Rat-a-Pack-Packus
Adrianus Homo Sapius Pack Ratus
I confess, I'm a pack rat.
If That's Not Bad Enough, I'm Horribly Sentimental
I have kept every photo, every card, every greeting, every letter that anyone has ever sent me in my life. I also have every document sent to me from my first employer. All that took me nearly 7 hours to clear out, sort out, label, and alphabetize.
Room For Girly Wifey Things
All that, so that my wife-to-be would have at least a decent amount of shelf space for her stuff when she does come over. So, 7 hours, and 4 large bags of precious things garbage later (OH THE AGONY) the study is ready to accept a new member.
Dump Pack Dump Pack
This is not the first time I've done a major house cleaning. I've acquired a legendary status being a keeper of stuff in the family. In my more disorganized past, I would go crazy looking for items I lost in my piles of trash. My mum can attest to seeing me reach numerous "I'VE HAD IT WITH THIS TRASH!!!!" moments. That would usually be followed by hours of re-arranging, re-packing, and re-sorting. I've experimented with dozens of packing ideas, and perhaps the most recent offered some relief when it came to retrieval.
All I Need Is A Search Engine For Non-Virtual Stuff
Well, not strictly. Just one idea with regard to organization. Lately, after my brushes with Getting Things Done™ by David Allen, as well as Leo's Zenhabits, I've taken the cue to personal reduction and organization. Well, perhaps not so much on the reduction part - I'm more into being able to find all the stuff I've packed and kept. I've even created a "Wedding Box" on a "Wedding Shelf" for all the wedding receipts, documents, agreements/proposals, resources, ideas, and logistics (Angpows or "red packets" mostly) so that I only need to look
If I can offer some advice on being an effective Pack Rat, it'll be:
- Get Yourself Some Sealed Boxes. Best thing I ever did was to get some of those sealed plastic boxes for some of my memorabilia/paraphernalia. Admit it, you're not going to need to access about 95% of the stuff you're packing, so if you really want to keep them, put them in a sturdy box that will keep the nasties from eating your memories away. Boxes also stack nicely in cabinets.
- Indexing: Categorize and Alphabetize and Uniform-size. It's not possible for me to have a single general reference storage space, so I group all my items by context. Stationery, financial documents, and books are internally alphabetized within their contextual "Study Room" boxes/shelves. I file as often as I can, even with 4R photo albums and ticket stubs, so that I can maintain some form of uniformity of form for easy grabbing when I need something.
- When In Doubt Throw It Away; When In Doubt, Keep It. There's no real effective habit here, it's really up to you. Often I've kept something that I've regretted keeping, but every time I throw something away I tend to feel a vivid guilt that cannot be shaken off. Sorry, I can't decide either one for you - I'm thinking both work just as well, so pick which ever's appropriate.
- Set Aside One Day At Least To Do It. A no brainer. Your effective pack-ratting days will never come to fruition if you never make time. All I do want to say is expect it to take a long time, probably longer than you think it will.
- Take a Nice Shower After. I did, because I stank and was covered in a thin layer of dust and mold. And it felt great.
The end result of my 7 hour exercise is a neat, well sorted room, with loads of space for the missus-to-be. I want to see her face when she sees all the room I made for her.
Oh, and I left her 2 empty boxes for her stuff.
Technorati Tags: family, furniture, gtd, home, home building, packing, packrat, zenhabits
Comments