You would think my son was coming for a visit or something.

Actually he is coming, which is partly why I am on a bit of a decluttering binge. Tomorrow I need to wipe down every surface I can, and vacuum the basement again (the only area with a carpet), because he and his girlfriend are both allergic to cats. 

I have discovered that one of the advantages of working from home is that I can do a lot of conference calls while cleaning up stuff. I just put myself on mute. Today I emptied out two drawers of my filing cabinet and now have space for actual office stuff. I even sorted all the gift bags and special occasion cards and put them neatly in a drawer. I may never need to buy another card as long as I live, even if I send out a lot more cards than I do most years. I have sorted all kinds of fabric and put it with patterns so I can actually sew stuff, instead of just hoarding fabric. It would be more practical if I were to clean up stuff on the main floor, but the basement did need some serious work. I have done part of the main floor and can finish the rest fairly quickly tomorrow morning.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

300 workouts achieved!

My goal this year has been to do 220 workouts in 2020, not counting my regular walks or bike rides to work. The pandemic really messed up my commutes, but it got me looking for ways to keep fit, especially when my barn was closed, and eventually reopened for one rider per horse (my daughter got that privilege), plus the pool closures that ended swim club. For a while it was daily walks with my daughter. Then semi-regular walks with my friend Renee. I swam outdoors every week once the ice was gone, but didn’t do the big distances of most summers because the crowds at our usual lake were insane. Instead, I contented myself with figuring out smaller loops in the river. There was yoga, too, though that was mostly saved for when I was really tired or sore, at least until someone at my office started offering lunchtime sessions twice a week. Thankfully, ballet was a constant. My teacher pivoted immediately to on-line classes, so I have danced more than ever this year, albeit in my living roo...
Read more

Adapting the “Five Things” Mantra

 I have been trying to do five things a day for years. It’s a great way to help me get through tasks. What those things are is totally up to me. Some days, a thing is completely reorganizing a room. Other days, it’s something as small as cleaning the cat litter. I don’t even have to complete a task as long as I make progress on it.  This year, I am counting a fitness activity as a thing, also going with going to work. They are both eating huge chunks of my time and I need to acknowledge that. 
Read more

Shedding frustrations in favour of little things that go right

Image
Today was a good day. Since the downing of the Ukrainian Airlines flight in Iran I have been very busy with the response, due to the death of 13 Afghan citizens (for context, I am responsible for Canada’s relations with Afghanistan within the headquarters of my foreign affairs ministry). I also have several other balls in the air with high level visits and briefings on my big project. Several of those pieces fell into place today thanks to the strong analysis and quick action of colleagues on three continents. They made me proud to be a public servant. It has been a very long and difficult week for Canadian and other families, and for everyone helping them to cope with this tragedy. I am consciously trying to celebrate their hard work and dedication, instead of dwelling on the long hours, endless emails, and general confusion as too many people try to handle too many things at once.  In the past, I didn’t believe people who said that you could sometimes change your mood just by...
Read more