… and three small surprises. :)
One of the things in my summer to-do list is to clean out my side of the room that I share with my Nana. Even though I have been off from school for almost two months now, I haven’t quite gotten around to doing it because I’m always more interested in doing something other than cleaning my room.
Today, I decided I would finally start cleaning our room (Read: This is probably it unless I feel otherwise.). I mean, cmon, what’s a better way to celebrate freedom (Happy 4th!) than to be free from eyesores? I took some (very embarrassing) pictures of the problem areas in the room just so you can have a solid idea of what we’re dealing with here.
Problem #1
If you’re confused, let me enlighten you: What you’re looking at is actually the headboard of our bed. My grandmother (who shares my utilitarian view on furniture) picked a bed with a cubby on each side and a space in the middle for useful nightly things. As you can see, I’ve filled all of the space with piles of books and pretty much whatever kind of rubbish I could find (I have there an assortment of medicine, bottles of lotion, jewelry, a rhyming dictionary, and a bunch of other things.) If you think those two towers of door-stoppers heavy books are about to fall over, you are probably right.
Problem #2
A pile of clothes. No, I am not about to donate those. I actually wear these and believe it or not, I spend an enormous amount of time folding them neatly. So what went wrong? I don’t know, but this is giving me a headache.
Problem #3
This picture is actually blurry, but WTH, maybe it’s for the best since this is such an eyesore anyway. *frustration* Again, Clothes in a pile. Neatly folded clothes now not neatly folded in a not-neat pile. WTF.
I started at 8 in the morning and finished at half-past noon, but that’s because I fixed a bunch of other stuff in the room too and I also felt a little ill for about half an hour (sad face). My morning involved 3 medium sized storage bins, 4 rewatched movies (Have to have noise while I’m working), and a very large garbage bag.
As I was rummaging through some of the stuff I had in storage, I came across three pleasant surprises.
1. Coloring materials from my “artist phase”
L-R: smart crayons, watercolour pencils, magic markers
Yes, I tried to be an artist. But then again I was unemployed then (and some of you are asking, what’s the difference? Eviiil.). And I learned the hard way that I didn’t have the skills to make great art. I do have great taste for color though. That and coloring materials. :)
2. Hypotrochoid art set (Whoohoo!)
Wondering what's inside?
Whoohoo!
This is a hypotrochoid art set I bought from ThinkGeek a few Christmases ago. I bought one for Doctor Flash and had to get one for myself. My mother got one for me when I was about 6 years old but I was too young to appreciate the magic of math in action then. I know better now.
3. A purple G2 pen from possibly 4 years ago
I don’t have a picture of it, so you’ll just have to take my word. Anyway, I haven’t used these pens since I went back to school. I write really fast and these pens smudge my notes so I had to give them up. I think I’ll start using it for my doodles.
Now, for some after photos.
Problem solved!
I know, I still have a tower of books there, but those are books that I’m going to take with me to Athens. That tower should be gone before I am.
Problem solved. Kind of.
Okay, so I didn’t really do a good job on this one, but for a person without a proper closet, I did okay. Anyway, this situation should be better once I pack some of my stuff in suitcases. (I suppose there is such a thing as having too many clothes.)
Problem solved! Kind of.
I actually managed to get rid of a whole box of random things. In fact, the very large garbage bag spoken of earlier was filled with things half-regretfully deemed garbage. I have a hoarding tendency so…
Today was a success. I still have some work to do (Moving accoutrements expected to arrive by next week at the latest) but until then, I’m gonna put my feet up and enjoy my eyesore-free room.
How did you spend your 4th of July? Have you ever had to tackle a mess that bad too?
Background Noise 
Jul 05, 2011 @ 06:48:47
I have an entire room filled with books that I need to throw out. Most of these books are from when I was taking standardized tests in high school. Most of these are old textbooks. When I was in England, I through out most of my textbooks. I realized that I would never be looking at these books again. I used to hoard all of my textbooks. Now I’ve learned to let them go.
Jul 05, 2011 @ 07:33:28
I wish I had textbooks to get rid of, because when recent, those babies usually sell for at least 50 bucks apiece. My books don’t sell for anything, and libraries don’t welcome them either. My only option is to throw them out, which I consider a grave sin.
Jul 05, 2011 @ 07:52:45
I used to consider it a grave sin, but then I realised that with all that I need to learn in med school, I seriously will never be looking at my textbooks again. If I need to revise material, it will be from other books that are review books. I’ve never looked at textbooks as something that will be completely disposable until now. I mean, not entirely disposable; I still have the same respect for them. I just know that my abilities as a physician will greatly depend on what I’ve personally learned and not nearly as much as on how quickly I can find information I don’t know, although that’s still useful.
Jul 05, 2011 @ 08:45:51
Sadly, I don’t go to med school and disposable as my texts are, I refuse to throw them out.
Anyone willing to take them off my hands for $100 each? I only have about 200 books. Buy one book, get another for 150% the original price. WOW WHATANOFFA!!!
Jul 07, 2011 @ 13:17:39
Congrats on the decluttering!!
I have a couple of hints that may help you in your journey. I found this video from Linda Koopersmith on YouTube on folding clothes and it has seriously doubled or even tripled my drawer/folding space. My main problem – once I learned her t-shirt fold – was scarves. I have 40+ scarves and while I had the drawer space they were just sort of all over. So I went to the container store and bought these plastic boxes (that come 2 in a pack) and I was able to fit my about 15 of my regular scarves in one box once they were folded into neat little squares.
Here are the Koopersmith vids- http://www.youtube.com/user/bevhillorg#p/u
Boxes- http://www.containerstore.com/shop?productId=10000147&N=&Nao=20&Ntt=plastic+drawer
Also about the books – I love books. I have worked in libraries (public, academic, and law) for about 14 years. One thing I have learned is sometimes books have to be thrown away. People used to blast me over this, but it is the truth. Information is always changing and unless your books have general fundamentals of a particular topic – odds are if its over 10 yrs old it has changed enough not to warrant keeping the book.
Also – unless you are an expert on book repair – unless there is extreme sentimental value to the book there is no sense in holding on to books that are not in good shape.
Fiction is another matter. I have struggled with this. Fiction and cookbooks. My remedy is to find people who need books. This can include nursing homes, school libraries, veterans offices, hospitals and church libraries. My college even did a Books to Brazil fundraiser to send books to folks who don’t have them.
Jul 07, 2011 @ 17:30:50
Oh wow! Thank you very much for the info. I don’t know why I didn’t think of looking up YouTube sooner.
As for the books, I more willingly let go of my textbooks. What you say is true, there is no reason to hold on to them, especially if they are outdated. Fiction though, not so easy. After all, it’s how I make my living. Sort of.
Nevertheless, I will have to let go of some of them sooner than later. Probably later. :p