Restarting. 2019.

Do you ever just want to hit restart on a niche cupboard of shit?

When I put up my Christmas tree after Thanksgiving (way back in 2018) and went through our decorations and trimmings, I was so tired of everything I had that I chucked a lot of it (even things that were homemade by a lovely relative that gave birth to me). I didn't even put some of the ornaments on the tree that I saved. I've had some of the same decorations for ten years and rather than go "awwww" I went "ughhhh." When all was said and done, the tree was a clusterf*ck of my nightmares. Back in the day, because I'm a librarian and dream up nerd type stuff, I wanted an alphabet tree. I collected some lovely letters, but not enough to trim a tree from Costco. The tree was a hodgepodge, and rather than make me feel festive I was looking forward to taking it all down. Christmas shouldn't be a chore like this.

I'm thinking that I'll be getting rid of a lot of stuff in 2019. I just don't want it around. I kind of want to get earthy next year and slice up some oranges, dry them out in my oven for 72 hours and string them around the tree. Or do something with pine cones. Can you imagine that I have turned into the type of person who is thinking about purposeful Christmas decorations? I have, though.

I don't want to just empty the cupboards. I want to get rid of some other way less tactile stuff, like my urge to buy clothing online. Do you know how many ugly and ill-fitting things I bought online this year? That's technically not a restart. That's a powering down. Consider it off. Can't wait to come back here and check in. While I absolutely love the concept of buying second-hand clothing online, unless I do it in person, I don't get great results.

Last year I said I wanted to make 2018 a year of learning. And I did learn. A lot! I made myself listen to audiobooks during my commutes to work (I spend about an hour in the car each day). I learned the secret to life. I need to spend 2019 applying it.