Friday report

[adair]

It's been a fairly unproductive period for a couple of weeks, but I do have a few things to report.

In a rummage through the dental drawer, trying to find my new toothbrush, I found 5 little tubes of toothpaste, purchased at some time for travel but never used. They are now laid out on the counter, and I am using the first one. No toothpaste will be bought until we are on the last of the 5 tubes. Sometimes putting stuff away results in accumulation. I also have a number of containers of dental floss; my dentist gives both of us one whenever we have our teeth cleaned, twice a year. I use some, but not at the rate they accumulate. I put them all in a clear plastic bag in the dental drawer, so when I finish one it is easy to find the next.

My efforts to move 500 books on continues. I keep count, but not a list of titles. February has 34 gone so far, and there are a few days left to decide about more.

Today I am engaged in another effort to clear surfaces where things - mostly paper - accumulate. This started because I am looking for a list of people who wanted to be notified of the next Books to Prisoners book sale. I saw the list about 10 days ago when I was sorting the usual paper accumulations, but I can't find in now. So I can look through the accumulations in about 6 places that have papers piled up. I am also tossing a number of them, or doing what needs doing and then tossing them. Procrastination also results in accumulation.

Comments

[fred_mouse]

I like your idea about putting the toothpaste that needs using up in plain sight.

The only decluttering I've been doing is my email inbox. I finally worked out that the thing that was holding me up was that lots of the emails that I was getting stuck on had URLs in them, so I made a 'look at it later' folder for 'links to follow up'. I'm now down to <300 emails in that inbox! Yes, there is still a lot of work to be done on sorting out which of the links are actually relevant, and which ones were dealt with at the time, but at least they are being progressed!

[tanaqui]

Well done for figuring out how to unstick your inbox! (I enjoyed reading some of the links you posted over on your personal account earlier, btw. :-) )

[fred_mouse]

Thanks! I'd hit the point where I'd deal with the top two or three messages, and then completely fail to work out what next. This has been very freeing!

And there are many more links in there (I send myself interesting things I come across when I'm at work), dating back to 2012. I suspect some of them I'll read and go nope, but there are still some good ones there -- the epithets one is one from that far back.

[adair]

Not remembering those little toothpaste tudes led to buying more - if I see them I will use tham. That seems to work for a lot of Things.

Figurieng out what the holdup was is a big step. Sorting links and saved bookmarks takes time, as I know full well, but now you have a direction to work instead of frustrated indecision. Onward!

[fred_mouse]

I can totally understand buying more because you didn't think you have any. We kind of have that issue in that there are three adults and two teens responsible for communal shopping, and anyone might remember that something is required when going past the shops.