It was 21 degrees and icy earlier this morning, and we’re only expected to reach a high today of somewhere in the mid-30s. These numbers make me both nervous and excited:
Nervous: Because Blake is going to apply for a job that could take us to South Bend, Indiana, where, rumor has it, it’s much (much much much) colder.
Excited: Because it’s making me look even more forward (if such a thing were possible) to spending Christmas in San Antonio, where, rumor has it, it’s much (much much much) warmer.
Today my office is celebrating a lesser-known holiday called Pitch It Day. Actually, judging by the fact that I am here at work, it’s really not much of a holiday at all. It’s a cleaning day. Here’s what I’ve done so far:
- Tossed last year’s campus directory
- Air dusted my keyboard
- Threw away a non-functioning electronic pencil cup (electronic pencil cup? What the heck?)
- De-germed my telephone
- Filed a pile of miscellaneous papers which were begging for a home
- Spray-cleaned my desk
- Found homes for 54 (ish) misplaced paperclips
- Moved boxes of brochures to the back storage room
- Shredded stacks and stacks and stacks of paper.
It’s nice having a clean workspace again. Heck, it’s nice being able to see my desk again! You know, it’s true what my mom told me growing up: if you just put things away when you’re done with them, it won’t take you so long to clean up later.
Take our apartment, for example. We cleaned it pretty well last Saturday, and followed through with a few more cleaning-tasks over the last few days. This morning, Blake expressed his amazement at the fact that our apartment was still clean. I have to say, though we are generally clean people, it’s rare that our apartment is still this clean after almost a whole week! No jackets folded over the arm of the couch. No scribbled papers of notes by the computer. No stacks of books in odd places. And all because we put our things away when we’re done using them. It’s really just that simple. I could get used to this.
Even so, it is nice to have a day set aside every once in a while devoted solely to cleaning things up and tossing stuff in the trash. I love tossing stuff in the trash. I also love sharing my stuff with Goodwill. Blake thinks I like this a little too much. And maybe I do. Maybe I’m just making up for the days when as child I was a bona fide pack rat. Anyway, why keep the clothes you’re never going to wear again? Or the trinkets and souvenirs you just hide in drawers anyway? Or books you never want to read again? (Blake always worries when I get urges to de-clutter the bookshelves.) But I can’t help myself anymore. I don’t like being burdened down by stuff – especially when the writing on the wall tells us we’ll be a family on the move for the next decade or so.
So where do you fit?
Hoarding Pack Rat --------------------------------------- Generous Goodwill Giver
3 comments:
I give myself a 5, that is assuming this is a ten-point scale. The only item I hoard is my books, notes, and articles, but since collecting books can hardly be categorized as an item a person hoards (they are higher than that), I appeal that they are exempt from the scale.
I am decidedly in favor of de-cluttering! Although I have regretted pitching two things over the years I don't remember the rest and I get rid of LOTS!
I'm a compulsive de-clutterer. Anything not bolted down has a pretty good chance of being sold on eBay or chucked in the dumpster.
This year I found myself trying to throw out our box of Halloween decorations the day before our Halloween party. It's that bad. I did manage to bend my will into keeping the decor JUST for one more day but it took a lot of mental negotiating.
Post a Comment