18 April 2007

De-Cludication

"Decludication" 1.the solitary and emotionally rending task of decludicating ones personal space, 2. the clinically detached "ditch and pitch" 3. sorting, storing, packaging, organizing, and mass quantities of trash-ing. 4. an inexplicably overwhelming task for the organizationally challenged.

It is not at all dissimilar to the process of losing weight-giving up things you love and vowing to never let it happen again. (Ha). In both cases, there seems to be a strong desire to hold on to something that may or may not have any use--in most cases, not. But there is also a strong emotional attachment for, whatever reason, to hold on or hoard, even if it is detrimental.

I can't speak for most folks, but I can tell you that most of the "stuff" that occupies the horizontal surfaces of my home is really important "Stuff". Take my living room; (somebody please take my living room,nyuk, nyuk).

My coffee table contains an assortment of magazines that are yet to be read-I subscribe to them because they contain important information that I will use in the future. I subscribe to Newsweek, Oprah, The Nation, Food and Wine, AARP, and Entertainment Weekly. That about covers it all.

Now, in my defense, I get through Newsweek, Entertainment Weekly every week. I also manage to get through most of The Nation, AARP and part of Oprah monthly, Food and Wine may end up in the bathroom- where it gets an adequate amount of attention. So the only ones I feel comfortable about recycling are the ones I finish every week.

My CD, DVD racks are overflowing, but I don't know where to put another rack, and I don't have one. My decorative bookshelves, contain books and many wonderful artifacts, but I also have books shoved all around the book case.

I have magazine racks filled, in addition to some lovely decorative boxes, filled. But for some reason I feel I need these all at my fingertips in case I need to locate a magazine article or recipe (while I might remember which magazine, I certainly won't remember which issue,hmmm.)
There are also 2 small tables which hold crafting projects-one for knitting, one for jewelry making.
My decorative table is jammed with completed craft items-because I have no real shelving in my craft room to put finished items. The craft room, sadly, has become the repository for things that I don't want in any other room.
Oh, and my guest closet is unusable because it contains boxes of books and Christmas decorations and a couple of electronic items, which work but have been replaced.

Well okay, by simply writing this down, I have identified one problem-I do not have adequate storage for the things that I have.While I've purchased numerous Rubbermaid, plastic containers-I have no place to put them. NO, we can't even talk about my garage.

Interestingly,whenever I have taken the time to decludicate one small area, I'm always amazed because it takes less time than I thought it would. And I feel quite proud of myself and vow to have a go at another project as soon as possible; so it is not the actual work, it's the paralysis of starting. Of course, it also provides wonderful fodder for me to beat the crap out of myself for being a lazy bum.

And now that I'm joyfully retired, I have less than no excuses for not completing these tasks. But as a retired friend recently told me, the first year is spent with a lot of "should's".
And besides, I have a novel I should be editing !

3 comments:

moi said...

dahlink, i do believe you have identified the word of the year. decludication. love it.

hey, you could always trade out magazines. i offer up my national geographic adventure and martha stewart for your entertainment tonight and oprah.

Wicked Thistle said...

i love this blog. it makes me feel better for all the stuff i know i should do but just don't get off my as to do...like cleaning my bathrooms, which right now are REALLY in need. i always find it much easier to tackle other people's stuff, so maybe we should form a team of superhero chicks, go to each others' houses, and use our superpowers to decludicate!

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