Household reclamation / road to an office

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janetmiles

25 November 2011 @ 03:59 pm

Day five -- got started on my desk.

Before:

After:

The small pile on the right is "stuff I think I need to keep, but don't have a place to file yet", with the Magical Housekeeping book next to it.

Same ritual, this time with chicken broth spiked with salt, pepper, cayenne, chili powder, and a splash of lime juice.

Worked for a solid two hours.

Three full trash bags, including the shredding.

Notable event: when the shredder overheated, I didn't say, "Oh, well," and stop for the day. I said, "Okay, shredder needs a break, on to Plan B" and kept sorting stuff into the trash or into keep and shred piles.

Crossposted to http://flylady.livejournal.com/1019636.html

Tags: pagan, reclamation

20 comments | Leave a comment

20 comments —

( 20 comments — Leave a comment )

gnomentum on November 25th, 2011 09:15 pm (UTC)

WOW.

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janetmiles on November 25th, 2011 09:53 pm (UTC)

I know! Nearly all of that was things like 10-year-old pay statements, and, um, er, well, missed payment notices for loans long since paid off, and receipts for appliances we no longer have, and so on and so on.

Whitehurst says that clutter is stuck energy, and it *can't* have been good for me to have all that in my peripheral vision all the time, even if I wasn't consciously aware of what was in the pile.

Tomorrow, the hutch!

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gnomentum on November 26th, 2011 08:42 am (UTC)

Karen Kingston says the same thing, and I firmly believe it.

Whether you believe in Feng Shui and the flow of chi, or whether you believe in the subconscious impact something you know should be done but hasn't been - there's no doubt in my mind that clutter, even hidden clutter, has an effect on my mental wellbeing and that of my family.

Also? I know exactly what you mean about the paperwork. We're trying to purge our own and finding similar things! Honestly, a week or so back I found a load of old bills from 2004, for accounts I no longer even have, three homes ago!

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memyselfi11 on November 26th, 2011 08:27 pm (UTC)

Funny you say that... I was cleaning out a box today and found a stack of reciepts from our wedding in 2000 that I didn't even know I had!

'Clutter is stuck energy' - I agree completely. I've always thought of it in similar terms but didn't have a good phrase to express how I was feeling about it - this however hits the nail on the head :)

I am so looking forward to de-cluttering and then seeing what sort of changes will happen to my family and myself and our lifestyle...

P.S. You really got a lot done on your desk, it looks much better!

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janetmiles on November 27th, 2011 08:01 pm (UTC)

Thank you, and best of luck and success to your progress.

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janetmiles on November 27th, 2011 08:00 pm (UTC)

Yay you for purging that old paperwork!

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gnomentum on November 27th, 2011 09:48 pm (UTC)

I had huge amounts but I'm now down to less than a magazine file worth. It takes ages as I cut out the names, addresses and account numbers and recycle the rest. But I'm getting there at last!

My DH has about the same amount.

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amaebi on November 25th, 2011 11:12 pm (UTC)

You are a noble and productive person.

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janetmiles on November 26th, 2011 12:39 am (UTC)

Um, er, well, thank you.

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glinda_w on November 26th, 2011 12:23 am (UTC)

I am so impressed with the progress you're making.

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janetmiles on November 26th, 2011 12:40 am (UTC)

Thank you! Me too.

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guruwench on November 26th, 2011 05:09 am (UTC)

Janet, thank you so much for sharing this project with us. You inspired me to do some work on my own office clutter, and I made some progress on my desk. More to come. :D

You're making amazing progress, and I'm thrilled to see it. Yay you!

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janetmiles on November 26th, 2011 03:21 pm (UTC)

Go you! Progress is a good thing.

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hitchhiker on November 26th, 2011 06:24 am (UTC)

impressive progress!

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janetmiles on November 26th, 2011 03:21 pm (UTC)

Thank you!

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galingale on November 26th, 2011 10:51 pm (UTC)

That looks like a much more relaxing work environment.

I noticed something, I wonder if you did too. Your "before" picture shows your cluttered desk & to-do pile -- and your "after" picture includes a sunny view out the window! I'd like to think it means a brighter perspective for you.

Good job!

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janetmiles on November 27th, 2011 07:59 pm (UTC)

That's actually an artifact of some LJ oddity; it kept cutting off the edge of the desk where the small stack was, and I had to keep moving farther and farther to the right. I couldn't even see the window in the picture when I posted it.

I've since changed journal styles and do see that right-hand edge of the picture. It is a nice change!

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