Declutter campaign: photos!

 

I'm learning how to use the new Picssa for Mac program so I can share and upload photos more easily.
I have way too many photos on the hard drives of my computers, and even though they are backed up to an external hard drive (most of them), I'm reluctant to delete them. This is a holdover from the days when we paid to print every lousy shot--I am a photo hoarder. This lack of organization also means it's hard to find specific images when I want them without spending lots of time since they are mostly unlabeled. I'm going to try to get a handle on this, and especially work on sharing batches with friends and family online.
Question: can I purge my photo files AND my shoe collection this weekend? or is that too much discipline at once? Maybe I should try one or the other first!

Moving back into Folwell Hall!

Eighteen months ago we packed up our department offices and moved into temporary space while Folwell Hall was being gutted and reconfigured. My department has moved from the grotty, filthy, vermin-infested basement to a clean, quiet second floor. My new office faces south and for the first time in 22 years,  I will have an office with  natural light, decent climate control, no noise from crowds students sitting on the floor in the halls waiting for class, no noise from chairs being rearranged overhead, no grit and dirt tracked in all winter, a bathroom that is not used by hundreds of other people during that day. It's sinking in that I'll have an office I actually will be able to enjoy working in! What a concept. It feels as if I have received a promotion or a raise.  The foundation and exterior had already been redone some years ago. Check out this cool slideshow to see the exterior of the building with some fun architectural details that were preserved or restored.




The quality of my work life has been incredibly improved. The moving process itself, the packing and unpacking, is time-consuming, but stimulating. Once again I am confronted by the sheer volume of STUFF I am dragging around and that is cluttering up my space, and my brain.This time, the purge must be complete and merciless!


One unexpected consequence has hit me this week. I feel, for the first time in ages, excited about writing again. I feel as if I can contemplate making a commitment to writing without dread and panic. Writing on this blog is one step. Writing in my work life, which I have avoided in unhealthy ways for too long, is the next.

There's nothing like moving 22 years worth of papers and books twice in 18 months to make one confront the gap between intentions and action. As I shelved my books, I got excited about the projects some of them represent. More to the point, there is no room in my new, lovely office for more than four drawers of paper files, and no files are allowed to live at home. My goal in the next few weeks is to sort through the contents of all these boxes (15! 15!!!) and recycle what I will never use again or SCAN those I want to keep.

Which pile will include papers I wrote in graduate school? those articles I painstakingly tracked down using the enormous card catalogue, running up and down nine flights of stairs in the UC Berkeley library, paying to photocopy them and carefully placing each page so nothing was cut off? the sheer amount of labor devoted to collecting this material over the years is an obstacle to blithely tossing it in the recycle bin. And I HAVE used a lot of this material, for writing or classes. So now, in this brief interlude before classes begin, it's a good time to open each box, sort things into piles, and work up a righteous buzz of recycling anything that I have not touched in ten years, and will not read or use for a writing project. That will force me to decide which of the many abandoned writing projects are still viable, and which ones need to be released into the wild.

Moving toward a more minimalist life when you are a clutter person like me

Frugality, simplicity, DIY, thrift, call it what you will, lately I find the idea of simplifying my life enormously attractive, I've blogged before about the sense of satisfaction I've had from divesting myself of "stuff". Last summer I was finally able to get to the bottom of a lot of piles, and get rid of junk!

The office move will require me to get rid of a huge pile of paper, and I am confronting the difference between bibliophilia and being a hoarder. I have sold or given away hundreds of books I no longer need, and I've been thinking a lot lately about getting rid of more unnecessary things, some of which I am experiencing as clutter rather than necessities, souvenir, decorations or a wardrobe.

I want to lighten my load, as I also try to lighten my carbon footprint. Juliet Schorr's work on sustainability and the huge impact of "the social death of things"--how that is connected to the despoiling of the planet and the impoverishment of peoples around the world--is behind at least some of my decision to become more mindful of how I consume and my relationship to things.

Today's post on the blog has inspired me to think about what I have and what I need. She and her husband packed up and moved to another country, shed a lot of stuff, and haven't replaced a lot of it.
Here's her list of "100 Things I Live Without" (inspired by the 100 things I own list that is apparently going around, although I haven't seen it). I thought I'd post her list (without her comments which you can read at her post) with my own comments, just as a way of thinking about "stuff" and my relationship to it. The idea is not to be judgemental about what kind of stuff we do and dont' have, but just to think about it.

1. Television – don't own because we watch TV over the computer, and last year I recycled a trunk-load of old, no-longer-needed electronic gear.
2. DVD player – see above: don't own because we watch movies on the computer.
3. Stereo system – still own a small CD player that I can plug my iPod into because the computer speakers are not good enough for listening without earphones.
4. Remote control – for the TV and DVD functions on the computer.
5. Entertainment center or TV stand – the computer is on a filing cabinet that holds my building association files (I'm the treasurer).
6. Sofa – my mother's old sofa is my primary work station (lying down) and also our guest bed--guests sleep in my bed and I sleep on the sofas which is extremely comfortable!
7. Ottoman – currently holding junk. do we need it? I like to put my feet up, but the fact that is not being used for that function should tell me something.
8. End table – Yes, to hold the reading lamp and the pile of books in the reading queue. No, I can't read them all on an iPad, a Kindle, or my laptop: I'm a literature professor.
9. Bookshelves--not room to keep all my books at my office, and books are not a luxury for me, see above.
10. Magazine rack – no magazine rack, but too many magazines. Not willing to give them up yet, although I have in the past. I find them inspirational and clip things for idea files.
11. Dining room table – really, we hardly every use ours to eat, but it has become a crafting table for sewing, costume-making---and clutter catching. But we do have guests often enough that I'm not willing to give it up.
12. Dining chairs – we do entertain a few times a year, and want our guests to be able to sit at the dining room table!
13. Buffet or sideboards – our flat has built-in buffet with drawers stores in which I keep wrapping paper, table linens, tools, and misc stuff. Probably could get rid of just about all of it, but not the tools, all of which I use from time to time. Also holds some pictures, bottles of booze, and a few pretty things.
14. Lamps – our old apartment does not have overhead lighting in most rooms. should I change that? I might have to get the whole place rewired to do so. Inertia currently winning this one, but I don't like our lighting in most rooms.
15. Area rug – I love haing my mother's carpet in our living room, but do I need the area rugs in my bedroom? The wooden floors really need to be refinished, but I am saving that money for kid's college fund.
16. Clock – I like having a kitchen clock for cooking, and a bedroom clock for getting ready for work. I use clocks in other devices when there is electricity.
17. Throw pillows – not optional for a short person with back problems: without them, I can't sit comfortably.
18. Wall art – art from my mother, a few photos, a few creative projects, I actually wish I had a little more art in my bedroom.
19. Frames – I prefer frameless mounting for most things.
20. Photo albums – pre-digital photos are in albums that are in a box under the bed.
21. Candles or candleholders – I don't use the candle-holders often, but I do use them, and I love scented candles in the bathroom and bedroom.
22. Bed – I've done the futon on the floor thing; NOT good for someone like me with fibromyalgia..
23. Dresser – part of the antique set I got with the bed and necessary for all the items that don't fit in the closet, although THIS COULD CHANGE after the purge! but I like my set: it's maple and by a early American design firm whose name I can't remember, and that is driving me crazy.
24. Nightstand – for reading lamp, meds, glass of water, that candle, glasses, pile of books.
25. Hamper – laundry basket in closet
26. Scale – I could get rid of this item; I never use it. I go by fit. Do I fit my pants, yes or no?
27. Desk – do not have one of these at home for me. My daughter has one, but it's more a stuff holder than a work surface. I work on my laptop on a chair, or lying down on the couch (see couch).
28. Office chair – the child does use her office chair with her desk when she works at her desk
29. Stapler – only need one at work.
30. File cabinet – one for me, one for my building association. Each has eliminated need to store files on bookshelves.
31. Calendar – none on the wall, but one online and one in purse. Can't do without jotting down things because I must schedule a lot with students. But it is now the smallest I can get away with.
32. Printer stand-part of child's desk set-up: used primarily for crafting. I print at work.
33. Desktop computer – is the art machine for child as well as TV, DVD player, movie screen.
34. Monitor – ditto (iMac)
35. Fax machine – Nope
36. Highlighter – OK, we have boxes of pens, markers, colored pencils, etc, because the child is an artist. I only use one at work
37. Glue – ditto, but we hardly use it.
38. Pencil sharpener – artists need good pencil sharpeners!
39. Ruler – ditto.
40. Dictionary – a prized possession. online dictionaries are good for looking up specific words, but flipping through the pages of a dictionary is a joy.
41. Phone book – I keep mine in the car.
42. Coffee maker – drip carafe
43. Butter dish – nope, but I like to put butter in a little special dish when I serve it.
44. Gravy boat – don't make gravy
45. Sugar bowl – one for guests, but I keep it stored because I never use it.
46. Salt and pepper shakers – salt crock and pepper mill are for cooking.
47. Rolling pin – nope, but I do have a pasta roller from my mom that is a decorative item.
48. Wine or champagne glasses – I like stemmed wine glasses in addition to regular tumblers.
49. Apron – Yes, for cooking, washing and crafts, because I'm a slob in the kitchen and have already ruined enough clothes.
50. Tablecloth – I could get rid of the ones in my drawer because I prefer place mats when I entertain. Table clothes get stained and I always end up catching them in my knees when I sit down.
51. Cookie jar – no, but we do have a cookie tin, an old one I like.
52. Serving platter – yes, because when you cook for more than two you need to put the food on something.
53. Blender – blender wand is for smoothies, soups.
54. Mixer – hand held mixer for choc chip cookes, but not a good one. Should give it away, because child prefers hand mixing her cookies.
55. Food processor – nope
56. Crock pot – YES, and this has become one of my favorite cooking items for large pots of beans, stews, and next on the list: orange marmelade!
57. Coffee grinder – I hate pre-ground coffee. Not as fresh.
58. Cappuccino or espresso maker – that's what cafes are for.
59. Ice cream maker – that's what ice-cream and gelato stores are for.
60. Fondue set – Loren has one at his house.
61. Watch – no longer wear one; can get rid of the old ones cluttering up a drawer.
62. Sneakers –for walking around the lake, the gym. Bad footwear is bad for your feet.
63. Jeans – I only own a few pair of pants, and jeans are my staple.
64. Sweatshirt – souvenir SF hot tub sweatshirt that is 40 years old
65. Hat – sorry, can't live in MN in winter without hats.
66. Belt – for certain outfits I do need a belt.
67. Fan – a lot cheaper than running AC window units--can't survive MN summer without one.
68. Air conditioner – one window unit for living room, see above.
69. Humidifier – nope.
70. Treadmill – gym
71. Exercise bike – gym
72. Hand weights – yes, but haven't used them for years STOPLOOKINGATME
73. Video game system – nope
74. Board games –gathering dust. Anyone want a vintage classic monopoly set with all the pieces?
75. Deck of cards – don't use it, do I still have one?
76. Video camera – part of camera, wish I had a flipcam, actually.
77. CDs – still have too many of these, in spite of iPod library, because they stand for the huge collection of vinyl I gave away years ago (*sniff*)
78. Hairdryer – we have one, but should get rid of it.
79. Shades or blinds – must have, for me, I HATE being on display at night, and we have neighbors who can see right into our bedrooms.
80. Holiday décor – a very few seasonal items. Finally bought a mini-tree because I enjoyed making new ones by hand.
81. Grill-no outdoor grill, but I do love my little Coleman grill for making grilled sausages, grill cheese sandwiches, and some other grilled veggies.
82. Patio furniture: no patio
83. Sprinklers--one for the building for the condo associatioin

84. Hose-ditto
85. Lawnmower-ditto
86. Rake-ditto
87. Weed whacker-nope
88. Shovel-MN necessity, for building. I do snow shoveling.
89. Spade-just bought one because I intend to plant!
90. Hoe-building has one.
91. Hand saw--I have a metal hacksaw, and I have used it often enough to keep it.
92. Ladder--building owns one.
93. Pry bar-nope
94. Level-no
95. Toolbox-no
96. Staple gun-no
97. Nails- a few leftover
98. Screws--for the AC screen.
99. Drill--yes, and it comes in handy.
100. Paint brushes--for the building: we just had to paint over graffiti and needed a paint roller, tray.

What is not on this list?

I still own and use a car, probably far more than I need to, but it's not optional for me, given that my fibromyalgia has made bike-riding too painful, and we need to go to Northfield rather often, no public transpo that far. But I could take the bus to work and to many other places if I did not experience pain carrying groceries, computer bag, etc, for long times.

I could add that I do own a camera, a laptop, an iPod, and a micrwave, and that i use all of these times on an almost daily basis. Do I actually need them? Yes, the laptop is a essential work device that I must bring into the classroom because my classes are now hybrid classes (using a lot of online material for lecture, discussion) and there are no computers in classrooms (unlike the university where I just gave guest lectures where the rooms have computers built-in), and the camera and iPod were purchased for work purposes as well. I could get along without any of them, but it would make my work life a lot harder. I'd have to check out a lap top each time I taught; and would not be able to do any work outside the office or home, and I work on the road all the time.

As for most of the stuff that is cluttering up my house, I am going to probably get rid of quite a lot of it this year: clothing, dishes, magazines, books. But I'm not yet ready to embrace the minimalism of "just moved in" or the Japanese style yet.