What I found at the bottom of the piles.

Junky things are not the only thing I collect.
Bad habits, old friends, and countless rituals seem to offer me comfort.
When I finally reached the bottom of the piles that I had assigned myself as homework this weekend, I had approximately three separate tasks.
The first one remained the dreaded bills and all of the headaches I needed to file through. These things are just problems to be solved. They were swiftly removed to the next office space in my house and await a burst of bravery later in the week.
The second pile holds all the “stuff” that needs to be removed. Garbage, junk mail, pieces and parts. Most of these things are just lost objects that may someday make interesting parts on a mosaic,but for now are creating clutter and chaos,and preventing me from a peace of mind. I wish I had discovered this years ago, but I didn’t. No use whining, just get busy , throw it out, and move on.
The third and last pile remains the challenging one. Like a centipede it has many legs. How many?
Thousands.
Here is what I concluded.
The third pile is for all of the “stuff” that I still feel committed to using in my life. This is the part that feeds my soul. Concrete or conceptual this part helps me deal with the first two piles,and this time around I have learned one true thing..
I don’t imagine I will build a sculpture, or paint a picture that will knock the world on it’s back. This said I probably should limit the amount of clutter I attempt to manage since it can easily get out of control. On the other hand I still may say something in my own arena that will make a difference to some child and perhaps that is the magnificent criteria.The stuff that stays now has a purpose.
As the new year comes and goes, as we make resolutions, promises, wishes for a better tomorrow I can say this. I still have a lot of stuff.
It still makes me happy and I think I will probably still spend a lot of my time collecting, sorting, and cleaning up after a big part of it. This year there will be one big difference. I will know why it is mine, and I will take care of it so it lasts, to go on and do good things.
Not a bad weekend of homework,if I do say so myself.

Beware...Slow learning curve ahead!

I have mastered many things in my life. Some by just showing up,but mostly with unbridled perseverance. I like re-arranging the furniture each time I clean a room. Change is my friend even though it makes most organized people crazy. This should have been the first hazardous sign I took to heart.
This remains my third attempt at Blogging for day 2,and I won't lie, I'm frustrated.
I'm not sure what really happened but both previous attempts were somehow lost and it made me wonder if in fact I am just creating more excuses NOT to stay on task, and which is in fact what I am blogging about to begin with.
Let's put this to rest once and for all and review.
*The bills are on my dining room table flirting with my chandelier and making bets that i will not complete my assignment by tomorrows afternoon date.
*I spent some time folding felted sweaters despite my promises not to, because burning the unwanted papers in the fireplace wasn't enough of a distraction. Even after I opened the flu.
*I came to the conclusion that I need to speed up my production of felted crafts or that too will become a issue for blogging.
Lastly, the learning curve on life is way too sharp and I want to be the first to admit that I can only limit myself to one new job,one new electronic gadget or one new "activity" IE like blogging each and every day. It's just too much. I will be way too long winded if i start my 20 things we lived without in 1974 speech BUT SERIOUSLY
a Walkman and an i-pod shuffle are very different! For those of us who seem to get lost on the way from the laundry room to the kitchen here is a good tip. Give yourself a break and pick one new thing. This generation is moving too fast for us mid-life-ers.
Slow learning curves ahead folks.Good to know.Goodnight everybody.

I have stuff

I have more stuff than anyone may want or need in a lifetime. This creates many problems , but the one consistent thread that seems to keep me tangled is the need to manage it all. I love my stuff.
I love collecting, hoarding,organizing, sharing,and mostly playing with all of the things in my life. I HATE carving out the time it takes to manage it. I resent the mundane things like the need to eat, sleep, get to work on time and most importantly, pay for my life.
Oddly enough I buy very little stuff! I make most of the things I surround myself with. I recycle everything. My job as an Art Teacher demands I create multiple quantities of collectibles. It is just the storage I have difficulty with.
Here is my first solution for this blog entry and I am going to try and follow my own advice.
Today a friend sent me a lovely slide show that was meant to inspire me with words of wisdom. One numbered thought asked "If something was true a year from now,would it make a difference?" I have decided that the first plan of action in my overflowing dilemma is to identify the tasks at hand and ask that simple question. "If my felted sweaters are not color-coordinated in my studio by tomorrow ,will it make a difference in my life?" The answer was quite simply NO.
As for the pile of bills,lesson plans and various papers that I seemingly hate to organize and intern deal with, the answer is undoubtedly YES. I will find the missing photos, I will collect the tax information, I will toss the unnecessary clutter and tomorrow I will return to my Blog and report how it went.
Will it be possible to accomplish in one day what I could quite possible put off for more than a year? I let you know,one can only hope.