Decluttering – the best thing I’ve started doing in the past few weeks!

I can’t even begin to explain how satisfying it is to declutter! Except, well, here I am beginning to explain it. I wrote recently about reuniting with childhood stuffed animals and how some are going to be rehomed, while others will stay with me because I just can’t say goodbye. But y’all, I am turning into a savage with the stuff I’ve accumulated over the years. I’ve been in my house for about a decade and as I sort through things, I’m like, “Why? Why do I have this?” Boom, into the pile it goes.

Then, as if by divine providence, I was chatting with my great neighbor yesterday (Thursday) about all sorts of stuff, and just before I went back to my house I said, “Hey do you have any yard sales coming up?” He’s a pro at having a couple of big yard sales every year. People come from all over to buy stuff.

He goes, “Yeah, Saturday.”

Me: “No way.”

Him: “Yep, Saturday.”

So that is really cool. I’ve been through the attic entirely once and probably need to do one more pass up there. Furniture, lawn equipment, kitchen utensils, dogs, nothing is off limits! Oh wait, I’ll keep the doggies. 🙂

I mean, the level of cuteness is off the charts, right?

I feel such a relief as I declutter my house. Stuff I don’t use or haven’t even looked at or touched in a decade, I just come back to the question, “Why do I have this?” It’s been a nice few days of sorting, I’ll say that. For some reason, it just feels like weight off my shoulders. I’m not a minimalist by any means, but even with some things still having an emotional connection, I’m more excited about thinking about the future, not the past.

Have you gone through something like this before? Are there things I need to watch out for (like, emotionally and mentally… not physically (like spiders!))? Chime in below and I’ll answer when I can because in the meantime, I’ll be zipping around putting things into piles… and in the trash!

-Out of the Wilderness

Reuniting with old friends – my stuffed animals!

Do you ever set up a few projects for yourself to accomplish during the summer months? Besides yard maintenance which is always a project, I thought it would be a good idea to sort through the stuff in the attic of my home. I don’t have a lot of things, but there are trunks and bags and boxes of belongings I haven’t even looked at in years, much less touched.

Well, the other day I climbed the attic stairs with one goal in mind: reuniting with my childhood stuffed animals. Some of these are close to 40 years old!

It had been years (no exaggeration) since I had laid eyes on these old friends and honestly I had not idea what to expect. Would they be moldy, stained, torn, nibbled on?

I was so happy that, although they were a bit musty-smelling, they are in such good shape! Just how I left them. Some have eyes chewed off from the family beagle. Some are squished or have matted fur from me snuggling them every night. And it’s so weird and cool that the Cabbage Patch doll hair still smells exactly how it did when I opened it up as a Christmas present in the early 1980s. Crazy.

Great memories with these little friends. The purpose of getting them out of the attic is to minimize my possessions, so some will be rehomed through a local thrift store, but gosh darn it there are a few that I just can’t let go of! They will most likely be with me to the end.

If you have the chance to look through old things like your stuffed animals or pictures or handwritten letters, I think you should do it. I loved looking at my stuffed animals and thinking about my childhood.

-Out of the Wilderness

Bird attacks my dog!

I kind of gave away the plot of this story with the title, but there has been this bird hanging around my carport the last week or so. In fact, it felt so odd when it swooped through the carport that I knew something else was going on. Another nest?? If you follow this blog, you are well aware of the habitat my house has become for neighborhood birds, and it’s actually cool with me!

[check out some posts and pics about the nesting birds here or here or here]

So this swooping bird… what’s going on? Well, I snooped around the yard (yeah, isn’t it weird I had to sneak around on my own property??) and nothing in the backyard. But alas, in a bush on the corner of my house, a nest! This nest just so happens to be about 10 feet from where one of my dogs likes to hang out. You’ll see in the video that she likes to lay in this brick “flower bed” area on the outside edge of the carport. Evidently this little hangout spot is a little too close for comfort for the bird parent. It’s so funny because I noticed the bird (who loves to do that kamikaze dive towards anything getting to close to it’s nest) swooping down towards my dog, and not just that… it would bump into my dog! It wouldn’t use it’s beak to bite, or legs to claw at my dog, just a gently bump… over and over! I thought, “Oh man, I’ve GOTTA get this on video!” So finally, it was happening again and I caught it on video.

It’s such a weird thing to watch, and especially because my dog Asia barely acknowledges the bird haha Atta girl! How was that setup for a video where you already knew what was happening? 🙂 Ok, now it’s time for the video, check it out!

Thanks for stopping by!

-Out of the Wilderness

What’s that song in the Indeed commercial? Answers here!

I happened to catch an Indeed commercial that had a song I liked. Take a look!

The song is called “Unbreakable” by BNGRS featuring Rachel Marquis. Here is the full track.

The song builds and has such an encouraging vibe. I love it! Kudos to Indeed to incorporating it into their ad, which fits perfectly with what Indeed provides.

More info about the song and band is below:

Composers, Writers: Owen Thomas, Natalie Slade, Mischa Mandel. According to their website, BNGRS is “A collective of artists and producers in LA, BNGRS is dead set on making epic, anthemic music that elevates and awakens.”

The song also reminded me of another one that has encouraged me in the past. It comes from a kid’s movie, but don’t judge it till you hear it! 🙂

Can anyone guess which movie soundtrack features this song? Comment below with your guess!

Thanks for stopping by…

-Out of the Wilderness

Dude, what’s that song in the Dell commercial? Answers here!

Dell has continued to take time and effort on making memorable ads. Sometimes it’s from a catchphrase like, “Dude, you’re getting a Dell…”

Whoa, is fist bumping really 20 years old? Methinks we need to move on from that. Anywho… other times Dell uses catchy music, like this ad I wrote about.

Well, Dell is back with another soundtrack song… a song that probably compelled you to find this blog post in the first place! You might think the woman singing is Sia, it does sound a lot like Sia. Check out the ad…

Still think it’s Sia? Well, you are NOT correct! The song is “Rabbit Hole” by Why Mona.

Why Mona is a duo featuring the voice of Joanna Jones.

You can find the band’s Instagram by clicking here.

Thanks for stopping by!

-Out of the Wilderness