PS My photography debacle

Yesterday I focused my attention once again on my craft room for Project Simplify. I actually set out decided to finish this mess you saw yesterday. I figured I could do it.

And then, I hit a road block. A good one, mind you, but still, an emotional-can’t-let-go-I-must-be-going-crazy road block. I decided to purge my photo boxes.

The first thing I realized is that I had never done this before. I’m a child of the 80’s, so was brought up to cherish pictures. 35mm film was expensive back then, and we did not waste it. And when we got our prints back, we kept them, even if they were blurry or had evidence of the photographer’s fingers. A picture had to be unrecognizable to be thrown away. Or maybe my obsession is actually founded in the fact that I chose Photography as my major in college.

That mindset was highlighted by my hundreds of snapshots of landscape, some of which I can’t quite recognize. There is also a whole section on Walt Disney World parades, and some snapshots of friends from summer camp whose faces I cannot name.

So I decided to tackle them as I do most of my things. If I had to think about it for more than a second, it’s gone. If it’s blurry or badly taken, it’s gone. If it’s of a friend I can’t remember, it’s gone. If it’s from the digital age and I have the prints, it’s gone. And for those portfolios on Disney and the Scottish landscape, they were narrowed down to three shots.

My two boxes quickly became a third of a box. And now I can honestly say that I love all the pictures I have.

PS Craft room day 2

I must be honest. When I got home on Monday, the last thing I wanted to do was organize. And that is saying something. You see, I L-O-V-E organizing. I find it therapeutic, and actually look forward to it. But I had a rough week, in all sense of the word. And I had a fantastic weekend, which recharged me. But I did no lounging around, and all I wanted was to get home and plop in front of the TV.

I figured if I didn’t get the ball rolling, it just wouldn’t get done at all. So I mustered my courage and tackled the worst cupboardin the room. And boy, did I feel good about it!

So last night it was day 2 and I was pumped. Since I had some empty space on my bookshelves, I figured they should go next. Which made me scared. Here is a picture of what they looked like.

         

You see, I was brought up to worship books. My mamma taught me you don’t donate, sell or throw away books. They are a legacy. I think that sounds nice. Until they become a burden.

I did some long and hard thinking during the day, and came to the conclusion that I tend to:

1-      Not want to get rid of books I got as a present. Even if I never ever read it and never will. Which is ridiculous, I know. Part of me wants to please. The other part doesn’t want to offend anyone. Not a good combo.

2-     I get attached to the physical item instead of treasuring the memory. I have books I read fifteen years ago and found them ‘ok’. But I remember the summer holidays I read them as if it were yesterday. I have books about random topics, such as ‘women and contemporary art’ which mean little to me. But the professor who required that book was awesome. So I tend to clutter.

3-     I love the look of a bookshelf. And that means that if I have any empty space, I will fill it up with books. Which needs to stop.

Buying a kindle was step one. Getting rid of useless books should be step two. So here is my pile of use-less books:

And after a lot of practice in getting detached from the ghost of the books past, here is what my shelves look like now.

Yes, shoes! For several reasons:

1-      It encouraged me to purge more books.

2-     I had no place to put these shoes in my bedroom, so they were out on the floor.

3-     They are not the best smelling things in the world, I’ll be the first to admit. So leaving them out of my room if the best thing I can think of right now.

I also moved my chair around to be closer to the window, and had to move the art cupboard to the other wall because it was too tight.

Now here is what I have to tackle for the next three evenings: