5 thing Friday - garden hose, letters, junk, garage philosophy, pillows

I've been seeing garden hose pots all over the place, and while they are pretty, I feel like they would make a great home for a snake, not to mention standing water for mosquitos.  We dealt with several snakes at Highlands,  and I'm not having it at my house.

So I ordered a hose holder from Lowe's that required minimal assembly and it works perfectly.  Maybe not as pretty as a pricey hose pot, but way more practical.

The backyard is greening up nicely and the fig has decided, once again, to live.  Just a couple more small projects out in the backyard and I will stop for the summer and go to mowing and watering only.

I gathered up all of the letters from Mom (2011-2023) and put them in order by date.  Then I took all of the ones I wrote to her, collected from her house, and added them in.  I read a few of them here and there.  {More thoughts later on the takeaway from that} For now, they are all in a binder.

The ones she wrote me from Saudi Arabia are in a separate box.  And the ones after she married Jim and before 2011?  I have no idea what I did with those.

The last few items from the never-ending garage clean-out went to Goodwill as no one wanted them in the Buy Nothing group.  Along the way I have had a realization that has grown stronger each time.  And I have gathered ideas from others, as well. So I put it all together and posted it in the garage, just to remind myself.

My Home and Garage Philosophy

I don't need “things” to be happy. True happiness does not come from accumulating stuff. I will have nothing in my home that I do not find beautiful nor believe to be useful. If I am sentimentally attached to something, I can make the decision to keep it for as long as it makes me feel happy to own it.

My worth is not defined by my stuff, or the stuff anyone left behind for me to deal with. And it is my choice and responsibility to decide what I want to keep. I don't have to live like everyone else. I'm not obligated to store things I don't want.

There is value in living within my means. Contentment comes from appreciating what I have. My donated items and excess stuff can bless others making generosity second nature.

Fewer possessions = more time to spend on people and pastimes that have value to me. I am in control of my life. The pursuit of more stuff will never be the reason I don't make a life for myself and make a difference in the world.

I will not store or organize stuff just for the sake of owning it. I have a choice in what I want to keep in my life. I can choose to purge my stuff, without asking anyone's opinion, any time that I see fit.

I will not leave a legacy of "too much stuff" to my family. It is my goal to empower my children to decide what things matter to them, letting the rest go.

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Summer is here!  Time to freshen up some spaces in my home.

Two small throw pillows, a softer comforter color, thorough dusting, and a couple of feminine touches in my bedroom make for a sweet space to come home to each day.  Sometimes its the little things, right?

Gina