Spring cleaning time is upon us. While I do remember when this was actually something the women of a household did, times have changed. Nowadays, it is something some of us talk about doing – like cooking a delicious, exotic meal we sampled at a restaurant while we were on vacation. We think, “I can do that,” but we never actually do (after discovering the special spice needed costs $29.99 for a teaspoonful).
Deborah McLean, producer of Senior Guide, has a new name for spring cleaning. It’s called “clutter control,” and her article makes spring cleaning sound almost fun. It’s an excellent guide for anyone who tends to be organized. Unfortunately, that isn’t me.
Clutter control for me starts with several days of eyeballing the piles of papers and such that surround the computer and desk. It’s as though if I stare at this growth long enough, time will compress the piles. Not so. In fact, they seem to grow. And the louder I mutter about what I’ve got to do, the worse it gets.
In her article, McLean suggests a sorting by category – what you keep, what to take to Goodwill, etc. She speaks of things like clothes, kitchen tools and equipment, books and furniture – not so much about paperwork and files. If only I hadn’t joined so many community organizations, this might work on my paperwork, but how many “subject” piles can one manage? Mine include one each for newspaper, Legion auxiliary, Smith Cemetery, historical society, genealogy (mine), genealogy (others), family, and like that.
Some sharp electronic whiz kid is probably saying, “That old lady needs to get with the modern world – digitize!” The problem is that it is almost all digitized. But when you walk into a meeting and someone says, “Any extra copies of the agenda?” they’re not talking digitized. They want a paper copy. Probably they didn’t print a copy, if they even have a printer.
Whatever you call it – spring cleaning or clutter control – the end results might be fodder for another rite of spring, the yard sale. Already, some of the duplicates of things I’ve never used have price tags on them, waiting in little controlled-clutter areas. Items that I can (and have) lived without include three red Apple iMacs – the self-contained, round things – and scanners, printers and all kinds of wires, keyboards, mice, etc. All useful once, designed to become obsolete, they now sit in clutter control. Also there’s an excess of books of all kinds, magazines that cost as much as a good steak, and things I bought thinking I’d use them. I didn’t.
Oh, well, another month and it will be yard sale time and that will solve the spring cleaning.
Kay Soldier welcomes reader ideas for column topics of interest to seniors. She can be reached by email at kso48@aol.com, or write to 114 Tandberg Trail, Windham, ME 04062.
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