It’s not that I’m a hoarder. I’m just lazy. OK, maybe not lazy, more like easily distracted, quickly bored, and overly busy.
To prepare for my move to the Twin Cities, I’m going through all of my stuff and purging the crap I really don’t need. This week my goal is 6 boxes.
I’ve gone through three today. One wasn’t very full. The other two were full of old papers. In a digital society, it’s amazing how much paper we still have. I have this tendency to just shove the paper aside, thinking I’ll have time later to deal with it.
I never have time to deal with it.
I need to figure out a way to better sort my papers. You know what I’m talking about. That pile of crap that is a mixture of receipts, junk mail, bills or other “important” papers, and the personal stuff like greeting cards. What the hell do I do with it all? Honestly…I get bored with the idea of filing in any form.
The nice thing is that I rarely get paper bills anymore. They are useless. I pay all of my bills online and get emails about their due date. The problem is that I still have crap to sort through that is almost six years old. Some of it is actually older. Why am I lugging this crap around? In those six years I have moved a few times. Instead of purging, I just shove it in a box and take it with me from place to place. I see the boxes of paper that I need to go through, but I get overwhelmed by its mass. I get bored just looking at it.
No more, I say! I’m not going to carry anything unnecessary with me to Minnesota. Personally, I’d like to just get rid of everything and start all over, but that’s not very practical. I am going to get rid of a lot of stuff though. There are even pieces of furniture I need to give away or sell. Usually I just give furniture away because it’s just easier than trying to sell it.
But, my primary focus is the crap that litters the corners of my life. Shred and recycle the paper I don’t need. Throw away the broken, old, and run down stuff I’ve been too lazy to deal with.
After the three boxes, I feel empowered. I’m ready to do more.
I know. The real problem is that I need to change my stupid habit. Deal with the paper before it turns into boxes of crap sitting in my house. I’m tired of clutter. It’s bad chi. By the way, if anyone has any good ideas about how to deal with paper management for the easily bored, I’m open to suggestion.