Last night, my task was to file the papers I'd sorted from the clutter on my desk and shelves.
Painstaking, but absurdly simple.
Papers are now filed in the file-drawer in my desk, in files labeled ART, BANKING, BILLS, COMPUTER, HISTORY, MANUALS, MEDICAL, PAY, POETRY, RECIPES, RENT and REVENUE CANADA.
Fits nicely, too.
- - -
Friday, November 8, 2013
the joy of less..
I'm halfway through reading the joy of less by Francine Jay - whose name I keep remembering as Felicia Day. Oh dear.
It has some fabulous advice, but it is so not written with my lifestyle in mind. She talks about all the extra clothes in one's wardrobe - and yes, I have things I should pare down even now, but that's never been my problem.
I've read her chapters on bedrooms and the living room - and there's a huge elephant in the room. My major stumbling block, and she hasn't even mentioned it yet. Books. Books and bookcases. Where are her books?
She talks about having a bedroom that is geared only to sleeping, clothing and maybe grooming. Not a word about books. My bedroom problem - and we are not, for the moment, talking about the boxes of twelve thousand comic books - my bedroom problem is bookcases. It also happens to be my living room problem. And my hallway problem. I have, at a quick mental count, twelve bookcases. No, thirteen, I forgot the little one by my pantry. And I'm not counting at all the shelving over my desk, which has some books on it. So: thirteen bookcases. I'm hoping to get it down to four by Nov. 17. Can I do it?
Well, maybe. "Four" is a very abstract number. Fewer would be too much of a sacrifice. Five might be okay. I rather like that little one by the pantry, though I don't want it to be there - and don't know where it should go.
Work in progress. Right. Some things reveal themselves as time goes by.
Alternate book venues:
1. They could go, with bookends, on top of my dresser and on top of my comic book boxes. Fine for the dresser (though an uncluttered top is nice), but it renders the comic books a little more inaccessible. Not to mention the books.
2. They could go in boxes in the basement. I don't think it's good for them - I once had a drippy pipe down there, right over a box of comics. It did no harm, but that's a comic collector's nightmare.
3. I could purge more. I've already purged a lot. Yes, really. Bookcases seem to fill up embarrassingly quickly. And I do most of my reading from the library. There's a message in that, but I'm not sure what. If I could get all my reading from the library, I would. Unfortunately so many of the books I need and want are not available in libraries, or electronically, either.
It's all in the musing stage, right now...
- - -
It has some fabulous advice, but it is so not written with my lifestyle in mind. She talks about all the extra clothes in one's wardrobe - and yes, I have things I should pare down even now, but that's never been my problem.
I've read her chapters on bedrooms and the living room - and there's a huge elephant in the room. My major stumbling block, and she hasn't even mentioned it yet. Books. Books and bookcases. Where are her books?
She talks about having a bedroom that is geared only to sleeping, clothing and maybe grooming. Not a word about books. My bedroom problem - and we are not, for the moment, talking about the boxes of twelve thousand comic books - my bedroom problem is bookcases. It also happens to be my living room problem. And my hallway problem. I have, at a quick mental count, twelve bookcases. No, thirteen, I forgot the little one by my pantry. And I'm not counting at all the shelving over my desk, which has some books on it. So: thirteen bookcases. I'm hoping to get it down to four by Nov. 17. Can I do it?
Well, maybe. "Four" is a very abstract number. Fewer would be too much of a sacrifice. Five might be okay. I rather like that little one by the pantry, though I don't want it to be there - and don't know where it should go.
Work in progress. Right. Some things reveal themselves as time goes by.
Alternate book venues:
1. They could go, with bookends, on top of my dresser and on top of my comic book boxes. Fine for the dresser (though an uncluttered top is nice), but it renders the comic books a little more inaccessible. Not to mention the books.
2. They could go in boxes in the basement. I don't think it's good for them - I once had a drippy pipe down there, right over a box of comics. It did no harm, but that's a comic collector's nightmare.
3. I could purge more. I've already purged a lot. Yes, really. Bookcases seem to fill up embarrassingly quickly. And I do most of my reading from the library. There's a message in that, but I'm not sure what. If I could get all my reading from the library, I would. Unfortunately so many of the books I need and want are not available in libraries, or electronically, either.
It's all in the musing stage, right now...
- - -
Thursday, November 7, 2013
Zones and the joy of less..
I have been reading the joy of less by Francine Jay, a book about decluttering and minimalizing.
At first I found it preachy; but it has some good advice. I like its idea of thinking of the home in terms of zones, depending on use, and keeping the paraphernalia of that zone in that zone.
So I should determine my zones.
Book zone - Currently there are bookcases all over the living room and bedroom. I plan to amalgamate, and to get more of them in the bedroom, fewer in the living room.
Desk zone - South end of the living room.
Bird zone - The cage is on a desk to the east side of the living room, between bookcases.
Entertainment zone - television and DVD payers, Acer Aspire, IKEA DVD shelves - all need to be pared down and consolidated. North and east parts of the living room. And this is related to my Entertaining zone, the sofa and chairs where I and my friends watch DVDs.
Clothing zone - Wardrobe and chest of drawers in my bedroom; closet in the hallway; bin in the locker in the basement.
Supplies zone - Cleaning supplies are in the hall closet and bathroom cabinet under the sink - and under the sink in the kitchen, too. The system works, but needs refinement.
Sleep zone - Bed and bedside table (which is actually a set of full comic book boxes with a board over them).
Cooking zone - Kitchen, though this probably has five distinct parts:
Exercise zone - Treadmill in the south-west corner of the living room, with the yoga mat and balance cushion. I was thinking of getting rid of the balance cushion, because I've never used it: but it might still be a good idea, if I push myself. My balance really does need work.
- - -
At first I found it preachy; but it has some good advice. I like its idea of thinking of the home in terms of zones, depending on use, and keeping the paraphernalia of that zone in that zone.
So I should determine my zones.
Book zone - Currently there are bookcases all over the living room and bedroom. I plan to amalgamate, and to get more of them in the bedroom, fewer in the living room.
Desk zone - South end of the living room.
Bird zone - The cage is on a desk to the east side of the living room, between bookcases.
Entertainment zone - television and DVD payers, Acer Aspire, IKEA DVD shelves - all need to be pared down and consolidated. North and east parts of the living room. And this is related to my Entertaining zone, the sofa and chairs where I and my friends watch DVDs.
Clothing zone - Wardrobe and chest of drawers in my bedroom; closet in the hallway; bin in the locker in the basement.
Supplies zone - Cleaning supplies are in the hall closet and bathroom cabinet under the sink - and under the sink in the kitchen, too. The system works, but needs refinement.
Sleep zone - Bed and bedside table (which is actually a set of full comic book boxes with a board over them).
Cooking zone - Kitchen, though this probably has five distinct parts:
- Storage zone - paper towels, tea towels
- Cooking zone - pots and pans, implements like wooden spoons and knives
- Eating zone - canned foods, dried foods, flour, sugar
- Fridge zone - food inside the fridge and freezer
- Tableware zone - cups and glasses, plates and bowls
Exercise zone - Treadmill in the south-west corner of the living room, with the yoga mat and balance cushion. I was thinking of getting rid of the balance cushion, because I've never used it: but it might still be a good idea, if I push myself. My balance really does need work.
- - -
Last night I got home from work so tired that I thought I could do nothing.
But after eating I had enough energy to deal with my very small medicine cabinet over the bathroom sink. It was easy enough: there wasn't much in it because there isn't space for much. I decided I don't need four combs, found Aspirin with an expiry date of 2012, and reorganized the band-aids.
Then I thought I'd just have a look at the cabinet under the sink....
Next thing I knew I was surrounded by stuff, all around me in the cramped little bathroom. I couldn't believe how much I had crammed in there. Multiple canisters of Pledge, more hand lotion than I knew I had, large containers of shampoo, floor cleaning products, boot cleaning products, tea tree oil - a tiny bottle in a big box - and a manicure set.
I got rid of the extras and the unnecessary. In the end, I made room for the big container of laundry soap I got at Costco.
I got a second wind.
Seems I have a huge excess of liquid hand soap. Most liquid hand soap is sold with a scent; I wanted the scent-free, so I got two bottles of pure soap from a health food store. Then I found a good deal on huge (and I mean huge) containers of the same at Costco.
Found room for all that, too.
My cabinet door fell off its hinges. I'm hoping the landlord will fix that today.
Of course, when I'd cleaned up all the debris, trashed the trash, and looked at the bathroom... It needed the floor to be cleaned and the bathmats to be laundered. I washed both: one to go clean to the thrift store, one to keep. I don't need two bath mats.
I begin to think 'decluttering' is a code word for 'endless housekeeping' but I know that's not quite true. There will be an end to the tunnel. The less I have, the easier it is to clean.
And you know... the bathroom doesn't look half bad. I can't do anything about the ugly orange floral tile the place came with. Despite that... the place doesn't look half bad.
And I still have my photos of James Bond and Q on the walls.
- - -
But after eating I had enough energy to deal with my very small medicine cabinet over the bathroom sink. It was easy enough: there wasn't much in it because there isn't space for much. I decided I don't need four combs, found Aspirin with an expiry date of 2012, and reorganized the band-aids.
Then I thought I'd just have a look at the cabinet under the sink....
Next thing I knew I was surrounded by stuff, all around me in the cramped little bathroom. I couldn't believe how much I had crammed in there. Multiple canisters of Pledge, more hand lotion than I knew I had, large containers of shampoo, floor cleaning products, boot cleaning products, tea tree oil - a tiny bottle in a big box - and a manicure set.
I got rid of the extras and the unnecessary. In the end, I made room for the big container of laundry soap I got at Costco.
I got a second wind.
Seems I have a huge excess of liquid hand soap. Most liquid hand soap is sold with a scent; I wanted the scent-free, so I got two bottles of pure soap from a health food store. Then I found a good deal on huge (and I mean huge) containers of the same at Costco.
Found room for all that, too.
My cabinet door fell off its hinges. I'm hoping the landlord will fix that today.
Of course, when I'd cleaned up all the debris, trashed the trash, and looked at the bathroom... It needed the floor to be cleaned and the bathmats to be laundered. I washed both: one to go clean to the thrift store, one to keep. I don't need two bath mats.
I begin to think 'decluttering' is a code word for 'endless housekeeping' but I know that's not quite true. There will be an end to the tunnel. The less I have, the easier it is to clean.
And you know... the bathroom doesn't look half bad. I can't do anything about the ugly orange floral tile the place came with. Despite that... the place doesn't look half bad.
And I still have my photos of James Bond and Q on the walls.
- - -
Wednesday, November 6, 2013
Another day, another drawer...
Last night while watching Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. with friends, I decluttered two desk drawers. My thought was that if I could empty both drawers to the extent that I could amalgamate them into one, I could put my netbook - the Acer Aspire - into that drawer. It currently sits on the bookcase by the television with an HDMI cord plugged in, so I can watch YouTube (or whatever) on my TV.
So it's very handy there. More handy than it will be in a drawer. But I plan to move that bookcase. So: another problem to work through.
I did not work on the drawers while watching the new episode of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. - of course not! It was the one from two weeks ago, which we watched again, "The Girl in the Flowered Dress".
Amazing how many pens and pencils one person can have in two drawers. I put half of them in the discard bag, and I still have more than I can use in a lifetime. At some point, I'll test them to see if they all work. That will be another stage of culling.
Everything now fits very nicely in my top drawer, including the rubber stamps and stamp pads.
The more I do, the easier it gets.
Next step: file the papers that have been sorted and cleared off the top of the desk.
- - -
So it's very handy there. More handy than it will be in a drawer. But I plan to move that bookcase. So: another problem to work through.
I did not work on the drawers while watching the new episode of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. - of course not! It was the one from two weeks ago, which we watched again, "The Girl in the Flowered Dress".
Amazing how many pens and pencils one person can have in two drawers. I put half of them in the discard bag, and I still have more than I can use in a lifetime. At some point, I'll test them to see if they all work. That will be another stage of culling.
Everything now fits very nicely in my top drawer, including the rubber stamps and stamp pads.
The more I do, the easier it gets.
Next step: file the papers that have been sorted and cleared off the top of the desk.
- - -
Tuesday, November 5, 2013
I am puzzled by my teapots.
It's a small collection - a couple of days ago, it was ten teapots. I threw out the one from Chapters that was cracked and leaking, event though I loved the way it looked; and I gave away the one I liked least. So: eight teapots. I made a space on the top shelf above my desk for them. The TARDIS mug and Dalek salt and pepper set are in the middle. There's a special place for the big Chinese cast-iron pot, and the rest are arrayed in a row. I thought it would look lovely.
It doesn't. It looks tacky.
Of course it isn't a finished product. There isn't enough room for my latest teapot anyway, a birthday-present PC teapot in blue that is the perfect size and my favourite colour. Perhaps I should get rid of a teapot or two - would a real minimalist have eight teapots? Probably not. I use them all. I love them all. But I could do with fewer.
Or maybe, when I've decluttered more, they can be separated. Each to its own showcase.
Or maybe a solution will come to me in the middle of the night.
- - -
It's a small collection - a couple of days ago, it was ten teapots. I threw out the one from Chapters that was cracked and leaking, event though I loved the way it looked; and I gave away the one I liked least. So: eight teapots. I made a space on the top shelf above my desk for them. The TARDIS mug and Dalek salt and pepper set are in the middle. There's a special place for the big Chinese cast-iron pot, and the rest are arrayed in a row. I thought it would look lovely.
It doesn't. It looks tacky.
Of course it isn't a finished product. There isn't enough room for my latest teapot anyway, a birthday-present PC teapot in blue that is the perfect size and my favourite colour. Perhaps I should get rid of a teapot or two - would a real minimalist have eight teapots? Probably not. I use them all. I love them all. But I could do with fewer.
Or maybe, when I've decluttered more, they can be separated. Each to its own showcase.
Or maybe a solution will come to me in the middle of the night.
- - -
Monday, November 4, 2013
"Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful." - William Morris.
I like his style. Used to have wrapping paper in his designs... Hmm. I wonder how that would go with my current decorating style, which seems to have bits of Egyptian art with flavour of Neil Gaiman's Sandman.
I like his style. Used to have wrapping paper in his designs... Hmm. I wonder how that would go with my current decorating style, which seems to have bits of Egyptian art with flavour of Neil Gaiman's Sandman.
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