All this stuff

I moved my office on September 1. The new space is roomier and less congested than my previous digs. The move happened during a busy time. I carefully packed and labeled current projects and essential information so I would at least be able to unpack those files and get back to work quickly. I had intended to leave the other boxes stacked in the corner and deal with them when things calmed down. The boxes didn't fit in a "corner" and jutted out into the doorway of my cubicle. After tripping several times and watching others clumsily negotiate the teetering stack, I dropped everything else one afternoon and unpacked. I opened the boxes and stuffed the contents into the metal cabinets. I tried to be somewhat organized, but my main goal was to empty the boxes. I'd organize later… so when will that be I ask myself now?

An important dichotomy can be made between people who insist on neat stacks of paper and those who don't. I'm in the latter camp. I hate clutter, but find that I also hate the time it takes to create neat rows of books, carefully sort papers and label files, or put everything away immediately after I am finished with it. My mind doesn't work that way. I like to have my tools at the ready, sitting out on the desk - not tucked into a drawer - so I can grab them quickly when I need them. Whereas some people love to take a day and clean and organize, I find that I cannot get into such a mindset until all other work is completed and the atmosphere is calm.

I was tearing through the cabinets today searching, unsuccessfully, for a software disk that I needed to reinstall. Digging in the cabinet, I found a treasured picture of me and my sister. I found thumbtacks scattered at the bottom of a file drawer. I also noticed that I have a stack of files sitting on the floor. Since our basement offices have been known to flood I need to find a better place for them soon.

My mother always says she is "going to get organized." But some new inspiration or new idea for a project often displaces that goal. She has a garage full of great things that will be useful as soon as she has some more time. But that is not my fate. As soon as I finish two other projects, I'll get right to cleaning this place up.