New Years Resolutions? I have none. If there's something I really need to do, then why wait until January 1st to start doing it? Besides, most people go into resolution relapse by February. Fighting in the clutter battle front isn't a New Year's Resolution; it's a work already in progress. Let's move on to the blog.
It's helpful having some other person who can see your progress with cleaning. Because often I find myself doing all sorts of cleaning and thinking I haven't even made a dent in the problem. But then my S.O. will say "Hey! You really cleaned this out today!" Reassurance is always nice.
- The bookshelf. I have a keyboard and a box taking up the bottom shelf of my hallway bookshelf. I have dozens of books stacked on top of the bookshelf, in the hallway, and next to my bed. The solution? Stick they keyboard and box I'm not using (at least not now, or at least not as frequently as a book) into a closet, gather the books, and put the books on the bookshelf. I can't remember the last time my hallway looked this cleared. There's still more to be done, of course. But at least I can walk without fear of stepping on stuff.
- The closet. Again, one of those projects that's going to take longer to do right. But significant progress, none the less. I wish I took a "before" photo. Before, I had at the bottom from left to right: a stack of two milk crates, an empty metal magazine rack (which was in the upstairs bathroom of the house I grew up in), and few gym bags and stuff crammed in to the right side. On top of the milk crates was (and still is) a huge box of old posters and old work stuff. In front of the milk crates on the floor was my stack of comic book and magazine backing boards & bags, sitting in a pair of nested but broken plastic crates
I ditched the broken crates and moved the magazine stuff back into the empty(!) bottom milk crate. I removed the magazine stand. And remember that wheeled plastic filing cabinet I'm no longer using? (If not, see the two-part Cabinet of Dr. Cluttergari blog entry of mine.) Well I wheeled that straight in. Besides making more floor space in the living room, this also gave a more practical place for my visiting girlfriend to keep HER stuff. Normally she leaves bags of her stuff in front of the closet door because it was the only space she should find. Now I can actually open the front door with ease.
- The bathroom and kitchen sink. This isn't really a direct clutter issue. But I REALLY have to call my landlord once and for all to fix my garbage disposal and (now) bathroom light. How is a man supposed to get any reading done without a bathroom light? Of course, I haven't gotten around to calling my landlord because I knew I'd need to clear a path for him. And of course, I hadn't gotten around to doing that because...well, that's the "because" that aplaceformystuff.org is addressing in general. But enough is enough.
I'll admit, watching episode after episode of House has started to make me a bit paranoid. In the TV show, some patient gets sick and on the brink of death, so the doctors go into their house and start gathering samples of molds and lead poisoning and whatever else they can find. Gee, maybe I should finally take care of that horrible mold in parts of my shower? I'm kind of glad I didn't take a "before" picture of this. But that stuff is cleaned up now, as is my sink and surrounding area. Now I can't say I've done "everything but the kitchen sink".