Sunshine and a Surprise Peek!

Thanks for being a part of this group. It's always great to chat with you and I hope you are doing well! Here are the hot topics for today! 

• Sunshine—don’t we all need some of that??

• An idea for decluttering–if this isn’t for you, you can skip this part!

• READERS’S CORNER! A short excerpt from my upcoming book.

  
  

I was able to get away from the cold for a week and cruise the Bahamas! It was such an amazing treat. Certainly, one of the 

best parts was the sunshine. I’m inserting a few pictures and hope you can feel the warmth. While there, we visited Konoko Falls in Ocho Rios, Jamaica, the San Gervasio Mayan ruins in Cozumel, and toured shipwrecks in Grand Cayman. In our downtime, I read, wrote, and sampled lots of delicious food!

What’s your favorite get-a-way locale? Have you been to a place that you’d love to go back to?

An Idea for Decluttering

I’m wondering, are you feeling the need to declutter? For me, this nagging sensation often pops up a few weeks after the holidays. Can you relate? It seems that over the winter months things just accumulate!

In my next book, the husband of the protagonist is a bit of a hoarder. Not extreme but probably relatable to a lot of us. It’s the innocent collection of items that you have the best intentions of using or needing. But, you know, we never seem to use them.

So, if you’re in the mood, here are a few tips for decluttering. For example, we’ll make our clothes closet the target.

• Start small. Commit to removing a percentage of the items in your closet. Maybe 10%. Don’t go crazy or you’ll become overwhelmed. Start with a specific section of your clothes, say shoes. Or clean out two drawers and aim for a reasonable reduction in the clutter.

• Create three piles. Keep. Give away. Throw away. I suggest using trash bags for the last two piles. Put the items in the appropriate bag as you sort so you only have your hands on each item once. (This will help to lessen the risk of an item returning to your closet!) When done, load the giveaway bag into your car to be delivered to the nearest thrift store the next time you are out.

• Three guide words and phrases for closet cleaning. Unused. Worn out. Unworn. Pick up an item and ask yourself, is it worn out, unused, or unworn? If yes, then get rid of it. Unused luggage? Worn-out shoes? Unworn holiday wear? It’s time to let these things go.

Do you have tips or tricks for decluttering? Respond to this email. We’d love to hear.

READER’S CORNER! 📚 A short excerpt from my work in progress – Hope you enjoy it!

Unedited Excerpt from Chapter 21 of Trapped by Sandy Clements Copyright © 2025 Sandra K. Clements

The pesky part of my brain designed to protect me from anything bad, my amygdala, kicks into gear as I sit in my car outside the Pinewood Hills Board of Education Building, considering my options. Minutes tick by. Avoidance comes to mind. I could simply start my car and head north. Keep driving until I hit New York. By not showing up for the meeting, it would at the very least delay the inevitable.

My phone pings and I look down.

Viv, You can handle this. You are stronger than you know. Call me after. XOXO, Cori.

An image follows the text. A silhouette of a woman, her hands raised in victory, standing atop a mountain peak.

I bite my lip and wince. Cori is so much stronger than me. So positive. My cousin’s message bounces into my psyche and battles against my doubts. I twist the rearview mirror and peer into my own eyes that are now weighed down by dark circles. “You can do this,” I say.

Old Blue’s door creaks when I push it open. The light breeze presses against the heat of the South Carolina morning sun and a chill runs the length of my body. The linen pantsuit I pulled from the back of my closet clings to my back and thighs, and I work to loosen the fabric. When I realize there is little I can do, I turn and force my legs to march in the direction of the District Office.

The grounds around the slate-gray building are well tended. Perfectly trimmed hedges and a thick rug of Kentucky bluegrass green outline the modern building, a rarity in their historic town. A rounded fountain, the size of a kiddie pool, spews five uniform sprays of water, moving back and forth, Pinewood Hill’s version of a Vegas attraction. I glance down, to the oversized pavers under my feet. They glisten from specks of silicon carbide. And there, by my foot, is a forgotten penny. I bend and pick it up.

My father believed a penny could bring good luck. I laugh out loud at the supposition and then sober and then become silent. What if … what if there is a chance?

I walk to the fountain and whisper to the unknown, “Please, don’t let me lose anything else.” I consider my wish before continuing, wanting to make sure it’s enough. “But if more is taken from me, give me the strength to survive.” I felt as if I had offered a prayer to the fountain or maybe the penny, or who knows, perhaps to the spirits or the gods, and I toss it into the clear water where it settles among other pennies, and a few silver coins that had already found their resting places.