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Four square meters. That is the open space in my living room that was liberated by ditching the last of the IKEA armchairs plus the guest bed. As they only pick up big pieces of trash once a month, they had been languishing in the cellar awaiting pickup day. Yesterday, very carefully of course not to put too much of a strain on my knee, we put them out in front of the house. I actually expected them to be gone before the pickup truck arrived. Well, that didn´t happen. They were obviously not looking attractive enough for anybody to carry them home. Which is sobering when I consider that I had actually been hesitant at first to throw them out. Anyway, the trash collection took them this morning. 

Watching from the kitchen window how they were compacted into the trash lorry made me a bit sad. Then again, I am glad that I have reclaimed the space they occupied in our flat. 

Come to think of it, I spent the twentieth part of our rent every month on making room for something that others wouldn´t even pick up for free.

And there are more such white elephants still around taking up space and making the apartment look crowded and small. 

The couch, which has been temporariliy relegated to the guestroom in place of the bed, is a prime such candidate  Two more square meters beckoning to be liberated. We are actually only waiting for our respective injuries to heal before dragging it downstairs. 

The living room minus the old easy chair and the couch appears twice as roomy as when they were still in there, even with the new easy chairs in place. 

One step after the other, we are improving on the way we live. And I keep being surprised at how small a step may sometimes translate into a dramatic improvement. 

On the weight front, unfortunately, no such luck. I have been supplementing with gelatin and resistant starch for several days, hoping to get my digestion and my joints back to working properly. What that brought me was a three-pound gain. I just hope that it´s a matter of the body adapting to being refed and will go away again. Meanwhile, it´s sheer frustration. Pants growing tight again ( yup, the bigger ones I hesitated so long to buy), shortness of breath, and of course that bum knee. 

Looks like it´s one more time my body shows me that it won´t do what I want it to do. 

If only that would stop. 

Before I get back to where I never wanted to be again for good. 

Julia