Or pining for some order…
That’s the pine needle mountain left on the carpet when I moved the Christmas tree.
This year, I’ve decided that I will no longer be whining and whingeing about clutter and mess, I will be doing something about it. 2014 is the year of showing the unnecessary, unlovely and useless the way out.
By this time next year I hope that there will be nothing much in my life I don’t need or love dearly. I hope the transformation will win me more space, both in my house and in my head. I might even gain more time too.
Here’s a wee example. This week, I cleared my desk. It took all of one afternoon. It had become so covered in bits of paper and stuff, there was only a little bit in the middle big enough for me to reach hands to keyboard… the rest being a wasteland of junk mail and unfulfilled promises. It was so bad, I couldn’t draw the curtain back without causing a cascade of irritation. So I left the curtain shut – for weeks. Now I move easily and can let all the light in I want and it’s wonderful.
In order to achieve this epic transformation I’m going to get rid of one thing every day for the next 365 days – it might be more than one thing, but at least one thing will go. And I’ll recorded it as I go. Don’t worry I’m not going to blog about it every day, that would be beyond dull, but there might be a round-up of the departed from time to time.
So, Day One: The Christmas crap.
And as I change to the new calendar and take the old one down, I think I’ve found tomorrow’s target. 2013’s calendar has taken its place on the shelf next to calendars and diaries (not interesting ones, boring ones with dental appointments) that cover the past 12 years.
How long – if at all – do you keep old diaries and calendars?
I have all my work diaries back to 1989, my probationer year!
I tend to keep all of that sort of stuff, but I realise I never refer to it and, looking at it today, it's not that interesting.