There's a popular saying that I once fully, gleefully and joyfully embraced - a cluttered desk/messy area or everything out on display is the sign of genius/work being done, etc. The past several years though, I've realized that, for me, clutter is a distraction from what I need to be doing. What I should be doing. What needs to be done for dreams to come true.
Every now and then, the mess (because that's really what it was) would get too much and I would go on a whirl of sorting, tossing, cleaning and snapping at anyone who put anything down on what I'd just cleared off. (Kids, cats - didn't matter but they soon learned!)
Bad habits are hard to break until you simply decide 'enough is enough'. As I started my journey five years ago, I didn't know where to start. Everything was so out-of-control, such a mess everywhere I looked - at home, at work, inside and outside, and it was frustrating because there was so much that I couldn't do anything about. So I started looking at what I could affect. I started with me.
I literally came home one day, closed the door and leaned against it, looking through my small apartment. Naturally, this disruption in my 'home' routine upset the cats because their needs weren't immediately attended to. So once they were happy, I went back to the door, took a deep breath, and thought about my routines. What did I use the most? What did I love to see and brought a good emotion to my heart? What brought a negative feeling to me? What would make things simpler and more straight-forward?
The first thing I realized was that to put my coat and outdoor shoes away, I had to walk through the apartment to the coat closet. I might take my boots off, but then they started a pile at the front door. Which lead to a bigger mess. I found an accordion-style peg rack, nailed it up by the door and brought the coat I wore most to work, my rain slicker and the sweatshirt I liked to wear for walking and put those up. Ordering a simple bamboo two-shelf rack, I put the shoes under the pegged coats, found a basket for an umbrella, scarf and gloves and moved on.
Moving into the living area (two steps from the door), I picked up each item to determine which pile it went into. Photos of my sons went into the positive pile first. A favorite candle holder, a small basket that held the remotes (which was quickly cleared out of the junk that had found its way there), and so on. Many items that were simply 'out' found new homes. Except for the one I was reading, all books went back to their shelves. Notebooks, knickknacks, baskets - all returned to their place or put in a closet. I studied everything I had up on the walls and my eyes didn't know where to look first. Too much! All but a couple things came down. Then the cats helpfully made sure I noticed the next big task - the magazines.
I love magazines. I had so many subscriptions! Yet I hadn't read any in several months. I wasn't too busy - I plopped my butt on the couch a couple hours a night or on the weekends. The glossy things were spilling out of the baskets - which is how the cats knocked them over, covering the floor space I'd cleared. I knew sorting through that would take some time and preparation. Yes, I made a deal out of that! lol But it did pay off - first, I sorted them - fitness, beauty/fashion, home/cooking, gardening, sports, news. The sports subscriptions I switched over to my youngest son and canceled the news which I wasn't reading at all. The rest were put in order - older to newest. Knowing I had at least six categories, I ordered multi-colored folders, a small filing cabinet, a mini stapler and a box of staples. Everything would arrive on the weekend.
While waiting, I organized my writing area. Okay, that was the next day because by then it was bedtime. But, by the time the folders, shoe rack and everything else arrived, I had finished the living area, zipped through my writing corner and reorganized the dining area which was actually dedicated to the cats.
A glass of wine, sports on tv, and I settled on the floor surrounded by my stacks of magazines and supplies.
I checked the contents, went to articles that interested me, tore them out and stapled the pages together. No reading! That would come later. Some magazines had no pages torn out while others nearly every page was gone. I made a note of that on my list. All weekend I did that. And realized that many subscriptions were holdovers from years ago when my interests were different. My attitudes had changed, but I hadn't completely left everything behind. Several went on the list to be canceled. By Sunday night, I had dumped the magazines in the complex dumpster and had two empty magazine baskets. Well, until the cats discovered they made excellent ambush positions.
The next few days I went through the articles, kind of reading, but mostly refining the sorting. Exercise was broken into cardio, weight-training, yoga, gear, etc. Beauty into skin care and cosmetics. Fashion into seasons and caring. Etc. Then everything went into folders and the folders into the new file cabinet. I didn't want to have gone through all that work (and money spent) to leave it at that. So I made a point of going through the folders a few minutes a night. Even a couple articles was fine. Again, I tracked which articles I saved or tossed and the magazines they came from. If articles repeated information, I kept the one from the magazine I'd pulled the most pages from.
Gradually, I weeded through the box. I didn't devote all my time to that. Once started, I went through the rest of the apartment. Kitchen, hall closets, bathroom. I dreaded doing my bedroom closet! I'll take you through those treks later. The cats supervised and helped, keeping my company every step of the way.
The end result? First, coming home was simpler. Coat and hat off, boots or shoes off, slippers on (unless a cat had moved them), backpack down on the small table. I cut my magazine subscriptions in half. Yeah, I had that many! And still had many coming in, but it's a process that I was starting. Two years ago, I went through the magazines again and reduced the number to six that reflect where I am in life and where I want to go. Every couple weeks, I pull out a folder of articles and go through them, as I sip tea and listen to calming music - a further step in life from the wine and sports. (although I do enjoy a glass and game now and then)
Clearing through magazines might sound like a small step, but if you gathered all of them together, you might be surprised at how much space they take up with no one reading them. Accomplishing that, choosing a couple favorites, simplifies life. When you go to read something, you know it's a subject you currently enjoy or are genuinely interested in.
For me, having a few favorite things out, instead of covering every flat surface or wall, is calming. It is restful for my mind and eyes when I put my feet up and pull out a folder. Or simply curl up with my favorite book.
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