One of my high school friends recently noted on Facebook that she is trying to simplify and get the second half of her life organized. Ah, yes; me too. This past weekend I took another step in that process.
Yesterday we did some marketing work for the next triennial gathering, and our marketing person asked us to bring in magazines for a particular exercise. In my newly-reorganized home office I found just a couple of magazines that I could donate to the cause. While I once was a magazine maven, buying more than several every month, I’ve been cutting back over the last year. There’s the cost factor, of course, and then there’s the storage factor.
In the past when I would pick up a magazine, I’d read through it quickly, covering all the main stories, making a mental note to return to a particular article or pattern or recipe. Therein was the problem. I’d never get around to returning to the magazine. I’d still have the good intentions, nonetheless, so I wouldn’t dispose of any magazines. The piles would grow larger and larger.
Now I don’t have that problem. I only buy an occasional magazine. I read it, bookmark any web sites contained in the magazine that should get a second glance, and scan any article worth saving.
Back to the weekend. As I was picking up in my bedroom I encountered a basket-full of magazines. Until recently I had a bedside chair and these magazines had found a home next to that chair. The chair’s been replaced with a desk, but the basket remained. Any smugness from my change in habits was quickly dashed as I began going through those magazines. It was an interesting collection, some dating back four years, to 2006. It was like reliving those four years. I remembered the 2007 business trip to Charlotte, North Carolina when I saw the Smoky Mountains magazine I had picked up then. Failed diet attempts had, when still promising, prompted Weight Watchers magazine. Arthritis Today was purchased after my orthopedist confirmed that the pain in my knees was arthritis.
I dusted off the magazines and brought them into the office for yesterday’s marketing exercise. I kept back a few, however. Some I kept because the tantalizing headline that caught my eye two years ago still caught my eye last weekend and I still want to read that article! I should be able to plow through this small pile once the pain medications have worn off after my impending knee replacement surgery (thank you, arthritis). Then perhaps I’ll use that cute basket to hold a knitting project. First I’ll have to do some pruning there, too, but that’s a project for another day.
Linda Post Bushkofsky, executive director, is trying to simplify and organize the second half of her life. Clutter, move over!
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