Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Why My Office is Messy


I decide to clean up my office. I begin by carrying a stack of books to my bedroom. When I get there, I realize I need to rearrange the bedroom table where I keep the books, so I do that before I return to my office.

Next I sort through some magazines and catalogs that I have been saving "just in case," throw a few of them away and carry the rest to the living room to add to the already huge pile that is stored there before I once again return to my office.

I consider a stack of antique textiles that belonged to my grandmother, and try to decide what to do with them. One piece in particular has some spots on it, so I decide I will try to clean the spots that have probably been there for 100 years. I leave the other things in a pile and take the spotted piece out to the laundry room and attempt to spot clean, then leave it to dry. I return to my office.

I find some tablecloths that I brought home from my mother's house and carry them to the kitchen, but can't put them away without cleaning and rearranging the cabinet where I keep the tablecloths, so I get that all done before I return to my office.

I see a broken necklace that I left there, thinking I could repair it someday, so I decide this is as good a day as any. Finally, I give up and take it to the kitchen, put it in a baggie and drop into my purse, so that someday if I remember, I can stop at a jewelers and have it repaired. I return to my office.

I find a stack of coupons that I've been collecting and decide to go online to see if there are any which have not expired. I throw away the expired ones and take the rest to the kitchen to drop them into my purse, just in case I happen to stop at any of the stores represented. I return to my office.

I find an empty cardboard box, which I had been saving, "just in case," and take it to the garage to save it there until my husband insists on throwing it away. I return to my office.

I find another necklace that I placed there because I found it in the guest room and don't know who it belongs to, so I decide to take it to my bedroom. Then I return to my office to send an email to some people to see if the necklace belongs to any of them, and decide I may as well check my email while I'm on the computer. Suddenly I remember that I haven't taken my medicine, so I go to the kitchen to do that, and decide to have a snack while I'm at it. I return to my office.

I try to read a letter from the Homeowner's Association and decide to just file it since I don't know what else to do with it. I see the piles of photographs that I have been sorting and decide to go to my bedroom and get some plastic bins to put them in. I return to my office and sort the photos into the bins.

I notice some cosmetics that I had ordered (hence the empty cardboard box) but never put them away so I go to put them in my bathroom. I return to my office.

I find some instruction books for the television, which I had in my office so I could look up something online that had to do with using the remote control, but had never returned them to the living room, so I go to put them away with all the other confusing instruction books for my audio visual equipment. I return to my office.

I find a tape measure that belongs in the kitchen so I take it there. I notice a pile of papers in the kitchen that belong in the office, so I pick them up to take back with me.

I decide to quit cleaning my office and play computer games.