Melancholy

I'm making a plan to simplify my life. I consider every bag of clothing that I donate (I donated 4 bags today, plus two armloads of coats and jackets), every bag of recycled paper that I cull from my stashes of stuff, every time I choose not to buy something new to be a significant step in the right direction. It's hard -- I've been sifting through 15+ years of stuff for months. Some things, like the books and notebooks, and the boys' school supplies, and my craft/art supplies, are non-negotiable. But oh the rest. The scribbles on paper, the mountains of clothes, the old magazines, a thousand unused (and never to be used) coloring books, the broken crayons and colored pencils; well, you get the idea.

I'm cooking more, and buying less food. I haven't bought a box/bag of cookies or chips in months. I still treat the boys and myself when we do go out, but at home the bar has been raised significantly. It seems like a form of slavery to manage so much: the toys, the laundry, the food, the house itself. There have to be ways to cut back on the intake of stuff so that more time is spent doing cool things and visiting with and learning from awesome people. The rest really doesn't matter.

One of the main things that I've always LOVED about acting and theater is the sheer simplicity. You don't need anything but people to make astounding, gorgeous theater. It's amazing to just bring oneself to the stage, and simply DO.

I want that kind of simplicity in every part of my life.