Thursday, August 11, 2011

There may be something to living a clutter free life.

I do feel calmer when I walk into the closet which was organized and has managed to stay so.

My desk is the antithesis of the closet.

Let's see.....
call the dentist for G'ma's dentures
change the doctor appointment
write a check covering the co-pay for G'ma's visit to the ER
reserve those books from the library
call the artist who offered to help with my logo
and that's just what's right in front of my nose.

No wonder I can't think creatively. My life is interfering with my thought processes.

The saddest part about this situation is that I wrote the previous paragraphs several weeks ago and they are even more true today than they were back then.  I am certainly not part of the solution.  I am definitely part of the problem.  In fact, I can tell you that in this one rare instance, I have no one to blame but myself for the state of affairs that lies in front of me.

It takes remarkable forbearance for TBG to approach the desk.  He's a put-it-away-immediately kind of guy, and I am the antithesis.  I never finished digging through to the bottom layer when I attacked this problem last Spring.  I was full of myself then, reveling in the fact that I could sit and lean and move just enough to actually accomplish something.  I was more about the event than I was about the outcome and I'm paying the price for that today.

I wanted the contact information for a BlogHer'11 attendee and it was almost simpler to go through the BlogHer website to find her than it was to look through the mess on my desk.

The cordless handset for the land-line (yes, hopelessly wedded to the 20th century... that's us....) was lost for a day or two, buried under papers and boxes and notebooks and calendars.  That's a list I made without turning my head.

There's no reason for the Cooling Mineral Gel Tea Tree Pain Reliever to be on this desk.  No reason at all.  If I used it here, on myself or applying it to another, my keyboard would rise up in revolt.  I refuse the interior scent at the car wash, I don't have Glade (candles or plug-ins or otherwise) perfuming my air, and I don't think I want a menthol burst every time my fingers tap a key.  And yet there it sits, right on the corner, taking up just enough space, wondering as I do what it's doing there.

I have a package I want to mail to Mei-Mei for her MoyaToyas.  I've got books to reshelve.  I have a gift for Mrs. Crayola. There's a snazzy new post-it dispenser just waiting to be admired.... except I can barely notice it amidst the chaos.

The printer rebels as the paper curls upon exiting; yesterday's mail is blocking the tray.  I have swag to mail to Big Cuter and bills to be paid and bottle tops to recycle and court-related papers to be filed.  I think I am in over my head.  I need help.

I'm going to use the second Silent Auction prize I won at the Arizona List luncheon and get this taken care of once and for all.  I'm hiring a professional to straighten it all out.

I'll make the call as soon as I do some minor clearing..... it's really too embarrassing to let anyone else see it like this.

(Yes, I do pick things up before the cleaning lady gets here.  Sigh.....)

I fear that I am hopeless.

7 comments:

  1. I clean before the cleaning lady arrives too... The only reason we have her though, is because I got so frustrated spending so much time tidying and delivering things back to their spots that I often times never got around to the actual cleaning part! I blame my kids, the younger one is a master at un-doing--dragging stuff all over the house, clearing out cupboards and tucking things away in odd little spots. I used to pride myself in my Martha Stewart-like closets...not so much after becoming a Mama! But it's ok, they are only little for a short time, when they're older I'll have some order back. Right? ;)

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  2. If you started out that way, yes, you will have order. I, on the other hand, have never been known to put anything away where I found it..... hence, I am hopeless!
    a/b

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  3. Your closet in the after shot--that's my life. The funny thing is my husband thinks I am endearlingly sloppy--if that gives you an idea of how compulsively neat he is.

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  4. This is exactly why we stopped using a cleaning lady. It was so stressful for me to get the house ready for her to come in and clean. I was having to put toys away and other things so she wouldn't just stick them in a drawer or some other place we couldn't find them.

    I'm glad to know it's not just me that has a messy office, but I will attest to the fact that it's really my hubby's fault. If you saw my office at work, it's very neat and tidy. I hate disorganization, but having three children, it's inevitable. I finally stopped freakin' out about my house not looking perfect all the time. As hubby says, we are family of five and our house reflects that. ;)

    I used to be uber-neat, but not anymore. I have to choose where I want to spend my time and if the playroom isn't always picked-up or if the laundry sits in a pile in the basket for a while, it's not really hurting anyone (and I still get to spend time with my family). So it's a give and take. I compromise because there is only so much time in the day.

    You'll get where you want it to be--eventually. It took time to get that way and it will take time to get it back where you want it. ;)


    Megan xxx

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  5. 'Course, this brain of mine homes right into the mention of new logo art. I love doing that stuff and can't wait to see your makeover when it comes. I sometimes wish I had more blogs so I could change their clothes like digital Barbies just for the fun of it.

    Photos of the desk makeover, too, please. I recall a pic you sent to Time Goes By of your desk. I have one to send them, but I forgot to. So it goes.

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  6. Just getting back into the swing of things, I think I'm thinking in the same mindset. I just cannot function in clutter, yet my entire home is loaded from top to bottom, except now the livingroom. about 12 hours of work and it's perfect as I can imagine...and that incredibly cute post-it dispenser (I got the one that looks like a flat stone) is actually out and on my couch-side table, for taking brief notes of inspiration while enjoying the one room in the house that I can stand to look at today. :) next, on to the kitchen...then the hallway...then the horrors of the upstairs. I'm inspired to get it all done before the family returns home...

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  7. Clutter makes me crazy and sadly I live with it constantly. It is the thing that is keeping us from getting out of NJ and to New Mexico. We've got all this "stuff" to get rid of before we can try to sell the 2 houses we have to sell. Making me nuts and keeping me from where I want to be. I'm about to bring in a bulldozer!!

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