"Say Goodbye to Piles!"

"To have inward solitude and space
Is very important because it implies
Freedom to be, to go, to function, to fly."

-- Krishnamurti


Regina opens this chapter with the beautiful quotation above. I find it quite inspiring. It makes total sense that in order to function well, feel free, and to fly, it is important to first have a secure inner space. And it seems so much easier to achieve inner space when your outer space is calm and orderly.

Last week, I'm afraid, I did nothing at all to further my control of paper. I was very busy at the first of the week, then it was a long weekend. During the weekend I was out of town for a birthday party, and then spent another day and evening at a wedding and reception. Aside from these activities, it was hot, hot, hot and extremely humid, making me want to conserve energy rather than spend it.

I will have to go through the two bins of paper I set aside last weekend. It seems somewhat daunting but Regina is encouraging: "No matter how many piles you have, remember that you are going to work with only one at a time. When you have your pile chosen and in front of you, remember it's just one piece of paper at a time."

Her basic advice when sorting is to immediately toss any non-personal papers such as flyers, old coupons or ads, magazines, or newspapers into a recycling bin. Keep a separate bin for personal but non-needed papers for future shredding. And, for the papers you want to keep, create separate piles for the various categories; this will make them easier to file later on.

As I said, I still have a way to go to be really on top of paper clutter. I will have to set up and maintain a proper filing/storage system and I know that will feel just great.

Until then, I can be happy that I have at least eliminated one great source of frustration in my life: paying bills. I have always struggled with this task and have always hated it. (Well, who could love it??) So, I simply did away with the job entirely. Don't get me wrong - I still pay my bills, but now it's all done electronically. My pay gets deposited into my account once a month and all of my bills are paid automatically. That way I know exactly what I am free to spend on all of our other necessities of life. This alone has made my life much simpler and easier to manage.

And guess what? I've managed to keep the little table by my front door clean and uncluttered for over a week now. Wow! Maybe there's hope for me yet.

Cheers!


Diane