Cleaning up, cleaning out and perhaps a bit of procrastination

English: A Miele T8627WP heat pump clothes dryer. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Two weekends ago I had a gloriously productive weekend which involved a good deal of yard work, massive amounts of laundry and 48 hours of ignoring my desk, which was, unfortunately, where all the items actually on my to-do list needed to happen.

I couldn't help it. I mentioned a couple of posts ago that I was feeling the need to clean out, and that's what I've been doing. I can now take several steps in a row in my basement without needing to climb over anything. The SPACE is amazing. When I practice yoga and make space in my body, my breath flows right in. Air and energy are doing that in my basement. I almost cry with joy every time I go down there.

The massive amounts of laundry were in part due to the basement cleanup. I uncovered a bunch of hand-me-downs from my nephew that were the size my son needed to be wearing. (Never mind that he's been going around in pants that end slightly above his ankles. I didn't tell him to grow so fast.) I also uncovered three sizes to grow into, which are now sorted and stored. Unfortunately, I also uncovered a large amount of outgrown clothes that we didn't need to save but did anyway. The charity bin in town got filled up.

I also cleaned out my closet. Despite having done this in the fall, I still have too much. I can't blame a shopping habit, because one of the side-effects of choosing a career in teaching yoga is not having extra money for things like clothes. In the past two years, I haven't purchased anything except a new pair of running shorts and a package of underwear. (You can ask the dog why I needed the latter.)

I'm getting better at letting go. The charity bin received my last suit, the one I had hung on to in case of a job interview or a funeral. After four years of freedom I'm pretty sure I would go insane in an office, and I managed to get through a couple of funerals without having to resort to my suit. It went, and perhaps it will serve someone else. The bin also received most, but not all, of my "dress up" clothes. After throwing a long tunic over my yoga pants and *gasp* brushing my hair, I was told "it's so nice to see you out of your yoga clothes." Clearly I can fake it well enough not to require actual dressy outfits. I did save my sexy black pants that are slit up the sides of the legs in case I get invited someplace classy. Hey, a girl can dream.

My husband and I cleaned up outside, mowed, mulched and planted. Although the summer solstice is a month away and we're still burning wood to keep the house warm, Memorial Day weekend feels like the start of the summer season and I needed to be ready. I also needed to be outside, where it was sunny until it started raining. And raining, and raining, and raining...

Now that the house is ready for summer, I should have no excuse not to get down to business and organize the myriad of summer events and activities on my calendar. I'd been avoiding my desk except as a repository for things that have to be dealt with. I realized I'd let it get out of hand when, in order to find the watch I run with, I had to disentangle a skein of yarn from the telephone cord. (Yes, one of our phones still has a cord. It's the North Country. Sometimes the power goes out.)

A few days ago I cleaned my desk. Now all I have to do is sit at it. I'll do that tomorrow, when it starts raining again.

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In 17 weeks I will attempt my first full marathon. My mother asked me if I think I'll be able to run 26.2 miles. I guess we'll find out.