The End is Near

Today is supposed to be the end of the world, at 6:00 pm eastern time. Apparently the first thing to go is the Internet, as I tried to get in to blogger to post my pre-rapture plans I kept getting the message that “Internet Explorer cannot display the web page.” We still have cable TV service so I’m relying on CNN for news of the second coming. Jesus is running a little late because it is now 6:10 eastern and there has been no breaking news of the faithful being sucked skyward.


I spent my last day on earth cleaning out the cupboards in my utility room. If Jesus shows up, even a little late, I’m sure he will be impressed with my newly cleaned and organized cupboards. I have several boxes of crap  Goodwill-worthy items to donate. I also have two plastic storage boxes of miscellaneous cables and plugs from electronics that I am afraid to discard. As soon as I toss an XYZ connector device the spouse will be asking “Where did you put the plug to my XYZ?”


It is difficult to decide what is important to keep and what can be discarded. I kept the set of Christmas dishes, but moved them into a box to store in the garage. I kept both my remote controlled helicopters…duh! There was an entire shelf of vases saved from floral arrangements. I don’t think I am busting any perceptions if I say that I am no Martha Stewart. I don’t spend my afternoons in my cutting garden preparing fresh arrangements for my dinner parties. Why do I keep all these vases? I put all but two large and two small in the Goodwill box. Sorry Jesus, no fresh flowers for your second coming.

I'm still working on the pantry cupboard.  There's a part of me that likes a fully stocked pantry...and there's another part of me that recognizes that we frequently don't get around to eating items from the pantry before they are years out of date.  Is it safe to eat Hamburger Helper from 2003?  I guess that's a dumb question.  It probably wasn't smart to eat Hamburger Helper in 2003, but it seemed like a good idea at the time.

I have made a vow to not buy cleaning products until all the half empty bottles and cans are all gone.  That may be a long time since cleaning has never been one of my favorite things to do.

It is now several hours after the apocalypse was prophesied to begin.  I guess it's time to order my "I survived the apocalypse of 2011" T-shirt.

Nana Takes the First Step

I love those television programs that show people with clutter problems...not the hoarders who have filled their houses with garbage, but regular people who have piles of stuff in their spare bedrooms.   This afternoon when I was too tired from being retired to do anything, I turned on the TV and discovered that I could watch Peter Walch, Oprah's organization guru, on On Demand.  There went my afternoon!

Peter Walch was helping a couple clean out their bedroom and home office.  The rooms were filled with stuff that the wife had bought on sale.  She had piles of new clothing that she had never worn, in sizes that she couldn't wear.  The clothing took up all available space.  Her husband had moved into a spare bedroom because there was no room to sleep in the master bedroom.  There was an incredible amount of stuff in just two rooms.  Peter Walch helped the couple, especially the woman, reduce their possessions to manageable levels.  At one point he said "No one needs more than 10 pairs of shoes."

Ten pairs of shoes, he can't be serious?  I've got at least 10 pair of black shoes alone.  I don't think I would be able to limit myself to only 10 pairs, but how many is a reasonable number? 

My friend Shawn often reminds me that I'm the only person she knows who has five pairs of pink shoes.  Is five pairs unreasonable? I've got two pairs of heels, loafers, ballet flats, and sandals.  Doesn't everyone need a variety of shoe styles in numerous different colors?

I have shoes in my closet that I haven't worn.  On the  other hand, I have shoes in my closet that are more than just comfortably worn...but they're still good for a few more wearings.

Oregon has four seasons, so one needs shoes for every season.  I can't wear boots in the summer or sandals in the winter.  But, how many pairs of sandals is reasonable? 

The reason I love the organizing shows is because I know that I walk a fine line.  I could so easily find myself buried in stuff.  I'm always looking for ways to keep myself in check.  The television shows that focus on organizing have given me strategies for helping to reduce my personal clutter. 

True confession time...I just counted.  I have 102 pairs of shoes in my closets.  That probably is too many... especially for someone who spends most days inside wearing slippers!  I haven't decided on a reasonable number, but tomorrow I'm going to sort through the shoes.  My goal is to toss at least 20 pairs of shoes.  That would be 20%,  Then again, 80 pairs is still a lot.  I'm already getting anxious, worrying about what shoes I can let go.  Maybe I should look for a 12 step program, or maybe I'll just wait until Peter Walch knocks on my door . 

The Rule of Five

I am a procrastinator.  I have great admiration for people who plan ahead and get things done early.  I would like to get my work done like that.  In my head I always think that this time I will start early and finish ahead of schedule.  But, that is just not my way.  I think that on some level I must enjoy the "danger" of not meeting a timeline.  Since retirement there's not a lot of danger in the work that I manage to avoid....unless the Health Department starts monitoring the dust bunny levels under our beds.

I have developed strategies to trick myself into getting things done.  (Yeah, I know how dumb that makes me sound , that it is even possible to trick myself!) The trick I use most frequently is the Rule of Five.  I tell myself that I only have to do five things and then I can go back to being non-productive.  Sometimes these are very simple tasks that only take seconds to accomplish and sometimes they take several minutes.  For example, emptying the dishwasher is one task, as is folding the laundry.  I suppose I could count each item folded and quickly get to five, but even I am not that lazy!  For me the hard part is getting started.  Using the Rule of Five I frequently find myself doing more than five tasks.  When that happens, the Multiple of Five Rule kicks in.  The tasks must be completed in groups that are multiples of five.  It is against the rule to stop at 8, you have to continue to 10 or 15, or 20.  (Yeah, I know, now I sound like I have a case of OCD.)

I use the Rule of Five frequently when decluttering or cleaning out my closet.  It forces me to toss out things that I will probably never wear, but might come in handy someday.  My closet is jammed with those "might come in handy" clothes.  They are always my go to items when I need two more items to make five. 

Not long after I retired I was on a mission to declutter the house and I used the Rule of Five.  For a month I tossed five items a day into the Goodwill bag.  For the first week it was relatively easy.  I had days were I applied Multiple of Five and actually got rid of 10 or 15 paperback books a day.  By week three I was having to make some difficult decisions. The final week I was reduced to searching in junk drawers and cursing my studidity at wasting those paperbacks with the Multiple Rule.  It's been over a year since I retired and I've had a chance to redistribute clutter throughout the house.  If only I was motivated to get started...

Messages From Myself at a Younger Age

My mother kept every letter, card, and message that I ever sent her. When she died my brothers and I cleaned out her house and claimed our childhood relics. For three years my cards and letters sat in boxes in my back bedroom. It doesn’t seem right to throw them away, but what am I supposed to do with them? I’ve decided to set aside an hour a week to start to organize and read through them. If they are as uninteresting as I think they are, I can throw them away with a clean conscience. Once a week I will post on my progress.

Maybe I’ll throw them away. Maybe I’ll find insight. Maybe I’ll find inspiration. Maybe I’ll just organize this one small part of my inheritance from my mother. It’s a journey I need to take, if only to spare my children the burden when they inherit the leftovers of my life.

Clutter Busting for Tackle It Tuesday

I'm not sure that I should be posting under this Tackle It Tuesday meme. I think I'm supposed to actually accomplish something before I post. All that I have accomplished is identifying the targets...and taking the before pictures. I figured if I made this public declaration of my intention, maybe I'd actually follow through and get at least one of these messes cleaned up.

As you enter my front door the picture below is what you see.  What a lovely greeting!  Every cubby is filled with clutter.

The counters in my kitchen are full...because there's no room in the cupboards for the overflow!

The counters in the laundry room aren't any better than the kitchen.

When my mother died, I inherited all her jewlery.  There are pieces that I remember her wearing and pieces that we bought when we shopped together.  There are also pieces that hold no meaning for me or have no value or are broken.  There are single earrings and rings missing stones.  When I brought the jewlery home after cleaning out her house, I piled it in the back bedroom.  I haven't sorted through it because making decisions about what to keep and how to dispose of the unwanted items seems to be too big a task.  Several times I started sorting and then gave up.  It has been two years since she died, and it's time to get this taken care of.  The pictures below don't really show the scope of the task!

Now that I have thrown open the curtains to expose the clutter that is my home, I'm making a commitment to start organizing.  I know I will never be Martha Stewart, but I do believe that one cannot have tranquility in life when living in chaos.  I'm choosing to shoot for tranquility.

Treasures in the Attic

When I was a child I loved to read…I still do. Although television had a big impact on me, books also played a part in how I learned to see the world. The Bobbsey twins and Nancy Drew were favorites. In the houses of the books of my youth the attics were always filled with mystery. On rainy days or long summer afternoons, the characters would explore the attic, open an old trunk and find a clue that led to fun and mystery.
I was raised in southern California…we didn’t have many rainy days, attics or basements. I always wanted that attic filled with old trunks and treasures from the past.

I’ve wondered if I hold on to the remainders of family life that clutter up our home because I am creating that scene that I only read about in childhood. My grandchildren live 2,000 miles away…they’re not spending rainy afternoons in my attic, trying on Nana’s old clothes and hats. Nana still doesn’t have an attic or a basement.

I have a hard time getting rid of anything. I can always think of a situation where it would come in handy. As soon as I throw out that adapter to a long-lost piece of electronic equipment, someone will be desperate for just such an adapter.

I love watching those clean-up shows on television…Clean House and Clean Sweep. Instead of encouraging me to clean up, I get reassured that I’m not as bad as those people on TV. I’m always afraid of throwing away something valuable. I blame this on years of watching Antiques Road Show. My rational mind knows that there are no priceless possessions to be unearthed in my clutter. So why do I still have that original Batman charm bracelet from the 1960’s?

Maybe I don’t need an attic full of junk for my granddaughters. In the garage there isn’t Nancy’s blue Metropolitan Nash convertible, but I do have a green MG midget..maybe the granddaughters can drive around with the top down, their hair streaming behind them, and have adventures?