Don't Know Why...

I pulled out more files to go through before finishing the current project. There is something about the chaos and disorder that I both love and hate. Love because it's fun, hate because I hate messiness and want my office to look like a Pottery Barn catalog.

It started when I decided I really wanted to move my "To Scan" pile off my desktop. It's about 6" high or so, and the cats keep knocking it over. I almost bought a few new file boxes at OfficeMax yesterday, then decided that $12 was a ridiculous price for a plastic box, and that I had plenty of them at home already.

I knew there were two plastic crates in the office closet that were full. Memory told me they were "NO Scan" crates but not having looked lately, I wasn't entirely sure. So this morning, I decided I wanted one of those crates to be a holding pen for the Scan pile instead.

Pulled it out, sure enough, a Post-it! "No Scan - Sorted 5/03" May of 2003. Wow. The bright side is I will fly through this stack because I've been brutal with keeping things that are out of date now. About damn time, eh?

Then I peek back into the depths of the back corner of the closet and alas! Another crate. I leave it at first, but then it nags at me, so I pulled that one out too. These are bigger crates, meant for filing, so the stacks measure nearly 15". I took the content of one crate and stacked it on top of the never-ending pile sitting next to my desk chair. I'm so proud of myself because I have gotten this pile down to about 14" twice now.

1. Original pile - came from armoire. Box fill, plus another pile on top. Got this down to level with top of box - roughly 1 foot high.

2. Then moved another stack from office table to top of this pile. Got that back down about 6' or so before being sidelined by work for the last week and a half.

3. Piled high as it will go again due to clearing out file crate from closet. I even have about 6' of overflow to contend with.

I'm excited each time I tackle a new "container" though, whether crate, file box, cardboard box, etc. I can see the plan in my head and know where I am going with all this. At times I think "what a waste of time", but I always come back to the fact that this is fun for me, in some ways. It's a hobby, yes, but it ballooned out of control.

That's nothing new. I remember having boxes and boxes of paper and stuff as a kid. Catalogs, magazines, whatever. I even remember getting wallpaper sample books from a neighbor's parents. Those things kept me busy for a LONG time.

I graduated to magazines. I remember my bedroom in the apartment in West Chester being full of cardboard boxes that I never did anything with. Too busy having a social life back then! They all moved to Chicago wit me, where they say for another 2 years (and through two apartments) while I was busy with work and social lives.

Now that I'm too old to go out drinking every night, I can finally tackle the decluttering. Maybe I didn't care enough or want to do it enough back then. Now I do. So it's fun. I enjoy seeing the things that have interested me over the years (like that file I kept on Shabby Chic decorating...SO over that now!)

I just want to get to the point where my filing and reading and collecting and scanning are all on equal ground, time-wise. Like the Shabby Chic file...I kept it when I either had no means to purchase things to decorate in that style, or else I had the money, but couldn't find the file anyway! I want information that is meaningful to me at my fingertips, completely searchable and accessible in real-time. Is that asking too much?!