Let’s start off by stipulating that I’m not a hoarder. The professional organizers who came to help me after my bad fall in 2010 agreed on that. I’m closer to being one of those perfectionists who gives up when something can’t be done perfectly. The organizers also said I actually have a talent for organizing. What I don’t have at all is a talent for putting things away.
Some of my friends would say I have a talent for not cleaning. One of my friends finally refused to help me declutter any more, because it never lasted. I can’t blame her, either.
Depression can be a big component in having a messy house – and that cluttered, sloppy environment feeds depression. So this was my desk in August. You can see why it drove me mad. All the time I was sitting at the computer there was this monstrous disaster at my right clamoring for attention, accusing me, hemming me in.
Yes, I’d had four serious health problems from February through July. My stamina is shot. But to be painfully honest, this mess isn’t the result of my illnesses. This is the way my desk gets – until I clean it up.
One day I’d had enough, and I made a plan. It took about ten days to execute, because I can’t do a lot of physical work at once and I have other responsibilities, but this was the result:
THIS made me happy. The desk was polished, efficient and attractive. It no longer made me feel trapped. I even noticed that having something tall on the right corner bothered me, and eliminated that. (No, I don’t have any idea who the scary guy on the TV is.)
The paper trays and telephone are new. The old phone didn’t work well, and the plastic trays were part of the ugliness that bothered me. The stack of papers under the desk in front, well – that’s shredding. I still need to get to that.
Over to the left of the monitor, in front of the lamp, you can see a picture in glowing deep salmon. That’s my typing stand. Instead of having work on it all the time, I printed out an image I love to cover it when it’s not in use.
But then I got a new computer. For ten days I had both PCs set up, the old one in its usual place, the new one with the monitor on that lovely clear work table. And by the time I was done, it was a mess again.
The picture at right is how it looks today. You can barely even see the surface.
To my credit, I have been doing some other good things: doing work that earns money, investing some and a little money into kitchen reorganization, and learning to use a crock pot so I can have healthier meals. But this is next. I swear that within a week I’ll have the desk back to looking like it did in September.
