Minimalista? No - Just Trying to Break Down the Clutter...

A year or two ago, I tried to be a "minimalista" and it just did not work out for me.  Part of the problem was my waning energy levels and the other part was just not enough time.  When I was able to spend time doing the things that needed to be done, I was amazed with what I accomplished.

At this point, I have changed positions with my company.  I ended up overwhelming myself with a writing course, which I really liked and will probably take again.  Friday, I sat down and made out a schedule on what I need to do, but I think I need to re-evaluate it again.  This week is a bit nutty with going to an 80's concert tonight, then tomorrow night and Wednesday, I have to drive over to Arlington to get Chloe checked up - drop off tomorrow night and pick up the following day.  The weekend will be spend dealing with reunion stuff.

Part of me wants to wait until the reunion is wrapped up before starting on those things I should be doing.  However, it is best to do something, rather than nothing.

So, I am going to try to work on the various areas of my apartment and continue the rotation for the following two months.  My biggest issue is all of the paper.  I have seen a decrease in the amount of paper coming into the my house since I switched to electronic statements.  I would say the weekend after the reunion, I will take boxes of papers that need to be shredded to a public shredder service.  I like the idea of taking it all down and doing it all at once - be able to see the papers being shredded and feel at ease.

My plan is to focus on one room of the apartment each week.  This week - the kitchen.  I will concentrate my efforts to clearing out and cleaning the kitchen.  If I have accomplished something, that is a bonus.  What is left over to be done can be written down as an area of concentration for the next time I concentrate on that particular room.

My hope is that as I get each room depleted of clutter, then the time devoted to the rooms will go down by days, then into hours.  That way, these tasks are down to something pretty regular and not time consuming.  Basically, back to when I first moved into the apartment - it would take me two hours to pull everything into shape and I was done.

I may not get rid of everything, but it the apartment would be presentable for anyone and I could have guests.  I admire minimalists as they realize that "stuff" is a burden.  However, there are some things that we need.