Stressed (no desserts here, please).

It's going to be a busy, busy week. Erik and I decided we want to be totally out of our place by Sunday. To do that, we need to keep packing and moving, including making some more donations and trips to the dumpsters outside. 

I've taken on a new personal project, to be blogged about soon. I'm the mistress of the personal project, and I need to get all of those things together and better organized so I can be more effective. Clean your house, clean your computer, clean your projects, right?

This week, I hope to eek out a little poetry. I also have a blank canvas here just begging for my attention. We have a space in the kitchen, and now it just needs its masterpiece.

I'm getting very excited about an upcoming trip. Erik and I are heading up to Chicago so he can get registered for school and we can figure out where to set sail for a couple of years. We're shocked with ticket prices, too. We had to fly up at the same time last year and tickets were $300 each way; we decided driving, even with the expensive gas prices and hotel stay, was cheaper. This time, they were under $100 each way. 

...This post brought to you by being uninspired. I promise something more exciting tomorrow! Monday is not my day today for creativity. 

How do YOU destress?

Last night, my husband and I finally figured out where we will be in August (or sooner, depending), and after feeling like we had the weight of our shoulders on this decision until he officially hit the "accept" button on the offer, it was like a wave of relief. He event sent me an email this morning saying all he feels now is elation and excitement. We sent an email to some of our closest friends and called our family to share the exciting news.

But in the mean time, we're forgoing a total renovation of the new apartment in Austin. Rather, we're going to finish up the bathroom and look for someone to take over the lease when school comes around again. Saves us time, money, and energy that we can invest in living it up here while we're still living here.

Coming with the move, though, is the utter dislike I have for moving. I hate having stuff and things that clutter up our lives. When we moved to Austin, all of our belongings fit into the back of his car, as well as four or five boxes we mailed down (those things being paper or cloth, not anything fragile or important). When we moved from the small apartment to the one we're in now, we had accumulated so much stuff. It makes sense, though, since much of it was furniture, dishes, towels, and other such household goods we didn't have a reason for in college.

But now comes the knowledge that we'll be moving twice within the next six months, and one of those times will be across country. With that, I'm ready for a full out purge. It's my goal to reduce our stuff by 1/3 right now. Erik works for a Major Donation Place in Austin, and they're running a promotion to collect as much stuff next weekend as possible. I'm going to pitch in and try to donate at least 4 bags of stuff. We don't need it, and we know someone somewhere can benefit from it. Likewise, it reduces our stuff load, making the move easier. Moreover, it reduces our stress because it reduces the stuff that clutters our lives. Simplify, simplify.

Although it sounds daunting, I'm really excited. Cleaning is my ultimate destress. Since we made such an important decision last night, it feels natural to thrive off that energy to do the declutter and purge. Plus, with spring here, it's even more of an impetus -- although, certainly, what I consider "spring" begins in about December in central Texas.

How do you destress? Do you have "stuff" impeding your life? Maybe there's a correlation.