Organized Muddle

We all most likely have a ‘junk-drawer’ in our homes. In fact, your ‘junk-drawer’ may have graduated from a small drawer to a larger drawer…or possibly even into an ‘anything-goes-closet.’ You know the closet that you open very carefully for fear of A) what you may find, and B) so you’re not hit by something falling out when the door opens.

The penultimate is the ‘no-go-catch-all-room’ – this special space is home to the bigger collections of precious items that you simply can’t do away with…quiet yet…soon…maybe one day…?? It is the hallow resting place of the miscellaneous items that have no true logical home; no other room requires them, and they can’t be contorted into belonging any where specific…despite your efforts!

At ‘Clutter Anonymous’ meetings,  I ’own’ that I have a variety of ‘junk-drawers’ of various sizes, along with one ‘anything-goes-closet’ that was once a linen closet way back when, and one ‘no-go room.’

My ‘no-go-room’ is my office. While it may appear to the naked unassuming eye to be a ‘catch-all-room,’ it most definitely has a purpose, and everything in the room is work-based. Given there is no space for anything else, if something doesn’t belong, it is moved fairly quickly…usually to the now bursting ‘anything-goes-closet.’

Sure, I’ll admit there are a lot of papers, files, books, etc., and at times it becomes ‘TOO MUCH’ even for me. Like this week! After realizing that I was cross filing papers into a muddle of different files, I cursed the computer age from seemingly bringing more paper, not less paper into my world – how did we ever believe that adage? Yes, I do ‘consider the environment before printing,’ only then I need a receipt for something, a copy for my files, or frankly ,a reminder to do a task.

The result is a collection of piles of paper related to each of my many projects covering the sofa in my office…and gradually sadly extending to a chair, a table and in one spot, the floor. I promise they are all used and relevant, and paired to the absolute minimum…at least they are now. Earlier this week, when I couldn’t find a vital paper in a key moment, I shuffled the piles a little too briskly, and they came tumbling down! Not a good sight to behold – me nor the papers. After doing my best to ignore the resulting avalanche for as long as I could, I cracked.

No, I didn’t simply ship things to my ‘anything-goes-closet’ – it’s full, so I’d have to find a new one! Instead, the paper shredder came out, and now my two garden composters are filled with a fresh layer of ‘paper waste’, layered on top of the green and brown waste layers. My office looks tidier, and my mind feels lighter! Now don’t get me wrong, the piles are still there – they’re simply a few inches shorter! In the process, I uncluttered both my inner world and my outer world, making the sight of my ‘no-go room’ more welcoming to visitors.

How do you organize the uncategorized things in your life? How do you prioritize your collections of ‘stuff’ for a rainy day? How do you juggle your paperwork in our ‘printer-friendly’ age? What sparks your moments of clutter-cracking? What lengths do you go to lighten your muddled load? How do you celebrate your junk drawer?