Yes, I’m still here. Why haven’t I posted anything new this week? Because I’ve been embracing the suck for the past six days, finally cleaning my office for the first time in 7 years.
How do I know it’s been 7 years? Because the stuff I’m throwing away is at least that old. Some of it is from 2001. Don’t judge me. I’ve been busy. I’m sure you have been, too.
What finally pushed me to get going and stop just letting it hang over my head was showing my messy office to someone who was visiting me this past weekend. I never show my office to anyone. It would be like showing someone a scab you’ve been picking at for 7 years but refuse to go to the doctor to treat. It’s embarrassing and you know you have no excuse for not doing anything about it, but … you know. Reasons.
Anyway, bless her heart, this friend, instead of saying, “Oh my gosh, it’s worse than I ever could have imagined,” just looked at the situation and said, “Huh. Maybe if you moved those boxes…” That was all. Not, “Maybe if you rented a backhoe” or anything else that might sound reasonable under the circumstances.
So on Sunday, after posting that post I linked to above, I moved some boxes.
And ever since then I’ve been moving boxes and tossing and purging for hours every day and night.
It’s as big of a job as I knew it would be. That’s why I’ve been putting it off.
But I know if I just keep going until I’m finished, even if it takes me another week (which it very well might), I will be happy and satisfied and DONE. Done for at least the next 7 years.
Maybe you need a nudge from someone, just like I did. (Thanks, Bethany!) So allow me to be that nudge: Psst. Just move some boxes. Just throw into recycling that stack of magazines you’re never going to reread. How about boxing up all those lovely books you’ve been storing forever and will never reread, and taking them to your local library branch to donate? Someone else will be so happy to have them. I’ve been doing all this and more. And every day I feel better and better.
Good luck. It’s a big job, whatever your own massive cleaning and purging job is. I empathize. But we can do this. In fact, it’s a kindness to ourselves to do this.
Even though it will, it all honesty, suck.
Embrace it and let’s go!