i am never five minutes into stripping the clutter from my life before i start running into the clutter that is my life. ~robert brault
i wouldn’t necessarily call myself a clean freak… but even for me, there comes a point where i can’t take the mess anymore…such as finding glitter in my laundry basket. i have to find some kind of order for the chaos and discombobulation. so last weekend i tackled the mountain of mess in my office.
i finished up my december daily. i threw away all the paper trimming and bits of ephemera. tossed out all the sharpies with no caps. swept up the glitter and sequins. i sorted through my paper bins and reorganized my craft supplies. put a bunch of old scrapbook paper in the recycle bin.
at last i could see the top of my desk! and so once that was finished, i directed my attention to the jumble of extension cords in the corner.
sidenote…i don’t think i have OCD, but if i did, wire hangers, pens with no caps, and tangled extension cords would require some heavy medication.
since ‘my’ office also houses the cables for the home wi-fi stuff and the remote bridge-thingy for tripp’s new outdoor weather monitoring station that allows him to check the weather at home from his phone (do not even get me started on this), let me just say that it was jungle back there.
in addition to the physical mess, my office housed a digital mess. i was a couple of months behind on backing up my old computer. and i say ‘old’ because for christmas, santa brought me a fancy, new iMac computer. which is AWESOME! and i love it! but in order to get up and running, i needed to get my software subscriptions uploaded and transfer some of my photography stuff.
sidetone::dear apple…i’m slowly getting used to the not having a DELETE AND BACKSPACE key, but would it kill you to add a CNTR + HOME shortcut?? i just don’t think it’s too much to ask.
so this is what i did for three days – clean, organize, and purge. physically, digitally, and as it turned out, mentally.
besides being immensely gratifying, i found this process to be quite therapeutic. i do believe there is a connection between living a mess and feeling a mess.
since the beginning of the year, i keep hearing this same sentiment over and over – from my social media feed to my yoga practice….
letting go is just making space for something else.
dear universe…i hear you.
in my office, in my head, and in my heart, i feel like i’ve tied up the loose ends from last year. i cleaned out all of my disappointments and frustrations. i have reorganized my priorities to make space for those things that really matter. i am letting go of 2015 …i’m moving on. and it feels really good.
thanks for letting me share.
love, kelly
what a great feeling….I still have several things to go thru….one being my office! Not looking forward to that one but it is a necessary evil! LOL Congrats on getting all organized and purged! 🙂
thank you my friend! it’s no fun for sure! but feels so, so good once it’s done!
Oh, Kelly, you are speaking my language! I’ve been living with the glitter and sequins, not to mention all the paper scraps and DD supplies, for months it seems and I just need to go on a binge and get rid of it! You are inspiring me to do just that. We are wanting to finish our renovation that started a year ago and this time it will include my craft room. I shake in my boots when I think of everything that will have to be cleaned out of there to make ready for that. This has been my scrapbook/craft room for about 15 years and has LOTS of shelves and LOTS of closed space so you can imagine the hoarding I’ve been doing over that period of time. Yes, sometimes I do go back and use some supplies that I’ve had for years and am glad I’ve kept but I would never miss them if they were gone. I’m going to print out your post and put it up on my bulletin board to keep me motivated to get through the mess. I know I’ll be so happy in the end!
One question: did you have a Mac before? If not, how was the transition? I drool over the iMac every time I see one but I’m a little (read: a LOT) worried about the transition. And what is the CNTR + HOME shortcut?
thank you so much terri! i’m loving my new computer just trying to get the hang of the new shortcuts! very much an old dog learning new tricks situation. 😉
Seriously? Is it just our age or are we really twins separated at birth? I could have written this post…. I have cleaned out, sorted, donated, sold and trashed to the wildest extreme. And it feels amaaaaaaazing! I am ready for 2016…I think! ????
great minds my friend! here’s to 2016!
I completely relate to this post. In fact, I spoke a bit about decluttering my studio space just today on my blog. : ) I have a ton of chords as well. I’m looking at them as I type this. Ugghh!!! “Letting go is just making space for something else.” I really like this!! Have a beautiful weekend!! xo
~ Wendy
http://Crickleberrycottage.blogspot.com/
thank you so much wendy! hope you’re cleaning is going well! xoxo
Oh, Kelly, I can sure relate. We are doing a little redecorating and my “office” has been the furniture/box/extra stuff warehouse. Progress is being made but I absolutely feel like I’ve been out of sorts because of the mess. Enjoy your new Mac!!
thank you! good luck with your office project!!