Making Up Rules

Perhaps there isn’t a lot to say this time. My last project was to try to lessen my clutter. I did fairly well; I got rid of two grocery bag sizes of trash. I felt, at first, like the whole project was just moving too slowly. I felt like all that I was really doing was getting my junk count down to where it was when I moved from my old house. Let’s face it; one is always acquiring more junk. Advertising in the mail, pay stubs, bank receipts, for me things like sheet music, show programs. How does one decide what’s necessary and what isn’t? Well, for starters, some of my junk was from my financial advisor, so I called her and asked if some of those generic mail-outs were necessary to keep. She said no, so that got rid of a handful of booklets.

One thing that I have going for me at the moment is that I’m really starting to enjoy having floor space in my bedroom. Currently, the boxes of junk are in the living room, and I’m doing the sorting there. I feel much more creatively free with space in my bedroom. I feel more inclined to sit down at my keyboard and play… the reader will recall that one of my current intentions is to make playing the piano a daily part of my life. Which reminds me that I need to get some playing in before I leave to call the football game tonight. Fire pit time awaits me after I get back from the game, so I probably won’t do any playing tonight.

In any case, I feel pretty good about the progress that I’ve made. I think that, if I achieve my ends in this junk sorting project, I’ll reward myself with a carrot cake. Oh, yeah.

One of the things that I accomplished was clearing off the top of my roll-top desk (yes, I have one of those.) I put my CDs (yes, I have those) on little horizontal racks so that they’re properly displayed and the top of my roll-top looks much better. I could get accustomed to this improved organization.

The rule that I’m making up is that I’m going to extend this project. I feel that, though it’s good to not get stuck on one thing, it is good to see a project through. I feel that this project is probably the most important short-term one that I’ve undertaken to this point. It’s so important because it speaks to three larger issues: 1) overall organization of possessions, 2) future freedom, and 3) lessening of stress. To not have all that junk weighing me down will really help my stress levels. I’ve got a box of stuff to donate that’s already 1/8 full, and I still have 5 boxes to sort through. Well, really, it’s about 4, but it feels like more because some of those boxes are small. Some things have found places to belong, and the resultant organization is very pacifying.

Note: This article is written in the present tense from last Friday, when I intended to publish it.