Cryptoscopophilia: The secret desire to look through people’s windows as one passes by.

My ex-husband always wished he could get into other people’s houses and snoop around. I never understood how that was appealing. But, I photographed derelict, abandoned houses for years and almost never went inside. It just didn’t feel right. Not going inside didn't keep me from enjoying the old houses, or getting a lot of photographs.

Most photographs I've seen posted from inside the abandoned houses just look mess and sad. Even more derelict than the house itself.

Part of getting old seems to be seeing the things you love become extinct. Tea cups and saucers, clocks, books, hand sewing and embroidery, hand written letters, postcards, birthday cards, silver sets, so many things disappearing or becoming unwanted by the younger generations as they come along with new technology.

But, I notice the old things I love still last longer than the new things coming along. Maybe not in purpose but in strength and durability. New technology is made to break and be replaced. Can it be loved like the old things when it isn't made to last? I don't think there is enough time before a new one is needed and the old hits the landfill.

In the morning I wake up with the wreckage of yesterday, all my yesterdays, around me.

In one corner of my mind, a dusty corner, I can see a place where its tidy, there is just enough, rather than an overabundance. I've cleared away the burdens, the tasks to be done, the responsibilities I didn't ask for, the promises I thought I owed to myself. Life in that corner is uncluttered. Each morning I set about completing things, continuing things and there is nothing holding me back, nothing to feel trapped by or disappointed about myself.

But, I don't live in that corner. I step carefully in the room where I can't really see the corners and I avoid hurting myself. Physically, by stepping carefully around the floor and the obstacle course I've created. Mentally, by keeping everything, as much as I can, safe with me in this room. Its not who I am, its who I have become.

Two ideas from the post seemed helpful for me. I do agree that it is easy to pile up too much stuff when you feel unhappy. You may not prevent that but when you feel better the stuff is still there. Decide what you really need, and be a little cutthroat about the rest. I'm not saying its easy, not for me! Its a goal I'm working towards. Gradually.

Tip #1: Realize that more stuff does not equal more happiness.

Have you ever looked in your kitchen cabinets and wondered why you have so many mugs or cups, yet you use so few of them? Most of us acquire stuff because we think the more options we have, the more satisfied we’ll be. Turns out, we’re wrong.

In fact, a surplus of choices can end up making us less happy. We may get paralyzed by the sheer proliferation (like deciding which of 100 yogurts to buy at the store), plagued by regret about what we didn’t choose — and then we blame ourselves when our choices disappoint.

Pare down your options to the three or four you turn to most frequently, and give away/ recycle the rest.

Tip #7: Turn down the volume on your inner nitpicker.

When you’re done with your cleaning and organizing, there’s a chance it may not measure up to your expectations — your space still looks more real life than Real Simple and you think, “Why did I even bother?”

While the last steps of cleaning usually consist of putting away your supplies and discards, add a PS to your process: Take a minute, gaze around, and appreciate what you’ve accomplished.

Got too much stuff? Try these 7 tips to help pare down

There is, still, something I like about writing by hand that I miss when I'm typing on a keyboard. There is a smoothness to the pen and paper and I like having good penmanship. There is no penmanship at all with a keyboard.

Today I found a note from Perfect Pen, a site selling pens and etc. They say 95% of people write their name first, when they get a new pen. I don't know if its true. How would you find out about that. Chances are someone selling pens and seeing people test them before buying, would know. So it could be true. What did you last write, by hand? I wrote a grocery list. But I also sent out handwritten Christmas cards this year.

I write down ideas for stories or non-fiction ideas for posts to my sites. Sometimes they never become posts. Lots of ideas are written and just don't develop further, or get mislaid somewhere, one way or another. But, I still like writing ideas more than typing them. My brain works differently while writing.  A bit slower and not as directly focused on the idea while I have the distraction of the pen, paper and penmanship. More than likely that changes how the ideas develop. Typing is so instant.

National Ballpoint Pen Day is June 10th. It's the day the patent for the ballpoint pen was filed.

Have you ever gotten into calligraphy, with fountain pens? I did a little of that. In high school I had a fountain pen. It was fun to write with but not as clean as a ballpoint pen. Of course, there have been pencils since the age of the dinosaurs (not literally). Pencils are just not the same, though artists still draw with an assortment of them.

Today, even though it isn't Ballpoint Pen Day, take a look at all the pens you have collected, scattered, around your home. Get some scrap paper out of the recycling and test all your pens. Not many have the option to be refillable and reused now. Or, people almost never seem to do that. Too many freebie pens given away to take the time to recycle them. Unless you have a favourite pen. I did have a favourite ballpoint pen but it was kind of exotic and I couldn't find ink to refill it. If you can find a use for the pens that no longer work, got dried out, or broken, that's great. Most likely the best you can do is get rid of them and have that much less clutter around.

Happy pen testing. Will you scribble something or ring true to the theory that the first thing you write with a new (sort of new) pen is your name?