Really Thinking...About Things

And 'stuff,' too. Actually "Really Thinking About Things" was the headline on an article I was reading today while riding the recumbent bike at the club. I had to laugh because I'd just been having a conversation with myself about how to control the clutter that the "newspaper pile" causes in our lives. I love my newspapers and as much as I like to look at things online I'd like to keep getting two papers seven days a week, one six days a week and a couple once a week. I had to laugh, too, because some of the objects the woman talked about were ones that have been giving me some pause. For example, old worn quilts that, nevertheless, are fraught with memories.

This photo was taken a couple of years ago. I'd like to tell you that much of the stuff in the picture is gone, outta here, downsized away. Sadly, it isn't so. But I did give away the cheap world globe in the picture, I think.

As to how I'm going to control newspaper clutter in the condo? I'm going to have a basket for the current day's papers that gets them out of sight. Currently, current papers lie around the kitchen. At the end of the day, I'm going to put them in one of two baskets: recycling or LB's unread. Currently, I do put some in sacks or a basket for recycling at the end of the day but the LB's unread pile lives as unwieldy stacks here, there, everywhere. Primarily on a table near my chair in the bedroom. But also in my car, on the floor of my office, etc. FFP, of course, has to be sure that he reads the papers the day they arrive or else he has to pull them out of this relentless cycle. But he seems OK with this now so it's just a matter of keeping the chaos out of sight that is created by the arrival of all this newsprint and then my desire to glance at each section before letting it go.