Lighten up!

Yesterday, I bought a new comforter. The one that I had was given to me by a kind friend, but was stained and dark, and it went down on my list of Serenity Moths on Tuesday. (Something subtle that eats away at my serenity, yet doesn’t have to.) Also on my list was my apartment being dark. Part of that is due to the fact that the lamp I have on my desk does not have a lampshade, and so I taped a piece of construction paper around it like a shade, but am usually too nervous of fire to keep it on!

So, after work, I went to Ross, the discount store (i.e. Marshalls, etc -- east coasters shout out!), and found a new, white, soft, warm comforter. And now it’s on my bed. As I live in a studio, whatever color is on my bed really changes and is obvious in the whole apartment. So, I got to cross “stained comforter” off my list, and am heading in the direction of crossing off “dark apartment.”

I realize that almost all of the furniture in my apartment came to me absolutely free. I reflect on this, as I begin to think again/re-address/new-perspectivize myself toward abundance in my life. Every major piece was free. A gift of the universe. The bed came first. When I moved to California, my one friend was like, uh, is that all you brought? I had a few suitcases and a pillow. ;) She said she would have brought a u-haul with all her stuff. But, truth be told, I didn’t have that much, having just recently moved back from South Korea – all I had was in my childhood room in NJ, and no, I was not going to bring a twin sized bed to my “new life” in San Francisco.

When I got my first craigslist apartment, yay! here’s a room. … with nothing in it. Nothing at all. Not even a bed. Miraculously enough – very incredibly miraculously enough – my new roommate said his girlfriend just bought a new mattress set, and was getting rid of her old one. As I didn’t have any money, I offered that I could give her the $75 gift certificate to Victoria’s Secret that my dad’s fiancé gave to me as a parting gift in NJ. Sold.

That very day, we went and picked up a Queen-sized, good condition mattress and box spring. I have it to this day. For free. Or, as close to free/not out of my pocket as you can get.

When I moved to my own one-bedroom in SF, the next big piece was my couch. I wanted a pull-out for visitors, and lo and behold, on craigslist was a free two seater pull out couch. I don’t even know how I was able to transport it – my good friend and her boyfriend helped me, as he had a truck, and it is so damned heavy with all its metal internallings. Why was it absolutely free? Because the awful blue sofa also was entirely scratched apart on the arms of it and the back of it by a very active cat. Some of the stuffing was even coming out of the arms. No problem. I went to Bed Bath and Beyond, and found a perfect chocolate colored faux-suede sofa cover, and I have it to this day ;)

The rest of the pieces have come off the street, or several once from one of the buildings managed by the property management company I worked for. The building manager had a whole host of excess furniture in the basement. For the price of looking, asking, being organized to get transportation, and most importantly asking for help around it, I’ve acquired an entire mod-podge apartment of furniture that looks pretty cohesive.

The shade-less lamp, I paid $6 for, and it may have to go, or a lampshade will become available (believe me, I’ve been looking!), and I also paid for the omigod this couldn’t be any more perfect 2^nd bedside table which perfectly matches the off-the-street one on my side. The new one was bought at a garage sale around the time I was doing the Calling in The One exercises on creating space for a partner. It isn’t a replica of the first, it’s a partner. It matches, complements, enhances the first. Sort of what a partner should – or can – do, eh?

To abundance. And my lightening up apartment, heart, and outlook. ;)