Sometime in the timeframe of March 2011, I listed this house for sale. It was when things were going seriously sideways in the U.S. economy/banking, etc. No takers and only 1 showing in the year it was listed.

My realtor and an assistant did a wonderful “house tour” with photos and even some music. I was outside with Karl and Bob and didn’t see what was going on until I saw the “tour”. And I was impressed. I studied the photos for some time. It is not so much the quality of the photos as it was how things were presented…or staged. And although part of me rankled a teeny-tiny bit, I did get how the presentation looked clean, warm and attractive. I learned a lot!

So, this June 1 when I decided to try again. I told my realtor that the only change was the addition of the kitchen island and I sent some photos to see what she thought about adding photos, removing the island or ???

What she thought was that my photos were good and she asked if I’d take a few more inside and out.

I did.

And that is the House Photos Post of June 3.

Although I am a fairly clutter-free person, I de-cluttered a bit more and thought back to the photos from 2011. The largest de-cluttering happened in the kitchen where I removed the food processor, the coffee grinder, the VitaMix and the toaster. And shuffled the canisters and cleared the area with the fruit basket:

You can’t see it all from this photo…BUT, I REALLY liked how it looked.

Clean.

Uncluttered.

Clear decks.

Wow.

Enlightening to me.

But.

I use the VitaMix 1-4 times a day. And I use the toaster daily. And the coffee grinder.

I thought.

The VitaMix and toaster needed to be “out”.

The coffee grinder – that is a once in the morning thing for me and I decided I could live with it in a cupboard and the in and out as part of my morning routine.

I really liked the flour canisters in their new location and the clear space on the opposite counter:

This, so works for me!

I love, love, love having this spot clear for working on dough kind of things.

I used it before, but it entailed shuffling stuff – now, just do it!

And then…

AND THEN…

My eight year old, el-cheapo microwave that I originally intended to be just a short time thing… it died.

Since it was a low power, low featured thing, I had only been using it to re-heat things…like my coffee.

When it died, I got to thinking.

I buy premium whole bean coffee. I grind the beans. I make a pour-over in my Chemex pot and put the resulting wonderful brew in a thermos.

I pour a cup.

And then I proceed to drink a few sips and THEN, I blitz in the microwave…etc. because I am distracted and doing multiple things and how silly is that???

I thought some more.

What if I didn’t have a microwave?

What if I poured a cup of coffee and sat and enjoyed it – fresh grind, fresh pour over and HOT?

It was another enlightening moment.

Instead of a new microwave, I ordered a toaster oven.

It toasts (wonderfully!).

It broils and bakes.

Toaster gone.

The “enjoy a cup of very good coffee” extended to my afternoon cup of tea and my evening glass of wine.

So often I grabbed one or the other and kept working or did other tasks – not really enjoying.

That old Zen thing “when you chop wood, chop wood”, came to mind.

For me, when I keep my mind on whatever task or drink or meal or whatever…and really have my “head in the game” – that is so good and so fulfilling and makes me so happy-content.

It works for work tasks, for house chores and for absolutely everything.

The de-cluttering for the house photos…it de-cluttered some thinking also.

And a final and funny piece…my electric coffee grinder died also!! I had actually ordered a little manual grinder for the motorhome. I usually use ground coffee when travelling, but I saw this little grinder and thought I’d give it a try.

Turns out, it is great.

No electricity needed.

A few minutes of arm power.

I LOVE it.

One thing leads to another.