Happy Boxing Day! a Request for Assistance

I got my Thank You notes mailed off with the wonderul note cards that got me for two years ago’s North American Gift-giving Holiday, and now I’m tackling my room – I’ve already completely dusted off and alphabetized my CDs and videos, now I’m going through the next piece of my room: the dresser and my storage shelves on the dresser.

Last year when I lived in Sacramento in a three bedroom townhouse apartment with my roommate, David, occupying one of the bedrooms, my home was very tidy, as it had to be, because my clients would come in the front door and and we would walk upstairs to my massage room. It was very nice, because I had my computer desk in the closet of that room, with one a single electrical cable snaking out the meter to the electrical outlet. The two free-sliding closet doors would lift off quite easily when I was using the computer, and completely cover my desk when I had clients, so they had no idea my computer was in there. The room had my bookshelf, two chairs, my small two-drawer filing cabinet, my massage table, and my stool in it. It was a room slightly larger than my current bedroom.

My bedroom had my bed, two side tables, my dresser, and a torchiere. It had a walk-in closet and a sink over in the dressing area, so the one bathroom upstairs was shared between David and myself, but all of my vanity items were kept in my room on my sink. It was an ideal situation. The bathroom had my ferns and towels and stuff, and was quite tidy and neat, as David was very neat, too, and kept his vanity items in the medicine cabinet or a small storage box under the sink.

Downstairs was also neat, with my dot-com furniture all nicely in their places. My plants were all arrayed upon the curved brick fireplaces raised hearth area, and my photographs occupied the mantle and side tables. My dining room table was mostly clear, with the most recent mail and catalogs taking up a smallish area in the back, so we could eat sitting at the table if we desired.

Today, I’m crammed into the smallest room of the house with my computer, bed, television and stand, dresser, bookshelf, filing cabinet, side tables, end tables and all my decorations. My living room furniture is in the front room where I do my massages, along with my plants, david and john’s bookshelves, a couple of chairs, three small tables, a chest. When my table is not set up it’s a lovely and warm space, if a bit over crowded with stuff, but when the table is set up, man, it’s tight. Fortunately, my clients have been very generous in their accomodation, and the work we do is mostly very good, but I do wish I had a bit more space.

I gave my dining room set and coffee table to my younger sister, Vel, to both repay a debt and because I just didn’t have any room for them anywhere.

I want to simplify my belongings even more, but right now, I think I have pared down as much as I can at the moment. Where UGH really needs help is with John – his disability has largely prevented him from going through a mountain of stuff he inherited from his grandmother (and others, I think). He just does not have the physical ability to do it, so Herman and I have come up with the crazy idea: a weekend of labor, where John helps us by offering guidance, and we do the actual work of sorting and discarding, then repacking the rest.

The idea is get rid of about three-quarters of the stuff, much of which is going to go to the local thrift stores, some will be discarded, and the kept things to be put in a more proper place.

We need your help! We would like someone with a pick-up truck to help take some of this stuff away to the various thrift stores on the Sunday of the weekend of labor. Possibly, another person or two to help carry stuff down the stairs to the truck, and unload the truck at the thrift stores and and/or drop-off points.

We are thinking about doing this at the end of January, like January 21-23 timeframe or the the 28-30. It’ll be fun, with m
usic and food, and laughter. Can you help?

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