Decluttering as therapy

-
Today my big decluttering discovery was the disappointment I feel about my dream library.  We are so lucky to have this house that's big enough for everything we want, including a room just for books.  Except it's not just for books, it's also for cat litter boxes.  I've accepted this is the best location for the boxes, not trying to come up with a different arrangement, I just need to work through how this arrangement makes my library something other than the cozy booklover's grotto I dreamed of.



But I still believe it can be that dream place!  It will take a certain amount of work.  To spend any time in a room with litter boxes, there has to be daily scooping and sweeping.  Nick took over litter box duties 8 years ago when we started trying to have a baby. (According to science, pregnant ladies can't touch cat poop; I exploited this.) Let's face the straight poop here:  I can clean the litter boxes. Somewhere Nick is reading this and a joyful tear just trickled down his cheek.

What will it take for my library to be the place I want to spend time in?


  1. Hidden, unsmellable litter boxes.  We have the technology.
  2. Shelves of books, cataloged and organized in a librarianly way.  I am actually a trained professional in this area.
  3. Dust-free shelves, cat hair-free furniture, clean floors.  Just a little weekly cleaning, surely?
  4. Comfy furniture.  Done.
See?  I just needed to sort this all out in my mind to see that it's possible to have what I want.  Now if I can take my blinders off and actually spend some time in there, we'll be on our way.  So for today's 30 minute decluttering session in the library, I ran the Roomba, dusted the shelves, changed the air freshener, and wrote this blog post.  Baby steps.

The large closet in the library, full of miscellaneous bins of my stuff is another matter.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

It's not you, it's us. I don't think we're a good match.

-
Image
Just not a good match. Nearly ten years ago, a doctor told me diabetes would kill me, it was just a matter of how soon. I couldn't see the benefit of his ugly, callous prediction. I couldn't see the benefit of being locked into a medical relationship with someone who saw me as a hopeless expiration date. I decided even with long waits and insurance hurdles, it would always be worth it to find doctors who are supportive and try to understand me as a person. Today, I broke up with my obstetrician. I'm not convinced he's not a good doctor, but he's not a good fit for me.  He has been seeing me for two months to help me prepare for another baby, but I don't think he knows anything about me. Our appointments last less than 5 minutes, he gives me vaguely shaming advice to lose weight, "start" exercising, stop being diabetic. He has never asked me whether I exercise, what I eat, what I do to control my diabetes. He has made assumptions about my life...
Read more

Day 5 of social isolation; Day 3 of no contact outside of household

-
Which day am I counting from? Day 5 since the world changed (for us) or Day 3 since our last possible exposure to the virus? Once we get into double-digit days it won't make much difference, will it. I thought I would use this blog for something, just a quick list of what's going on with us. 1. I'm ordering a dough hook so we can make bread. We have a subscription to ATK's Young Chef's Club  (not sponsored). When I signed up a few months ago, I thought it would be a good way to extend Lizzie's feeding and sensory therapy. Now... 2. Lizzie's therapy is suspended until this virus passes. She has come so far in the last 6 months with preschool and extra therapy. She will keep growing. I just wish... 3. She could be with her friends, teachers, and therapists. She asks about them every day. At least... 4. Mamie was able to Zoom with her teacher and class yesterday. I know her school is going to develop the best remote learning set up we could ask for. A...
Read more

I spend 24 hours alone and this is what happened

-
Image
I just booked a hotel room for two nights in November. The hotel is about 5 minutes from my house. I will go for one night of utter solitude and then hand it off to Nick to take a night away from home. If it is in your means and you have also not been alone in 7 months, I recommend a 24 hour retreat. I can make this recommendation from my vast experience having done it for the first time 4 days ago. Here's a sampling of what I did during my 24-hour retreat: Wrote uninterrupted for several hours. Watched a documentary about Abraham Lincoln. Watched MTV's Ghosted, because I'm both high brow and low brow. Watched CNN because I am pretty middle brow too, if we're honest. Ordered a steak dinner and ate it in courses over the entire evening. Ate 6 Reese's cups (which are banned in our house due to allergy). Set an alarm for 10 a.m., the latest I could possibly sleep. (Woke up at 8 a.m. anyway.) Made every decision considering only what I wanted and not the wants and needs...
Read more