Friday, March 9, 2012

Clutter bug

I've been seeing so many articles lately about clutter, I'm beginning to think the Universe is trying to throw me hints. Yes, I suffer from clutter. Everywhere. It's definitely not feng shui around here. I think I need one of these mouse pads!

There are piles of magazines atop notebooks atop more magazines and books in my bedroom. My office is worse - papers mixed in with notebooks of all sizes, more magazines and flyers and oo! I just found one from Dickinson College advertising their Spring events, and Jennifer Egan is reading on April 4! *marking calendar now before I forget again!*

So I am living proof that going paperless only creates more paper! I do have old crits, research and contracts filed by story in binders, but what is all this other scrap paper lying around? I don't know, but I should find out before I end up tossing it en masse into the trash and later regretting it.

The Kaizen Plan blog recommends finding the root cause of the clutter so you'll know how to attack it. Good advice, but I need to figure out how to extrapolate the bathroom example to my office. :)

Oprah also recently attacked the clutter issue, and asked readers to identify what type of clutterer they were so they'd know how to attack the problem. I unfortunately fit four of the five profiles. (I am not a bargain shopper aka hoarder. One point in my favor.) Of course, defining the clutter by "style" only makes it seem fashionable, and it's anything but stylish to view.

I think my biggest problem is writing myself notes, and never cleaning out those notepads. And never actually filing any of the papers I have lying around in the file drawer sitting right beside my desk. The clutter usually rises above the bottom of the monitor screen before I can't stand it and move things.

Aside from a bonfire, any advice on how to deal with clutter?

And by the way, whatever you do, don't open that closet door. Thanks. :)