Fighting chaos
Sep. 23rd, 2023 07:22 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lyornFighting chaos, I found, is best not done alone, because chaos has some sense of self-preservation and attacks me with waves of fear, uncertainty and doubt: What if there is a colony of woodlice in this box? Will I regret forever throwing out this note someone I barely remember sent me when we were at uni? Can I in good conscience dump this still functioning but no longer useful item in the trash or do I have to try to give it away?
It's a lot easier with a second person around who has no attachment any of this stuff, and fearlessly removes any life form with too many legs from my vicinity.
So, today R--- visited me for breakfast and then we attacked the chaos in my cellar. R--- remarked that she had seen far worse in the house she's caring for (I forgot to ask how the half-dozen cellar rooms stacked with junk up to the ceiling are doing....). We worked our way in from the door and cleaned and sorted everything on the way.
Results:
- Dumped three large cardboard boxes of shredded smaller cardboard boxes.
- As well as one large trash bag of plastic and styrofoam, a carrier bag with glass and one with electronics, and medium large trash bag of other stuff.
- Filled two 32-liter boxes with stuff to give away.
- Filled one bag with special waste (batteries, paint, chemicals)
- Marked a bunch of items to drive to the dump.
- Took two boxes of books, notebooks and photos upstairs (sigh)
- Cleaned away a lot of dust and spiderwebs.
- Cleared a path through half the cellar
- Freed a good four metres of shelf space.
We also agreed that we should go caving next summer. (R--- has the experience, I have the sense of direction.)
After that, she went to have lunch with her daughter, and I had strong black tea, chocolate cookies, and a long nap.
I should attempt to read one book I might not want to keep per day. If after a day I still want to read it, I'll keep it, if not, not.
All in all, there's more to do (there's always more to do) but this was a very successful day.
It's a lot easier with a second person around who has no attachment any of this stuff, and fearlessly removes any life form with too many legs from my vicinity.
So, today R--- visited me for breakfast and then we attacked the chaos in my cellar. R--- remarked that she had seen far worse in the house she's caring for (I forgot to ask how the half-dozen cellar rooms stacked with junk up to the ceiling are doing....). We worked our way in from the door and cleaned and sorted everything on the way.
Results:
- Dumped three large cardboard boxes of shredded smaller cardboard boxes.
- As well as one large trash bag of plastic and styrofoam, a carrier bag with glass and one with electronics, and medium large trash bag of other stuff.
- Filled two 32-liter boxes with stuff to give away.
- Filled one bag with special waste (batteries, paint, chemicals)
- Marked a bunch of items to drive to the dump.
- Took two boxes of books, notebooks and photos upstairs (sigh)
- Cleaned away a lot of dust and spiderwebs.
- Cleared a path through half the cellar
- Freed a good four metres of shelf space.
We also agreed that we should go caving next summer. (R--- has the experience, I have the sense of direction.)
After that, she went to have lunch with her daughter, and I had strong black tea, chocolate cookies, and a long nap.
I should attempt to read one book I might not want to keep per day. If after a day I still want to read it, I'll keep it, if not, not.
All in all, there's more to do (there's always more to do) but this was a very successful day.
