This weekend I made more progress on this all-consuming guest room project than I have made all year. OK, all three years. It’s astonishing what I can do when 1) I set my mind to it 2) It’s down to the very last minute and 3) I am sick and tired and just want to be DONE ALREADY.
The shocking thing about this effort is that I have actually changed in the process. This entire room was just a big pile of deferred decisions. Yes, I’m busy. Yes, I work long hours and I want to spend my weekends being relaxed and creative… or that is what I told myself. In reality, nothing was getting done because this room blocked EVERYTHING.
Any time I had a free moment and a creative urge, it got stifled. Maybe I wanted to paint or start a new knitting project or refurbish a piece of furniture or start any project at all. I’d move to get started and then think, “Wait. I should be working on the spare room instead. THAT’s the real problem. I need to prioritize…”
And I would walk into the room and look around and feel overwhelmed by this:
And that was it. Nothing got done that day. Tomorrow. It was always tomorrow.
Well, that’s done with now. I can see how much of my personal juju was wrapped up in the stifling, overbearing burden of this room. It was basically a storage locker right in my own home. And it was filled with stuff I didn’t want to make decisions about. Do I throw it away? Donate it? Keep it? where do I store it? Do I shred this? Is this something I need to return to someone? Will I miss it if I throw it away?
In the end, I got rid of endless bags of trash, took at least four carloads to the Goodwill, and sorted through decades of STUFF. I’m not a hoarder. I definitely have a clutter problem, but now I recognize it and I will actively work to maintain my situation.
The worst of the worst is over. There are still a few pockets of stuff for me to sort, and I have set calendar appointments with myself to do them. I’m running out of time before Drew comes to visit and I needed to get on with the business of putting this room back together and getting it guest ready!
Still On My To-Do List:
- Old computer stuff
Need to clean off a few old hard drives and take to special recycling center - CDs
Still need to sort/burn/donate them. Got many of them pared down, but need a weekend to finish this task. - Paperwork
Yes, there is still paper left top sort/shred/file. I had to set aside this task or I would never finish this project. I think I need another weekend to finish that whole thing, which includes digitizing receipts and getting myself out of the paper storage business.
Now it’s the fun part — organizing and displaying the few things that I kept. This room is clean and inviting and it is downright DELIGHTFUL. I’ve got music playing and my Holiday Joy oil in the oil diffuser and I’m unbelievably happy in here.
There’s this feeling of accomplishment, of course, but it’s mixed with something else … pride, maybe? Satisfaction. Or relief. Or exhaustion. I don’t know, it’s been a loooong weekend. And a long month if we’re being real about it.
It’s so worth it, though! Everything feels like it’s flowing again, even this site, writing, all of it. The energy has shifted. I don’t feel like I am living with a big pile of The Past hidden in my home. This room feels like Today, like The Future. ♥
