Sorry I’ve been neglectful of my blogging duties. I was on vacation last week and avoided computers.

I’ve also been put into hyperdrive by the news that I was ACCEPTED INTO GRAD SCHOOL!

(It says, GRAD SCHOOL: It seemed better than getting a real job)

I’m so excited, I could puke! No, really, thinking about quitting my job and going back to school seriously makes me want to vomit.

But I’m also thrilled. I’ve been reading history books for years, and now I get to read them with a purpose! And when I’m finished, I’ll keep on reading, and hopefully teaching. Perhaps I’ll even get into a Ph.D. program. Who knows?

But for right now, I’m mostly worried about getting my house ready to rent out. I’m moving in with The Jedi, and I haven’t moved in more than seven years. I used to be a constant mover (also, shaker), so this is strange for me. It’s amazing how much junk one accumulates in seven years of staying put! I’m a purger of stuff — the opposite of a hoarder, really — and try to keep it simple, mostly because I moved so much in my 20s. Less stuff = less stuff to move. I guess I just got complacent and never bothered to keep tossing my junk. Now I’ve got less than a month to get ready to show my house to potential renters, and there’s TOO MUCH STUFF! Yikes!

I feel like I need to go on one of those reality shows where they move all your crap out onto the lawn and make you sell it or donate it. But I’d probably just tell them to donate it all. Clutter makes me itchy.

I spent the weekend painting the hallway and bathroom, so that’s done. Now I’ve got to add a tub surround, which I’ll do in a couple of weeks. I’ll post pics when I’m finished. The Jedi worked hard at cleaning up my spare bedroom, which has become a junk storage room. It’s still full of junk, but at least it’s been organized.

As I visit The Jedi in the coming weeks, I’ll be filling my car up with as much stuff as I can, so that I don’t have to move as much later on.

The biggest crap-accumulation problem I have is my son, The Beast. He would become a hoarder, if I let him. Trying to get rid of his stuff usually results in a fight. He always has some reason to keep something.

Recently, I went on a small cleaning spree in the basement, where his room is. It had flooded and all his junk was down there, and looking at the mess was too overwhelming to deal with.

So every night, I’d go downstairs to put in a load of laundry. I grabbed a kitchen garbage bag and went around the basement throwing away stuff. The next morning, when I went to work, I’d take the bag out to the garbage can. Soon, after sending out one bag per night, I had thrown out seven bags of garbage before I’d even gotten into his room! He NEVER NOTICED! It was such a nice feeling being able to walk freely through my own basement.

I told him to get started on his room, but that never happened, of course. So, guess who gets to do that? Yup — moi. (Hooray).

But we’re making progress. I promise!