backyard rant

Been working on getting the backyard in shape. It is a two tiered tiny monstrosity that refuses to keep anything alive.
The issues:

• It has two tiers: upper is a rectangle of clay and lower is a slab of cement
• Previous owners gave up on doing anything with it, so they dumped a metric ton of rock anywhere there is dirt.
• Fence is threatening to fall over
• Side yard has plastic underneath a bunch of dirt and rocks. The weeds have managed to wriggle through it, which makes it a bitch and a half to get rid of 
• Most of the dirt in the back area is just straight up clay. What can you do with clay? Not much. It is also a pain in the ass to dig up.
• New neighbors cut down the trees in their yard so now we have no shade from the sun for most of the day, and everyone can stare into our yard from inside their two story houses that we are surrounded by. So no sunbathing for me, which is kind of what hose back areas are for.
• Damn crab grass is everywhere!

Soooo, we have some challenges. Trying to dig in that upper area is extremely difficult. Once you have holes up there you are then faced with other issues. Clay soil shrinks and swells which is going to end up warping anything we might to try and build up there unless we take proper and expensive measures. What this means is that built in decks or pergolas are not going to happen. It would just cost too much, take too much time, and probably cause more problems down the road. That means we are left with the option of a floating patio, because as stated earlier grass won't grow up there. It just dies or tries to crawl out of it in an attempt to survive. Just....ARGH

getting th backyard in shape is driving me nuts and making my inner minimalist cry because I have to buy stuff. Granted, it is to make it possible to use the back area but still...

Progress!

We are really ripping through the remnants of our belongings now that we are seeing the benefits of having less stuff....and we can better see th crap that's left. The place looks awesome and has this wonderful tranquil vibe going on.
We got rid of a few furniture pieces which were either too big for our house or were old, ugly and battered. Got a screaming deal on a new sofa from someone on Nextdoor (got rid of old sofa, one thing out if another is coming in) and then moved some things around and brought some color in  to the mix. We have a deep burgundy, brown and a mossy green thing going on. It feels nice walking through the house. It makes me think of walking through a forest for some reason. In a forest everything has enough space and is quite comfortable where it is (otherwise it wouldn't be there). That's kind of how the house feels right now.
I am trying to find a 'before' picture so I can post the 'now' picture. There are still some little things we are deciding what to do with (bare walls mostly) and some things that need replacing or a decision to be tossed for various reason but mostly because they are to bulky or slowly dying on us.

As the layers peel away i find more and more little useless stuff and broken things we don't need. It didn't see like we had a lot of belongings and compared to many we didn't, but I can't help but be astounded at how much we had and still have. Why do we do this to ourselves. I feel like I was the hoarder lady from the Labyrinth holding on to so much stuff from silly sentimentality, guilt, or a sense I had to keep stuff because someone gave it to me or thought it was precious.

Shall I leap?

The more stuff I get rid of the more I realize how much crap I have. I feel that I am rapidly approaching a fork in the  road. I have two options:

1) continue the way i am going by slowly going through everything and getting rid of excess,
2) pick only the stuff I need or are important to me or my husband, and get rid of everything else.

It is amazing to me how much stuff we had and still have. I don't need 90% of this crap. Everywhere I look I see useless things taking up space. This does not mean I am completely utilitarian in what i want. I love the art that I have on my walls and some of my flimsy accessories and books. It is more that they don't get to shine and stand out with all the other stuff we have that takes up space and attention.

Maybe I am going a little nuts but my goal for the inside of the house is to have only a couple of good chairs that we enjoy sitting in while reading or talking, a sofa that is comfortable as a opposed to the demon furniture that we have currently and which is hell bent on ruining my back. A small kitchen table that can be folded down or put away. An office with just my desk and my computer plus a chair.
You get the picture.

It has taken me baby steps to get to this point where I just want to take a leap. In the year I have been doing this I don't regret one single item I have given or thrown away. Cautiously optimistic that a leap will not lock me into Most Regrettable Life Decision Mode.

Time to do stuff

This whole week we have not had to do any chores except laundry and washing the glasses and plates we us when eating. The whole house is about 90% clean and tidy, and so easy to keep that way because NO STUFF. Well, not a lot of stuff is in the house.
We are not completely done with minimizing but I would confidently say that we are most of the way there at this point. It feels great! It feels more than great. I find myself wandering around the house thinking I need to clean something or pick up stuff ect ect, but everything is in its place and I can sit down and enjoy my off time in the evenings, mornings and the weekends.

My next project is the front and back yards. I haven't done anything with them other then plant some trees. Next I aim to put down a couple of grow boxes and make a seating area. This one is going to be a challenge for me as I am not a Gardner nor a landscaper. Only the hardcore survivors of the plant kingdom survive my green thumb. Currently my African Violet is trying to climb out of her pot. She did so successfully once, I plugged her back into the dirt but she is now teetering on the edge of her planter and refusing to go back. At this point I fear I have no other choice then to offer a larger, prettier planter for her enjoyment and hope she decides to stay.

Getting the yard in shape is going to need a lot of weeding and will probably result in many tears and sunburns, but I am determined to get them in some sort of shape by mid summer. Armed with bug repellant, spray-on sunblock and lots of alcohol I will conquer the wilderness that is my back yard and bend it to my will. It's sad how domestic I have become. Happiness is to never have to face your younger self and see the disappointment on their face when they realize what you have become.

In my quest for a relaxing and growthy (I invented a word, in my world this word means 'lots of plants and flowers which have NOT been landscaped to an inch of their life) backyard, I look at a lot of Better Homes Magazine, Home and Garden, and of course IKEA. I am Scandinavian so IKEA always makes my nipples hard. Since I am minimizing I am trying to buy only the essentials: plants, materials for a seating area and some simple lighting. It's a little frightening as I have no idea what I am doing and am concerned that I will waste money, but right now we cannot use the yard and this endeavor will at least teach me something form the mistakes that I am bound to make.

Plan is to start this weekend.

Becoming a minimalist

What is it with people becoming minimalists and then starting blogs? 'Cause here I am blogging while tossing and giving my belongings away. Maybe it's that once you get rid of the distractions and you're not enslaved by your chores you find that you have so much time on your hands and you have fill it with something. In my case I am going to try this writing thing once more.

I am not a writer nor a storyteller but I enjoy typing up my thoughts now and then to share with others. Sometimes it is easier to share your thoughts with strangers then with your own circle of friends and family. When you want real feedback about what you are ruminating on and not someone with preconceived ideas about you to tell you how you should or shouldn't feel or think. I have mentioned to others that I am working on becoming a minimalist but haven't really 'come out' to my family. Seems silly that there should be an issue about a decision to get rid of your belongings, but there is and there isn't. There is in that I don't want the input and guilt trips from friends and family about getting rid of some 'inherited' guilt (stuff they felt bad about getting rid of so they gave it to me), and there isn't in that I don't care what they think. It all just comes down to wanting the time and space to figure out what this entails for me.

Minimalism entails a lot of navel gazing in the beginning and may comes across as selfish at times, but thats part of the process. I know that eventually I will get to the point in the process where it isn't just about me anymore but about everyone and everything else that exists outside my own little world.

I hope that I will stick with this writing. One of the reasons I found time and inclination to write today is that for once in a long time I didn't feel overwhelmed by chores that I have to do. There was no guilt in sitting down and writing for pleasure rather then have to do laundry or clean, or do some sort of work.

It feels very good.