only those things that are perishable and those which I consume: namely, food and the cleaning and beauty essentials. Wish me luck!!!