A time to keep and a time to cast away

Entrance

Work area

Sales area

In the late summer of 2008 I began what has now become a 4 year journey. I started with a desire to clean out and simplify. I guess one would call this fall cleaning, which in and of itself is not unusual. We all have our spring and fall cleaning times. In the past I would have a garage sale but that option was not available to me now. The option that was available was the flea market. I choose the indoor over the outdoor flea market. I liked the idea of being able to set my stuff up and leave it. I liked knowing the building was locked during the week. I liked not being completely exposed to weather conditions. So I gathered things that I knew I did not want anymore, hauled it to the booth and set the booth up. My initial thoughts were to do this for a month. By the end of the month I discovered that not only did I sell a lot of the stuff, I actually enjoyed having the booth. So I went for another month, gathering more stuff to take to the booth and discovering that I actually liked the clutter being removed from the house. My booth was a half booth and I didn't have a lot of space to accommodate the supply I was taking in. I was getting serious about the cleaning out and letting go of things. Things I never considered letting go of before I was now considering and choosing to let them go. I was really liking the new found space in the house and becoming more determined to simplify. In Oct 2008 a full booth became available and I took it. Unlike the half booth this one was enclosed and had doors that could be locked by me. So I moved everything into it's new place and gave it a name, Deb's Place. I and Deb's Place have gone through a few changes since then. I continue to clear stuff out of my house and take it to the booth. In 41 years of marriage, a lot of things were accumulated. Some things were not so easy to let go of, largely due to the sentimental and or nostalgic attachments to them. The more I was able to let go of, the freer I became. Not only was the tangible things fleeing away, so was the intangible. The simplicity I was desiring was arriving to take it's place. There are of course certain things I won't let go of and that's okay. As I came into this year of 2012 I began to wonder if I was done with the cleaning out part. I seemed to have come to a standstill. By the end of February I started seeing a little different purpose for the booth. I and Deb's Place was about to embark on yet another change. By the end of August the change was made. The booth is now a 2-fold place. Half of it is for sales, the other half is a work area. An area where I can let my creativity flow and not have to clean up and put away because there's no space for it. Whatever I work on I can let it stay right where I leave it. So yes, more stuff is being taken out of the house to the booth, only now for a different reason. I have a fresh excitement for this coming winter. I wonder what will come out of the work area. Yes, I am still on this cleaning out and simplifying journey only now the purpose for it is a bit clearer.

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8
To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted; A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up: a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; a time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away; a time to rend, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.