How Many Decks of Tarot Cards?!
As I sit in my home office, completely overwhelmed by “where do I even start!”, it’s a little hard to tap down that nagging, super judgy voice in the back of my head, calling me a lazy, shopaholic failure.
And if there’s one thing I know - letting my brain shame me does not create motivation.
And still, I look around at just so much stuff.
There’s the reminder that no, I should not purchase more pens. Or notebooks, printer paper, file folders, tote bags, or tarot decks, among other things.
There are the piles of unopened mail (I try to catch time-sensitive stuff like actual paper bills, but even that system is flawed) that make me want to close my eyes and cover my ears so I don’t see them screaming, “Get your act together, Abigail!”
There is exercise equipment and a variety of other things that were thrown in here from other areas of the basement when we were hosting a party. Many of these things don’t really have a home, so they’re particularly overwhelming.
And there are the bigger-deal buyers' remorse items - like the Canon camera equipment I purchased when I decided to switch from Nikon to Canon a couple years ago. (Spoiler alert - I went back to Nikon….)
Do I know how to declutter a mess like this?
Yes.
For me, it’s looks something like this.
I gather the supplies - in this case, the set of baskets I use for sorting when I’m decluttering; a bag for trash; a bag for paper recycling; and a box for donations.
I start by picking up one thing. Doesn’t matter where in the room I start. And that thing goes straight into trash/donate/keep.
Things I’m keeping get put into the baskets in broad-ish categories (like, pens, pencils, markers all go together at this stage because the point is to move fast and not lose momentum). Or if they’re a large item, like the exercise ball in the corner (why?!), I just take those where they are supposed to go.
When the room has been largely corralled, I’ll start sorting through the baskets to see what I actually have space to keep, and putting things away.
Like I said, this isn’t rocket science. It’s also not easy, even though I have so much experience.
I think this time it feels particularly hard because of sensory overload. I’m coming back from the beach, where I spent four days by myself, working in a space with virtually no clutter, so reentry into the busy house full of clutter is just a lot!
Plus, while decluttering isn’t rocket science, it is still hard. Physically, mentally, emotionally.
My office should be the one place in my house where I can go and really feel at peace, rather than in the middle of a dumping ground. Where I can feel inspired!
Mounds of unopened mail just don’t inspire me. Weird, right?
So I’m feeling sad. And just a bit pissed off at both my former self, and also at my son, who swore he’d help put things away after the party he hosted (but actually went back to college before he got around to that).
Who could have seen that coming?
Sigh.
I could keep recording my thoughts here all afternoon, but probably I should actually do the work before this starts to look like procrastination!
Side note:
In good news, when we hosted the same party that caused my office to become even more of a dumping ground, I found the paper shredder I’d lost months ago!
And if you’re asking, But Abbie, how do you lose a somewhat large paper shredder?
I mean, what can I say? I’ve got skills!