Little Victories of Organization

Our life is frittered away by detail... simplify, simplify.
Henry David Thoreau

I spent today cleaning stuff out of my kitchen. It amazes me how fast things pile up in corners. Clutter seems like it must be a member of the mushroom family, springing up in the dark and growing with stealthy rapidity.

Two more boxes of stuff are ready to go to the local charity store and I feel an almost ridiculous calm. I sorted forks, weeded out old dishes, and forced myself to do something about the vast amounts of plastic storage containers that fall out of the cabinet every time I open the door. I created a drawer near the phone where the phone book can hide. I kicked clutter-butt.

One thing about living here in this old house is that there is always more stuff to go through. There's my stuff, there are the things that were left after my grandmother passed, and there are the things that no one seems to be clear on exactly where they came from. I have been trying to get everything cleaned out for years. I didn't get many of my projects done this summer, but I'm finally getting motivated again. I guess if you watch enough HGTV, sooner or later the subliminal messages sponsored by Lowe's and the Home Depot sink in to the most reluctant of viewers. :)

I have plans to work on my office again soon. I need payday to come and then I want to make it a workable space. Right now, it's a run in and dump space, but I need somewhere that's not my living room where I can have all my school and computer stuff together. I think with some shelves, it will be a lot more functional.

I also want to reclaim the room that's currently being used as a storage room for a guest bedroom. Once I get it done, the entire back of the house can be like a guest suite with its own bathroom and sitting room. It used to be a bedroom, but when I moved in, it turned into a boxroom and I've never gotten everything sorted. I think most of what's in there could be sent away. Maybe I'll get very motivated tomorrow and start the process of going through that room. There's a LOT of stuff back there, though. I wish Clean Sweep would show up. That way, I know I'd get it done.

I know cleaning seems like a stupid thing to blog about, but I have always admired the Thoreau quote above. When I lived in Japan, I fell in love with the clean spaces of traditional Japanese homes. There weren't a lot of knicknacks or piles of stuff around. It made the few pieces that were on display so much more meaningful. I know most Japanese women stay home and maintain the home, so maybe that's how they keep the clutter from overwhelming them, but I want my spaces to be that serene.

Admittedly, I have a lot of stuff. I have a Japanese maneki neko collection of about 50 pieces, not to mention the tons of books around. I don't think I'll ever attain the zen ideals I saw abroad. However, I'm going to keep trying to apply Thoreau's advice to my house and my life in general and see if I can't have a little more sanity with everything.

Oh well, back to it....