What are Your Springtime Habits?

I awoke this morning with the thought that I would get organized a little bit. I always start tidying my house when I see more sun...and I know that spring is on the way. I cleaned the fridge yesterday, while fixing dinner. Today, I would tackle the computer room...my side. I'm not a saver...but always have the fear that I am throwing something away that I might need later. Going through the file cabinet...I found receipts from several years back. Then I came to a big manila envelope...I knew what was inside. Receipts from the many, many prescriptions for medicine and hospital bills for my first husband. It's amazing to look at now...how did I get through that difficult, heart wrenching time? Thousands of dollars were spent to try to get him well. I never let on that it was starting to be difficult... paying for these....we just went one day at a time hoping that each new medicine would be the one to beat cancer. We didn't have insurance that would cover medicine at that time only the hospital bills. There was no miracle drug for him. I can only imagine how much that same medical care would cost today...just ten years later. I rolled these papers up and rubber banded them. Put them in a plastic bag and put them near the shoe boxes in my closet. I know I'll never need these, but just in case I do...I'll have them.

Going on, I organized my current file drawer...It looks so neat right now. The other drawers have family things in them that I want to keep.

The window seat in this room has a couple stacks of old issues of garden magazines. I have them according to seasons. I pull them out and the information is basically the same from year to year. I only buy one or two a year...if they look appealing. A couple of dictionaries sit there. Why I keep these, I don't know. I have the computer to look up words and spellings. Old habits are hard to break. I just can't toss an old book. Another box holds greeting cards that people have sent me. I only keep the ones with special sentiments on them. Under that.. a plastic box with camera equipment.

In the living room, I have a few years of Mary Engelbreight's magazine. I love to look at these over and over again. This magazine is no longer being published, so I will keep these forever. I have a few years of some food magazines too....Vegetarian Times, and Cook's Illustrated. I like to refer back to these once in a while. So, now I don't subscribe to any magazines other than Martha Stewart and Good Housekeeping (from my son) I cut out the things that I want to keep and toss the magazine or give them to a neighbor to read.

I'm finished now...it's such a good feeling to know where everything is. I always strive to keep things neat, but then I get in a hurry and that's when things get messed up. What are your spring time goals? Do you get that "want to be organized" feeling? It must be the same with birds. They come in early and pick out a house and have you ever watched a Wren clean house? She tosses everything out the front door and then picks that same pile up and puts it back her way. I must be like a Wren. I tried to toss the receipts away this morning...but I made neat piles and found a new place for them :)

Balisha