Wednesday, April 3, 2013

Cluttered House Cluttered Mind

The title of this post is generally my personal mantra. I like to keep things around the house to a level of OCD clean and organized. But despite my best efforts, sometimes the stuff begins to feel like an episode of Hoarders in the making. I can let it go for a while but at some point I’m going to look at it and get so irritated with its messy presence that I’m going to take care of the issue.

That’s where I’m at today with my office.

When we moved into the house last summer and Matt went back to an in-office position I was able to claim the office as a room solely dedicated to my pursuits. MWAHAHAHA! It’s all mine! Still! So one might think I would take special care of the place and make it somewhere I really want to be so I’d spend as much time as possible writing. But I didn’t fulfill that need and now it’s in a desperate situation.

Because I’m the queen of ‘try just about anything once’ there is so much random shit in here I look around and feel trapped under its weight. And, hello? Can that be good for a Writer who needs to be able to stretch her inside arms in order to let the characters come flooding in? No. The answer you’re looking for is no.

So today is the day when I either finish or file it all. Some stuff may end up in a now empty but still useful Rubbermaid tub and find its way to the garage. I’ll mark it Fall Projects and at some point when I get to this same mental headspace at the end of the year (because yeah, it definitely does happen at least twice a year that I go on an insane purge) I’ll pull it out and either do them or trash them. Well, usually Goodwill is the recipient. I’m not one to toss stuff someone else could get use out of.

But nothing can be done about books being dust collectors on the table top in the corner. Every single one of those should be sold by now. Obviously I’m not taking multiple copies of my book to the Goodwill but maybe it’s time to get my ass into a local bookstore and inquire about stocking my titles. Couldn’t hurt and it would sure free up a lot of space over there for more important things. Like a lot of space.

And maybe a new paint color. Hmm, wonder how Bruins gold would work in here? Once all the crap is out of here I may just give that color a try.

Posted for April 2013 A to Z Blog Challenge C is for Clutter

14 comments:

Judi FitzPatrick said...

I feel your pain of the weight of "stuff".

Somehow, even though I massively downsized to move last year, there is already a bunch of stuff coming to light that I don't need. It's mainly clothing that I didn't wear this winter, but paper has started to pile up, too. And I'm going to review my fabric stash with new eyes as well, now that I have rethought what I will do with it.

Time to do some purging over here as well. Thanks for the reminder!

Love you, Mum

Rob-bear said...

It's no cluttered, Jenn; it's organized dynamically. We Bears know about such things.

Blessings and Bear hugs!
Bears Noting

David Macaulay said...

OMG those extremem hoarding shows make me want to be a neat freak, which is far from my nature.

Jak said...

I've had items I have planned to donate for months now... maybe going on a year+, but there it sits.

I'm a pack rat, but nowhere near a Hoarder (thankfully!). I think you definitely need to get some of your books stocked at local businesses. That would be where I'd start :)

Good luck with the purging! I'll read about your Command Center tonight.

Jak at The Cryton Chronicles & Dreams in the Shade of Ink

Kathe W. said...

ah yes the perils of being OCD....as I get older I become more OCD....which my children should thank me for now and forever. At least I won't leave them knee deep in crap and papers. Unlike my sweetie patootie who doesn't throw anything away. I guess there might be some balance there. I have a few plastic tubs that need addressing, but at least they are tucked away in the attic...for now!
Good luck with your books- I am sure they will go to well deserved homes.
Cheers and have a great day.

Launna said...

I think asking the local book stores if they would be willing to stock your book would be great, I hope that pans out for you:)

As far as being OCD... I used to be overly clean... washing my floors three times a day, vacuuming 2-3 times a day and other things.

That has gone by the wayside as I have become older but every now and then I start throwing things out and I become ruthless... it always feels so good to get rid of crap somehow... :)

Suldog said...

I'm a bit of Felix Unger and a bit of Oscar Madison. The bedroom gets piled with everything - books, notebooks, old photo scrapbooks, CDs, guitars, amplifier, clothes, used coffee mugs, and any other detritus you might conjure. The kitchen, on the other hand, is never clean enough for me. I am constantly scrubbing the floor, scouring the sink, cleaning the oven, etc.

My writing area is fairly orderly, but it's also fairly small. I let the occasional manuscript lay around until it's mailed out, but most other things are OK. The living room is the in-between area. It gets the big clean whenever we're expecting company, otherwise it's pretty casual.

Jenn Flynn-Shon said...

Its always the way right? Available space tends to get stuff put into it. I feel soooo much better after decluttering in here, you will too I bet once you get to it! xoxo

Jenn Flynn-Shon said...

lol I like that :-)

Jenn Flynn-Shon said...

Me too! I can't watch one without immediately cleaning my house!

Jenn Flynn-Shon said...

I used to be a major pack rat but then I just started moving so frequently (once a year, sometimes even more often) that I decided I needed to downsize or I'd go broke moving. Now its such a habit that I think even if we stay in this house for 15 years it'll still be clutter free!

Jenn Flynn-Shon said...

That's the same as me Kathe, my room as a kid and even most of my first apartments were just disasters. They weren't even waiting to happen, it was full-on chaos. Maybe during this A to Z Challenge I'll tell the story of stacking dirty dishes in the bathtub for company.

Thanks so much I hope to sell at least a few in the next month!

Jenn Flynn-Shon said...

I know there's supposedly some secret handshake only known to Authors that I need to know about how to talk to book store owners and how to ask them to stock my books but you got me if I know it. I'll just have to be polite and thankful and hopefully one or more of them will be willing to take a chance on a new Author.

My house isn't nearly that clean but I do like flowing traffic paths and a general lack of scum built up on stuff :-)

Jenn Flynn-Shon said...

Piles - yup, that's how I end up in my office if I don't keep things in check. But yeah as far as common areas where there might be company like the LR & kitchen I hate when stuff is all over the place. It just makes me dizzy and I have to deal with it before my brain will allow me to do anything else!