Lately, I’ve been making a lot of changes in my life. One of them has been to make an attempt at getting organized. To that end, I hired a professional organizer.
Most everyone I know at all well professes astonishment. After all, when they enter my apartment, books are in neat, artful little piles, carefully arranged on the coffee table and in a wicker basket. The bed is made, clean dishes are draining in the rack. Goaded by New England Puritan parents, I pay my bills in full every month. So their response is, “Why the heck do you need an organizer, Sooz? You’re already totally organized.” (There’s another word they use, and it starts with “a,” but I’m not gonna go there.)
I’ve avoided showing them my email in-box or the two large boxes of ancient tax returns, bank statements, and other financial gradu lurking in the closet. Lori Krolik of More Time for You knows about them, because she was the one who told me to—ahem—gently suggested that I get rid of them.
So yesterday, I lost 25 ugly pounds at the local shredders and feel much better already. This past weekend, I learned to use the notes function in Outlook to consolidate all those little sticky-note lists of books to “read one day,” and so on into something lovely. Simple stuff, but powerful.
And the fun’s not over yet. The only question I have is, “What will I do with all this fabulous free time?” The answer, I think, lurks in those as-yet-unsorted notes for a long-dodged book of short stories.
Good for you! Physical (and psychological) clutter has a way of creeping up on you. It comes from the mail box, work, white elephant gifts, frivolous purchases at Target (my kid’s favorite store), and free stuff you pick up for no reason other than it’s free. Toss it all, I say. 25 lbs. is an excellent start!
Having moved 4x in the last 5 yrs, I thought I’d gotten rid of that excess weight. You reminded me of all the paper and other things that take time to clear and thus are still following me around like cobwebs… I salute your courage in revealing those to a professional!
OMG. If you tossed 25 pounds, I can only imagine how much I can toss!
I’m impressed. I may need to connect with your professional organizer. Each time I move to a smaller place I’m amazed by how much harder it is to keep it neat and orderly. I miss having a bill paying area and a to-do area and a magazine area. All of that is smooshed together in our little apartment and when I see it I run the other way. (Which isn’t far.) My gardening area is now my cleaning goods area along with my bag storage…. Argghh! Good going. May you be an inspiration to me!