Cleaning House in my Head
An interesting post at House in Progress talks about household clutter and the reasons it accumulates. I’ve found this to be true in our own move from an overly cluttered suburban apartment to a larger place in a rural area. So much stuff to pack and unpack, and so little reason for much of it to be there.
The physical reality of all this accumulation also reflects mental, emotional, and spiritual realities. Stay with me here - I’m trying not to get too metaphysical about this. Just like we’re trying to get rid of extra unnecessary physical “stuff” in our lives, I know I’ve been challenging beliefs I’ve held for no other reason than “that’s what I believe.” I’ve been challenging the ideas that I’ve always taken for granted. I’ve been trying to keep track of all the things I promise myself that I never follow up on. GTD helps with this last effort, but it’s a little too systematic for this kind of large-scale mental spring cleaning as a whole. In some cases, GTD has even caused more “stuff” in my life - things to read that keep piling up, song ideas I never get around to fleshing out, software recommendations I keep meaning to install and play around with, all on the perennial back burner known as my “Someday/Maybe” list. At least I’m keeping track of it all now. 
I’m just looking forward to the day that I can walk into my study, see the huge amount of stuff without a home just laying on the floor, and be OK with that. Or, preferably, not see the “stuff” at all. Until then, I guess it’s still cleaning time, both inside and out…
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May 15th, 2006 at 11:42 am
Having a handle on it all is a start.
Happy 32nd borniversary, Andrew!