With my new found energy as a result of committing to my new fitness program, an internal switch has suddenly been turned on. Almost three weeks ago, I declared to my husband of ten years that I was done being sleep deprived and wanted a king size memory foam bed.  I had read that poor sleeping habits can inhibit weight loss and I can sure tell you especially since going through menopause, a sound night’s sleep has eluded me for now over 10 years!  We decided to evaluate beds and after a week of research had narrowed it down to a Tempurpedic bed or another brand. In the meantime, I needed to figure out where I was going to put all the stuff I had stored in my existing headboard as it has two large drawers, a cabinet plus storage all along the space directly behind the mattress!  I mentioned it to my sister, who was in the process of getting her home ready to put on the market and her advice was “throw out the junk!”  Little did I know that my need for sleep would send me on a journey to start decluttering my home in earnest.   A chain reaction ensued… first I had to reorganize my bureau to make room for some of the things I needed from my headboard storage.  I started two piles, one to donate and one to throw away.  Before I knew it, I had completely emptied three out of 9 drawers! Then I went through all the stuff in my headboard storage.. I was amazed at the junk I had been holding on to!   Next was my closet where I finally parted with things I’ve had for over 12 years and never worn.  When I was finished, I had 4 huge garbage bags of clothes.. 3 to give away and one to toss!   I have to say it was liberating!    I moved on to the linen closet and then, the dreaded back hall closet which was stuffed to the brim with odds and ends that we said we would go through “later” (ten years ago!). I’m on a mission to go through the house room by room and rid myself of the things I no longer need.  I had heard that clearing out the old allows for new opportunities to come in to your life, and boy is that the truth!  Once the decision to get a new bed was made, it was time to search for a new headboard.  My husband had a fundamental objection to spending over $600 for a plywood box and metal frame for a memory foam mattress, so we started the search for a platform bed.  We were resigned to spending over $800 for a king size bed frame and went to nearly every furniture store within a 30 mile radius and couldn’t find what we wanted.  Since Costa Rica is still in our long term moving plans, we were hesitant to spend a great deal of money on a wood frame since it would likely break down in Costa Rica’s tropical climate.  We were heading towards The Room Store to check out their offerings, and something told me to check out a store we have here called Big Lots, which sometimes has some incredible deals on furniture.  We walked in the store and lo and behold, as soon as we entered, to the left on display was the perfect platform bed, complete with two drawers at the foot of the bed.  The price tag?  $199.99!!!!  I couldn’t believe our luck; it was better than anything we had seen at the known furniture stores in our area for a fraction of the price.  We had spent a great deal of time looking for bed frames online, and this bed looked familiar to me, so I whipped out my trusty Iphone, and googled the bed manufacturer and name.  When I found it, my jaw dropped… the very bed that was in front of me was “on sale” online for $1200!!!   After contacting a good friend with a truck to arrange to transport the bed (assembly required), we bought the bed and brought it to the house. The next week consisted of breaking down the old (and heavy) headboard system, moving it out of the way and assembling the new frame.  Again, if it hadn’t been for my participation in my new fitness program, I never could have helped my husband move all that furniture.  I couldn’t believe the strength I had in my upper body!  My bedroom seems enormous now that that huge piece of furniture is no longer covering the wall. The good news is our new mattress (we did decide on a Tempurpedic Cloud Supreme) arrived earlier this week and I am now sleeping better than I have in   years!  I’ll be anxious to see if my ability to lose weight improves now that I’m  getting a full night’s rest.  Stay tuned for results! <——  That’s Raven, my 12+ year old Rottie girl… she LOVES the bed… good on her  now arthritic hips.