when in doubt, de-clutter

Recipe for weathering a cold: vitamin C, hot tea and "Something's Gotta Give" (Diane Keaton, Jack Nicholson). If symptoms persist, watch movie again.

Well, they're saying that snow's due again tonight and I say, Enough already! So as the snowflakes make ready to fly, I've been caught up in a flurry of my own. Today I started to feel a bit more like myself and was compelled to start clearing more of the paper clutter that perennially surrounds me. I broker ideas and information sticks to me like flypaper so I've never met an article or clipping that I didn't love -- and keep. Thank goodness, periodically I get into these clean 'em up, move 'em out modes.

I've been influenced enough by decorating/organizing shows that I cleared the surfaces of my work space, determined to sort and decide before anything re-entered. And it's clear to me that I don't yet have ways to keep what remains in some sort of suitable order. I'm not aiming for perfection, rather something that I can live and creatively work with, and that visually inspires me.

Meanwhile I've also realized that I'm ready to let go of more books. When I moved a couple of years ago, I divested myself of bags and bags of them. I couldn't believe what I had held onto or for how long so it was liberating to see them go. The process was a walk down memory lane and a chance to re-visit past lives, so to speak. Now two years on and with books still shelved two rows deep, it's time once again.

This time, though, it means going deeper and being even more honest about what truly reflects and supports who I am. I have some wonderful titles that have been obscured for years when I could have been inspired, informed and uplifted by them. What a waste...or maybe I just wasn't ready for them. I like that notion and that there could be hidden treasures waiting beneath the accumulation of years.

As I contemplate that, it's time for more tea.