de-crap-ification

The other day, Jim needed a particular tool for his ceramics class project. It’s a wooden tool with metal loops at each end for craving clay. I have one and went to look for it.

And couldn’t find it.

I’ve got a room with my crafting supplies in it and I tore that room apart looking for this one tool. Then I looked through the rest of my house.

Nothing.

I know I have this and it bothered me that I couldn’t find it. I mean, a lot. There’s a line in Fight Club that talks about “the things we own, end up owning us”.

And apparently, I’m owned by a lot of crap. It’s cool crap, for the most part. Parts of projects to be or supplies that I used some of and still have left. And a lot of “wouldn’t that be nice to use for…”

So, I’ve started to de-crapify my house. Clear out the things that I don’t need or don’t hold strong memories. It will be a slow process, but something I want to do. Having a thing just to have a thing – with no practical or useful purpose or strong meaning/memory – has really started to bother me.

I’ll be digitizing some things. Recycling and donating where I can. And trashing – over a period of time – the rest. Keeping what I really need and really want to have.

All this is also a reaction to work – which has been intensely stressful and chaotic of late. Getting a little bit of order back, even just clearing out a junk drawer, is doing good things for my head.

And my head was not doing well today. I had a moment, towards the end of the day, where I just got overwhelmed. It just felt so… futile.

The fix for this is to keep organizing to balance out the chaos. Get some more outdoor exercise and work on my yard.

And maybe, just maybe, take a day off.