I'm really having quite a terrible fun time downsizing!  

Yes, trying to remain positive whilst saying au revoir to half my clothes and such.
This week several bags were transported to Retails, the local thrift shop I 
support - they use their profits for animal welfare and spay/neuter programs in the area.  
Also, the clean out of the potting shed last week ended up being a
positive experience. A neighbor's caregiver, when driving by, asked to take
 several items we had piled at the curb for city pickup, for her son to repair and
 paint. We happily loaded them into her car!

Remember, after grabbing the lovely Marie Kondo's newest book Spark Joy

 while buying wine at Costco HERE - in January - I made myself a promise that

this is the year I would start sorting through, re-organizing, and finally letting go
 of stuff which didn't 'spark joy' in my life.

It will be a slow process, perhaps because we actually are tidy, and are not

 true hoarders, so if you came to visit you would not be shocked, or tripping

 over things, well I hope not!  But, in a small home with limited space,

we do need to cut back on storing more than we can use, be it paper 

towels, black socks, or bottles of wine!

We do not live in the countryside isolated from modern life.

We have so many malls, shopping centers, grocery stores, big box stores,

garden centers within a short drive, some within a 10 minute walk, that anything

 we might suddenly need is almost on the doorstep.

Raleigh is close to the top of every 'best place to live' list - you can see the list

HERE and yes, we'll welcome you if you decide to move here along with the 

thousands of new residents arriving annually . . . . .be prepared for great
living and true southern hospitality.

Creature comforts!

Yesterday's visitor - with bird feeders empty around the garden, this little guy 

brought his own toadstool for breakfast!

No time to play here today - lots to get done around the cottage whilst my dear 

husband continues to enjoy his birthday (yesterday) in New Hampshire 

with his older brother. They love to meet up in their hometown over the Fourth 

for the three B's - baseball/beer/beef - none of which are on my list of favorites,

or my sister-in-law's come to think of it. So, we allow them be 'boys' again for a 

few days a year, haha!

Meanwhile, I'm using this time to start downsizing. 

We are not moving, although I could do that quite easily if the 'three B's' guy 

was in agreement. I am definitely not a minimalist, and at the rate I've been

collecting things over these past years I could become a hoarder, dreadful 
thought, if I don't start sorting through stuff right now.  So time has come to 
devoid myself, the cottage, and hopefully my husband, of all the extraneous 
'stuff' which is now cluttering up our golden years. 
Wish me luck please.
Any tips would be helpful - how many white side plates do two 
people really need anyway?