Well it is for me, anyway. I am not sure how it came about, but gradually I have come to look upon the move into Winter as a time to reconfigure my working space.
It is true that being a military person I found that neatness and tidiness were attributes to be desired – and actively encouraged! Kit inspections, room inspections and barrack inspections loomed large in this simple soldier’s life.
And later on, as the Warrant Officer Admin in a Training Unit, I was expected to know where important things were – and while not being able to find things in business can be very unfortunate, not being able to find them when faced with an angry Brigadier can be rather uncomfortable!!
But even someone as dedicated to the concept of ‘Everything has its place and it should be in it!’ cannot help but gather a lot of … er … clutter!
Things are put into filing trays to be dealt with ‘later’ – and are not rediscovered until a year ‘later’. Books that I use for research disappear without trace, only to come to light hiding behind filing cabinets. Stuff accumulates, expands and recreates itself without rhyme or reason.
And eventually, I walk into my office and think ‘My goodness, where’s the desk?’ It’s about then I realise it is time to de-clutter and clean out and clean up.
This amazingly happens about the same time each year, around the beginning of Winter; and so – without realising the significance – on Wednesday last instead of sitting down at my cluttered desk to blog on the benefits of public speaking – I grabbed a basket and a bag and started in.
Five hours later, my desk was pristine, my filing cabinets were neat; and my trays were empty. I had brought order to my chaos.
I stressed earlier that my love affair with organisation and neatness was an outcome of my military training – and there is another aspect of service life that can impact on one’s ability to organise, downsize and relocate; and that is the glee with which the establishment relocates its members on a regular basis.
In this instance the uploading, downsizing, packing, repacking and unpacking becomes the vital role of the spouse!! There are no medals handed out for service wives and husbands – but there should be!!
One of those wives who shouldered the chore of relocating the family with all their goods and chattels across continents and across seas was Kerri Rodley. Kerri was one of nine children, and grew up amidst the clutter of possessions that children just ‘have to have’.
But not satisfied with that, Kerri married a serviceman and took up the two year relocation merry-go-round, uprooting the family 15 times over a 22 year period. One of the most stressful would have been relocated the family from Australia to the United States – with all the paperwork, inventories, passports and health certificates that entails.
We have all been told that moving house is one of the most stress producing activities that humans can undertake; it’s not just about leaving the familiarity of places and friends but the difficult task of deciding what to keep and what to throw away. There are more tears and tantrums from teenagers over this aspect than any other.
So it comes as no surprise to learn that over the years Kerri has developed anumber of strategies to overcome the challenges and the tears associated with personal decluttering. And so successful have these strategies been that Kerri opened her business Domestic Downsizing – Declutter & Design to assist us to learn these strategies to make our lives so much easier when faced with the effects of the ‘Clutter Bug’.
And Kerri will be sharing her ideas about setting up a home office at our Breakfast on the 9th June at the Park Regis Hotel [please note change of date] – so if you would love some brilliant ideas on decluttering your work space, and setting up an effective office in your home, why not join us.
A guest speaker of this calibre makes getting up early worth it, so jump on line immediately and book your breakfast plate. Why not bring the husband/wife or significant other as well – (but we’d prefer you left the cats and dogs at home!!)
If booking on line please select the 8th June option – we changed the date 🙂
Members of Trischel’s Tea and Toast Club can claim their member’s discount, and if you are not already a member why not join now – it’s free – just email us!!
So I’m off to wallow in that sense of achievement as I look around me to see everything in its place for the first time this year. The chances of it remaining this good are slim, but at least it’s neatly organised once a year.
Michele @ Trischel
Tea and Toast membership enquires to info@trischel.com.au