Saturday, January 28, 2012

Nothingness

Every year in December I start to think about the new year ahead and try and get a feel for what is in store. Going into 2011 "Change" was the read I was getting and boy was there a lot of change not only in my world but in the world as a whole.

While sitting and having lunch with a co-worker a few weeks ago she asked me what my read was  going into 2012.  "Nothing" is the word that came to me. I didn't mean I didn't have anything to say, the feeling was "nothingness". It was a little freaky since there was still a lot of change going on in our company and the fact was we could loose our jobs at any time. I felt nothing, almost empty.

Last week I watched my first episode of "Hoarders" It was like watching a train wreck, you just couldn't stop looking. It was very sad to see the true pain these people were going through. I don't know that I would watch it again but it did make me take a good look around me. Was I holding on to things just because I thought I could use it someday?  I cleaned out two junk drawers two days later.

I have also been feeling stuck, like there is no energy flow around me. Feeling like I can't move forward. I haven't started my seeds yet, I haven't felt like going out into the garden, just stuck.

A few days ago a good friend of mine posted a link on her FaceBook page to a blog post called I Urge You to Purge Your Clutter–Tamara Kerner

It was this statement that put it all in perceptive for me "Clutter is not only bad for your health, but it blocks your prosperity. There’s literally no room for new energy. I can almost guarantee that if my client is overweight or having money troubles, there is a source of clutter and excess in their life."

The feeling of nothingness was in fact the theme for the new year I just couldn't see it until the other signs came into play. The episode of "Hoarders" and the blog post. My feng shui is completely out of whack. There is no energy flow in my house and it is dragging me down. This year is all about purging and getting organized. Bring that positive energy flow back into my life. I now know what I need to do. One room at a time, one closet at a time, one drawer at a time. It's time to let go of the clutter in my life. I'm starting to feel better already.

I'm sure by now you are wondering what this has to do with my garden journey. What does clutter and purging have to do with throwing some seeds in the ground and letting them grow? Well a lot. You see I hold on to things that I think I can grow my seeds in. They sit in one of my sheds just waiting for that day when I just might need it. I went into that shed this morning and took these photos.



No wonder my feng shui is out of whack. Look at this mess and this is not the only mess I have in my life. My closets are overflowing, my drawers are all full. Do I really need all this stuff!

Over the summer I bought myself a 2 inch soil blocker thinking it would be fun to learn a new skill. Some of my fellow gardeners have been using soil blockers for the past two years and love them.

Robin over at Gardener of Eden did a blog post on soil blocks with a link to a great site called Potting Blocks.com Jason Beam has a few videos on how to use soil blocks. After watching the videos I took a look around the site and decided to invest in my garden tools. No more cheap plastic trays and seed staring container that needed to be replaced every year. It is time to clear out all that clutter and replace it with long lasting tools that also minimize my carbon footprint.

My new toys tools arrived today and I am looking forward to learning a new skill and clearing out some clutter.


Micro 20 soil blocker, 2 inch soil blocker, dagger trowel,
cubic, seed and dowel pins, potting block tray.

Propagation trays and bottom watering trays
  These trays will last for years to come and will be easy to clean and store.

If you came into the new year feeling less than motivated take a look around your home. Do you have clutter in your space stopping your energy from flowing?

9 comments:

  1. Good post, Liisa. I too feel almost an "apathy" about work, politcs...the outside world. It's a frustrating "beat-down' feeling that sneaks up on me from time to time. I think your "nothingness" is sorta the same thing.

    My salvation is my home-life, the dogs, my garden, my blog. As simple as my home-life is, it brings me the joy that I need to put one foot in front of the other.

    I wish I could do something about clutter in my home. SM is the worlds biggest packrat and motivating him to clean it out is a rare thing. Clutter wins out over clean everytime. (sigh)

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  2. Living with uncertainty and not having control can be paralyzing. I can completely relate as my employment situation has been precarious for a few years. I always feel that I could lose my job at any moment and that expands to the feeling that nothing is certain. Holding on to things or hoarding seems to be a common control method. I saw myself reflected in your post several times. Thank you for opening my eyes and good luck with taking your life back. Hopefully, I will take steps to free myself as well now that it has been acknowledged.

    Luckily I purchased a soil block maker at the beginning of my seed starting and never accumulated the seed container clutter. I hope you will love your soil blocks as much as I do.

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  3. Tami - Thank you. You know it was funny after I cleaned out the two drawers three unexpected checks came in the mail within a few days. They were small but I took it as a sign to keep going. I too love my home life and live a very simple life. It doesn't take much to make me happy. My home must feel harmonious and light at all times and it's not feeling that way right now and has not for some time. I know it is the junk that is making me feel that way.

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  4. Muse - Paralyzing is a word I almost used in this post. There are times when I look around and I feel paralyzed. I just don't know where to start. But no more I'm going to take small steps and work my way through it. This will be a year long project if it needs to be so I can go into 2013 feeling empowered and ready to take on the world once again.

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  5. Every time I watch Hoarders, I clean my house. For that reason alone, I do watch an episode a week, so I keep the majority of my clutter to a minimum. It is sad that there are people with that problem (I actually knew one well), and I do have a few large containers of mementos from my children's and grandchildren's youth that I just cannot part with. My husband is a tool hoarder, we have a garage overflowing with things he'll never use.

    I do need to invest in some bottom watering and seed propagation trays for my soil blocks. I do bottom water mine, but it's hit and miss as to whether I give enough or too little water when I have no method of draining them. I really would also like to be able to toss all the plastic cells and yogurt containers.

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  6. Granny - Those mementos are special and should be kept. I'm currently working on a very large genealogy project and have come across mementos that were kept by my cousins over the years. What a treat it was to see keepsakes from my Great Grandmother and the joy it has brought to those family members that have them.

    I'm looking forward to testing out my new tools. The greenhouse is going up today and I hope to have everything readying for seed starting by next weekend if not sooner.

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  7. I spent 20 years on my genealogy project, and have an 8' shelf full of books and a file cabinet full of records. I'd like to scale it down, so I need to print everything out in a different form to take less space. That's a project I've had in mind for a few years, but never did accomplish. I'd give it all away to a younger generation, but nobody seems interested!

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  8. Granny - That is wonderful! They will be more interested when they get older. I just turned 50 and find all the work my Dad and Uncle did in their 40's so valuable now. I'm currently using Geni.com and will be buying a software I can load onto my computer to load all the data into. You can also attach photos and documents to both the online site and the personal software. This way I don't have to print out all the documents I am finding on line. I'm also scanning in all the documents that my Grandmother saved when she came to this country with my Mom and Grandfather. It's been a lot of fun working on it all.

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  9. Great post...I am a hoarder in my office for my travel stuff and have worked slowly on getting rid of stuff. I have cleaned out one junk drawer...it's a start...I believe that clutter does slow us down and it is important to look around and and see what you really need and what can be let go of...not an easy process. At work a lot of our clients are true hoarders and we have to work with them to keep their rooms maintained and safe. We see a lot of people who hoard food and I am not just talking hiding canned goods, they will take plates of fresh cooked foods and hide them in their rooms. They have gone without and don't want to to experience hunger again. So when you look deep inside you need to ask why are you holding on to things and then maybe it will be a little easier to let go. But when you were hungry and there was no food it is hard to convince someone it will be ok. Maybe I am a little off track here with my thought process but it is an important subject and a serious condition.

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