The mud room needed cleaning again. It’s amazing to me how quickly a room can go from orderly to completely disheveled. As I was digging through the game chest, making a pile for goodwill donations, I found two mini-photo albums that had come from my grandmother’s things in Florida. One was of me as an infant and toddler. The other was from our wedding, and of our first apartment in Seward when my family had come to visit.

I noticed in the background that our apartment was clean. Our dining room table was set with placemats I’d received as a wedding gift. Our bedroom shelf had the James Dobson couple’s devotional that we read. Every surface was clutter-free, except for the things that I had intentionally placed there. Most of the things we don’t have anymore, as I have gone through many phases and cycles of decluttering, downsizing, giving away.

Everyone can have two pairs of shoes in the entryway. The rest need to go into the shoe bins in your room. They all need reminders. Some will argue their case on why they need three. Shoes stored downstairs are incredibly inconvenient. This pair of tennis shoes is for taking out the garbage because they can be slipped on easily. This one is for when I need a better pair of shoes for something outside. The boots also need to stay.

We moved on to the Christmas tree and the kids took down the ornaments. I’m fine with the tree staying longer, but the reds and randomness of the ornaments needed toning down for me. The stockings and any remaining Christmas decorations are now in a pile to be returned to the Christmas bin whenever that happens. It was enough for me to have the tree cleared. I took an afternoon nap before heading out to the store.

My son came with me. A couple of days ago I typed out weekly meal plans with a corresponding shopping list as well as cookbook titles and page numbers for any questionable recipes. The idea is to rotate them through the winter, with the thinking work already done for whoever shops or makes supper. When we pulled into Aldi and parked I remembered my debit card expired Dec 22. I dug through my purse knowing I didn’t have any cash.

I called Josh and asked if he had any ideas of what I could do that did not include me having to drive all the way back to camp. He said he could meet me somewhere and bring me his card. We met at the church, which was about a 12 minute drive for him. Once I had money my son and I went back to the store. I remembered our pastor in Hoyleton telling us that you never go to Aldi on the first day of the month. This was the second day, but close.

The next stop was County Market. This is the store you go to for the obscure grocery items that Aldi doesn’t have. It wasn’t nearly as busy there, and always feels neater. Eggs were much more expensive than I ever remember them being. When we were done with our list I asked my son if he wanted to pick out a snack. He chose Pizza Pringles. While at the register I realized sadly that I hadn’t brought in my purse. He ran out and got it.