When Will We Reach the Top?

So it's nearly midnight and I can't seem to turn off my mind.  So what do I do?  Head out to the computer and start "writing"...not entirely sure that's a good idea but we'll see how this goes...

In my quest to reach the top of Mount Laundry, I've realized today what a daunting task I've set out for myself.  I feel like I've finally made it about halfway but as I stare back at base camp, I can't help but feel like the higher I go, the more difficult it's going to get.

You see, I'm doing much more than washing, drying and folding clothes.  Who really blogs about that anyway?  Okay, well, maybe I would but right now I'm not.  In addition to staring blankly at what could literally be hundreds of articles of clothing, I'm also purging and sorting and organizing so I can forever free myself of the black hole of chaos that has become my basement laundry room.  How can three people have so many clothes?  Especially considering a good portion of them never get worn and many of them don't even fit.  Hmmm....

Why I'm also finding this project so challenging is because, truthfully, I'm tackling much more than a laundry problem.  In my quest for personal enlightenment, I've been trying to dig deeper into the reason why we have so much bloody stuff in the first place and some of the reasons I'm coming up with seem a little unsettling to me.

What is really missing in our lives that creates this incessant need to purchase more things?  I'm only brainstorming right now but I'm going to throw out the possibility of boredom, greed, jealousy, competition, unhappiness, loneliness, plain stupidity?  I'm not quite sure the real reason yet but I do aim to find out eventually.  Maybe it's a combination of many of those things?

No matter where you live, life can become really lonely if you don't consistently reach out to those around you and confirm who and what really matters.  One day it could feel like all you have is your washer and dryer to keep you company and surely to God we can say that clothing really does not matter that much.  But what happens though when those you're reaching out to do not reach back?  Then what?  Do you fill the void with things?  And if so, how do you break that nasty spin cycle?

So I will reiterate, I'm most definitely tackling much more than a mountain of laundry here.  And as I said, the further I get from base camp, the scarier the top is looking.  But, nobody likes a coward so up we go.  You can guarantee I will let you know when we've made it to the summit - and hopefully by then I'll have some more answers, too.

Up Next: Project Five - The Green-Eyed Monster in All of Us