Clutter Mutter

The aim is to become clutter impaired, both in mind and body.  There's good reason too.

A look at yesterday's blog will illustrate that this old mind could use a good purging of excess information, just like our computers.  Half the time my computer IS my mind.  It reminds me of a lot of stuff that just slips through the seams in my noggin.

Even my computer needs some help getting on top of things.  Heck, yesterday it never said a word about my putting the wrong year on my blog headline.  Usually, some of the little gremlins that get inside its vast memory will alert me before I make a total fool out of myself.

Not yesterday or at least until late in the evening or early, early this morning when I read the comment my Tennessee friend Patsy (who, as a young teen,  lived at Sleep's Cabins).

Kind Patsy alerted me to the fact that I had jumped ahead 100 years.  She brought me down easily, telling me she didn't think she'd live that long.

Well, it took another slurp of coffee before all systems started working and I realized what a Major Journalistic Error I'd mad, almost to the dimensions of that DOOZY when, for a Sandpoint Magazine piece,  I  pictured the wrong first home of Sarah Palin in Sandpoint. 

I sighed this morning rather than smiling.  A great big OOPS dribbled out of my mouth as I thanked Patsy for bringing THE ERROR to my attention.  Worse yet, I had to tell her that every single check written on Dec. 31, 2010 and really meant for Jan. 1, 2011, had been dated the same as yesterday's blog.

I had even told my daughter-in-law how nice it would be to spend the year jotting down a "2" followed by three "1's, " to which she had smiled, nodded and most likely thoughtfully internalized that Mom Love was losing it.

Well, since early this morning, an "errata" has been posted on yesterday's headline and an acknowledgement written at the bottom of the posting.  In addition, I found it easy to draw a "zero" from each of the first "1's" on those January payment checks.  THANK YOU, PATSY.

I wonder how far I would have traveled in the year 2111 before realizing that a need to turn around and come back was in order.  Without Patsy it may have lasted a LONG time, maybe even a hundred years.

Anyway, I may not know what year it is, but I do know it's time to clean out some clutter.  That process started yesterday in the area around my computer.

Indiscriminate piles of notes from at least four River Journal columns went into labeled manilla folders.  Papers and junk lining the dusty shelves now occupy a bag in the garage garbage can.  

And, I even dusted.  This is a rather pleasant area to work now.  

This morning the ornaments came off the lovely Frazier fir Christmas tree.  I kinda hate to fling this beauty out the door, but it's January and time is moving by quickly in this mind of mind.  So, it's best for the 2010 tree to go to the great beyond. 

I always love it when the tree leaves cuz it sits in front of our sliding-glass door, and when it leaves, the whole living room/kitchen area brightens up with all the extra outside light.

Presents will go to their respective owners who will figure out where to put them.  Cards and envelopes went into storage yesterday.  There's a refrigerator that needs some clearing since I can't stuff one more item in without a bunch of others falling to the floor.

And, there are the crumpled up bags of dead chips lining the kitchen counter.  

Where IS that Seinfeld gang when I need them.  They used to clean up on all my dead chips during their unannounced visits.  Now, they're spending their time traveling the world and probably showing up on other victims' doorsteps.  

When they came to mine, I always dragged out food in an attempt to get them to leave.  

There goes that cluttered mind off on another tangent.  I'd better call a halt to that and a halt to this second blog posting of 2011 and start picking up some more stuff where other stuff will want to reside later.

Besides that, there's a ZAGS vs. Wake Forest game at 10 a.m.  

At least, I think the game is today.  This IS Jan. 2, 2011, isn't it?