Clean Out, Toss Away, and Organize

Pick up the January issue of any woman's magazine, and you're almost sure to find an article about cleaning your closets, drawers, or cupboards. Or one to tell you how to 'declutter' your house. January is a good time to do this, because it's the start of a new year, the weather is often more conducive to indoor pastimes, and we have to face it sometime, so why not now? 

We need to tackle our writing life in the same manner. It doesn't HAVE to be done in January, but why not? For the same reasons as above. I was jolted into thinking about it earlier this morning when my husband, who could be known as Saver Sam, popped into the office, holding a large book. "Do you think the music department at K-State would have any use for these music encyclopedias? If not, I'm going to toss them.? 

When I could get my mouth closed again, after my jaw-dropping reaction, I suggested we ask our Czech student who is a music major. She might know of someplace that would have an interest in these old books. And I do mean old--he's had them since he took piano lessons in grade school! Five minutes later, he was back. "What about my old law books? I suppose they're so outdated that they can be thrown away." Speechless, I nodded in agreement and wondered if he was getting ready to sell our house and move into a senior community. What has brought this frenzy of cleaning out to a man who saves bits and pieces of everything imaginable..

It also made me look around my home office at the stacks of folders filled with bits and pieces of my writing world. Then there are the file folders in the desk drawers that have been accumulating stuff for years. And of course, there are my computer files that hold old stories, ones I'm working on now and others that are mere ideas for future stories jotted down and just sitting. 

It's January--time for me to do some cleaning our, tossing away and organizing in my writing world. Starting is the hardest part. I know that I will come across a few surprises in those folders. I might also find some unfinished projects that can be completed in 2012. I'll slso feel pretty darned good once the cleaning process is finished.

While Ken's in the mood to clean out and toss away, I'm going to head to the lower level and see what else he can let go of. There's a box filled with memorabilia from his days as a Boy scout that we've carted from house to house in our 47 years of marriage. Maybe he can part with it now, too.