I’m habitual Purger of Stuff. Can’t stand clutter. Nic nacs give me hives.

Someone once critically described my living room as “austere” and I glowed with pride. So happy change for me usually comes from getting crap out the door. Dropping a bag of clothes off at Value Village, giving a chair away to a new university student, piling piles into the recycling bin = euphoria!

The best changes I made this year to my place:

• downloaded 400+ CDs onto MAC/iPod, bought small docking speakers, and sold/gave away said CDs and mammoth old stereo system–including fake wood speakers that always made me feel like a cheap 70′s house wife.

• sold plushy couch and got my dream sofa: a danish day bed with a trundle. Had it recovered in a mocha with blue fleck cotton/velvet.

• put some twinkly lights in the bedroom.

• found my favorite new incense from Ten Thousand Villages, which smells like ancient India.

• bought a new white desk unit.

• stopped burning candles with paraffin in them (cough cough, hack hack.)

• hung two of my favorite pieces from text artist, Cheryl Sorg.

With Love,