What Constitutes a Pile?

Please refer to yesterday's post for the details behind this one.

I've survived one night and half a day of my commitment to No Piles Left Behind.  It's been a struggle.

I heard husbandly laughter emanating from the kitchen, and then his announcement - Here's a pile!  He walked in carrying two clean items of clothing that somehow ended up on the kitchen counter instead of in the laundry basket.  How?  I can't say.  

Obviously, I had them in hand and then went on to another chore which required two hands so I must have set them down and forgotten to return and reclaim them.  I noticed them a few times as I passed by; I did nothing about them.  Why?  I don't know.

The learning curve is quite steep.

This morning, after deciding on a resting place for the iPad he uses for Zoom spin class and we use for Facetime with the grandkids, he handed me the cord and plug.  Again, from the kitchen, I heard his laughter and another announcement -I found another pile.  I must have put the damn thing down and forgot to pick it up and put it in the basket where it should live.  Why?  Who knows.

There's a glass in the kitchen holding water that is getting to room temperature so that it can be added to the beautiful flower arrangements today. 

That was an Excused Pile, since it was a work in progress last night.  This morning, however, it is close to becoming A Pile.  I'll freshen the vases when I take their photos for posting; one pile I removed on my own.... although not after TBG reminded me that it was there.  

At least I saw and noticed this one, and had a plan of action to boot.  Progress can be noted.

TBG brought in the newspaper (yes, the old school, paper paper, that is wildly expensive but counts as my support of local journalism and thus is a mitzvah).  He handed it to me and I smiled.  I couldn't sit down to read it right away; did leaving it on the kitchen table count as creating a pile?

Nope.  Apparently, the morning paper on the table is not a pile.  Now, if it goes on into the afternoooooon........ he began to opine, but I was laughing too hard to hear the end.  YAY! I get to keep one item, unused but waiting, out where I will find it and read it and then recycle it.  There seems to be some breathing room in the description of A Pile.

I moved my beautiful catch-all bowl from the kitchen to the office. 

It's a much more convenient place, albeit a new one.  The library books rest right beside it.  The still to be hung metal bulletin board rests behind it.  The bag of printer cartridges for machines which no longer live or work in my house is out there, too.... and I just realized that it's A Pile.  

I moved it to the closet, along with the rest of the To Be Dealt With boxes,  

and now my little corner is pristine.

The corner makes me happy.  The To Do pile is still visible, but it's not glaring at me.  Is this what Feng Shui is all about?  I've not gone full Marie Kondo, but neatness is, it seems, its own reward.

Who knew?