Time is Efficiency, Or Is It?

One would think that having a lot of time available would mean great efficiency in living one's life. Not true. With my COVID 10 Self-Quarantine in its 57th day, recently I came to a re-realization that I experienced many, many years ago while I was still teaching and administrating the Gifted Education Program for Glenview District 34 schools: "Handle each item only once!"

At that time, I came across an article that dealt with the efficient handling of tasks in the office. ONLY HANDLE EACH MAIL ITEM ONCE. Open it, read it, take action, ignore it, and delete  or file. This was true for e-mails as well as snail-mail received.

I have found at home recently, I have been handling many mail items as well as non-mail items any number of times. And am finding this disturbing. Let me give you a few examples.

Items accumulate on my desk. I will move them from place to place, sort them, make piles, partially deal with whatever needs dealing with, and go through the process again before handling, completing, filing,  or tossing. My desk is rarely empty!

Also, the items for filing go into the filing drawer before actually being filed in the filing cabinet below. There is a drawer for items I need to "hold" for future handling and a drawer for items with which I do not know what to do but do not want to toss. I go through these drawers now and then and rearrange, remove, deal with, finally file, toss, or just leave in the drawer to be handled over again.

Regarding items around the house when putting things away, whether recently having used them or having newly purchased them, I tend to leave them close to where they belong but not exactly where they belong.

For example, when returning things to the kitchen from elsewhere, I tend to leave them on the island counter corner at the entrance to the kitchen. Next, they are moved into the kitchen and placed near where they are stored. Finally, they are stored.

When emptying the dishwasher, I empty it by placing things on top of the counter across the width of the back kitchen wall near one of the six cabinets above, six cabinets below, or four drawers under the counter where the items live. From there, they eventually are put away in the place they belong.

If the item in the kitchen is dirty, it may be soaked in the sink and then put in the dishwasher where items are stored until the dishwasher is full and ready to be run or they may be hand washed and put onto the silicone mat to drain and dry before following one of the paths described above.

Items leaving the kitchen are placed on the kitchen island near the wall which leaves out into the living room and therefore headed towards the rest of the condo. From there they go in the general direction but most often not the final destination.

Groceries are emptied onto the kitchen island and the end closer to the windows. From there most are put away into the pantry in the hall which leads to the guest bathroom and laundry closet. But often some are dropped off on the guest bathroom vanity, or the pantry floor, or the laundry closet floor. Some are just left in the kitchen, pushed out of the way until I can get to them.

I put things on the guest bathroom vanity sink top if that is the general direction for which they are headed but not into the linen closet or the one cabinet or two drawers that are part of the vanity there where they belong. This happens later.

I leave things on the corner of the master bedroom vanity sink top but not placed into any one of the two cabinets or four drawers that are part of the vanity. That action is taken at another time. Sometimes I toss them into the sink if I am afraid that one of the cats might knock them off onto the floor.

I stack items coming into the bedroom and headed for the closet on the bookcase top outside my bedroom closet, next they are moved into the closet and often instead of being hung up on hooks or rods or put into one of the floor-to-ceiling cabinets or drawers that line the length of the closet, they are placed on the stool just inside the doorway.

If they are headed to the back of the closet with sports coats and more storage shelves and drawers, they are placed on the four drawer horizontal filing cabinet at the back of the closet before they end up where they are destined.

If they are headed to the bookcase just inside the bedroom and its shelves or three drawers or into one of the two bedside tables, I put the items on the leather bench between the bathroom and closet or in front of the books on one of the shelves on the bookcase itself.

I pile items leaving the bedroom on a difference shelf of the bookcase just inside the bedroom door where I also empty my pockets each night. Then they make their foray into the rest of the condo at a later time.

If the end destination is the guest bedroom with its clothes closet, five-tier shelf sored in the closet which contains excess kitchen/ cooking/ baking items, or the hobby closet and shelves above; they get tossed onto the guest bed, put on the luggage rack inside the closet, are placed on the hobby closet desk and sometimes more than one place as they make their way to find the place in which they are stored.

So what I am trying to say is that with all this additional time at home, by myself with only my two kitties, with nowhere to go and for the most part nothing urgent to do ... I am being so inefficient that I feel guilty about it!

I have been trying to get better at only handling each item one time, from pick up to delivery to destination, and am getting better but have a long way to go.

When many things have gotten out of place and living in limbo, I get the condo organized again by going in circles. Pick up an item or a few from here drop them off on the way to another place, pick up items from there and carry them to the next place in the continuing circle of the condo, etc untill everything is at least back in the correct vicinity.

If I am feeling really ambitious or if the piles of misplaced objects are beginning to tip and almost fall over, I start in one location finalizing all item placements and then move on to the next area. Sometimes this takes a few days but there are times when NOTHING IS OUT OF PLACE! Feels great when I accomplish this.

And sometimes I just say, "Fuck it!" figuring that I could also become obsessive and/or anal compulsive about how I live in the condo.

My preferred action is: Fuck it!

Clutter

These first photos are not of my home but to me, they speak of "CLUTTER."

Next are some collections which are in my home which some might consider cluttered.

Then an article follows about how clutter can cause emotional and stress problems.

Finally, my retort to the article follows with reference to Marie Kando, a Japanese organizing consultant and author who has written four books on organizing which have cocllectiely sold millions of copies and have been translated into many languages. 

(Cezanne's studio)

These are collections in my condo.

(opens in a new window)

This article talks about how a cluttered home can be a stressful home according to some researchers.

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/03/well/mind/clutter-stress-procrastination-psychology.html?fbclid=IwAR1rLi6sI0LbDoRqXcN25uDNIDv4INJWO2F0AD6P6TLm9YeOwVCRLzzWl_4

I would ask, "How about "Organized Clutter?" I find mine comforting. My collections flourish in every room of the condo including bathrooms and closets. Many of my collections (105 collections to be exact) have been given to Chicago Children's Museum as part of the permanent exhibit "Michael's Museum: A Curious Collection of Tiny Treasures." I still collect for me, although more thoughtfully as I get older.

Besides organized clutter around the house, there are one or two places that do get out of hand (both behind closed closet doors,) and which I eventually de-clutter, and then begin the process again. Also, if you follow this blog, you know that the area in front of my computer collects collections on its own, without help from me and often attributed to the "Computer Elves."

Marie Kondo (now on a Netflix series called "Tyding Up With Marie Kondo") says if something no longer brings you joy, get rid of it! The problem for me is that so many little things, with no place to display or "have out," so stored in plastic shoe boxes on the shelf in a closet, still do bring me joy.

I think that if someone were to give all those stored collections away, I might not notice. I am aware that while they exist, they take up memory storage in my brain which could be put to better use! But honestly, it is easier to just not think about them. Every now and then I take a box of stuff down from the closet shelf with which to "play" and periodically resurrect an item or two to keep out for display. 

I do not believe that I am attached to the "things" in an unhealthy way, often give them away when admired, and deaccession some collections every now and then. I have approached Chicago Children's Museum with a proposal to add more collections to Michael's Museum: A Curious Collection of Tiny Treasures, which has been a permanent exhibit there on Navy Pier since 2011. The proposal was accepted, budgeted by them for FY 2019, and work will soon begin on the details.

Meanwhile, I still enjoy my collections ... so I'm keepin' them ... for now! They bring me joy!

Sitting Here

Sitting here enjoying the day. Saturday January 9, 2015 ... oops ... no 2016! Snow is falling outside and 3-5 inches is expected. It is 3:33 PM and I have yet to get out of my "jammies" and into the day's clothes. Maybe I'll not!

I love the new work area, I call it "my desk" or "my office." It feels spacious, light, and friendly. I appreciate Gregory when I sit here in what used to be his space and I feel a little guilty but then a voice whispers, "Someone's gotta use it :-)"

I continue to fine tune the organization and order of the condo. Gregory taught me how to be neat. I used to start out neat, then get lazy and leave things around, then they would pile up, then I would push them aside and leave more. Periodically I would go on my "straightening rounds." Do you catch the irony? Making ROUND into STRAIGHT? A thankless and at times hopeless job.

Gregory taught me how to be more orderly if only out of respect for our living together. He helped me develop areas of my own where I could be messy, where I could work in my style not necessarily his. And he had his areas where he could be minimalist, structured, and organized.

Slowly being organized and orderly became the comfortable way for me. It was easier to put things back where they belonged, easier to create "a space for everything to live," and easier to clean up after oneself as one went along. It really did save time, made things easier to find, and harder to loose!

People always tell me, "You are so organized!" My answer is, "I am NOT organized. I am random and spontaneous in how I live. What you see is the outward appearance of what I have to do to survive inside of my chaotic mind and world!" 

When Gregory was diagnosed with Dementia/ Alzheimer's I guess I went into high gear orderliness. It became more important for things to be in the correct place so he could find them. Our life needed to be and became more predictable in those areas we could control. Our motto more strongly (not new but more) became, "Change those things you can and don't worry about those you cannot."

As the Dementia/ Alzheimer's progressed there was less and less that we could control so I became more and more orderly. It definitely bordered on the verge of compulsive but it served both Gregory and me well!

People who visit the condo, even on a drop in basis, are always amazed at how clean and orderly it is. They comment, "Even though there are many things around on every surface, it doesn't feel cluttered or overwrought or fussy."

They comment, "You have created a warm inviting space." "It feels like people live and love here." "You have created magic." "You curate your lives." "You set up common things in a way that turns them into shrines of beauty, love, and spirituality."

Even though Gregory only lives here now in spirit with me, I still love the condo and maybe more than before. While at times I feel lonely being here myself, I enjoy the antics and love of my two cats, Gigi and Emma. I feel safe, comfortable, contented, and if I may say so, when I look around at what we created, I feel like a grown up, successful person. I feel good about my space and I feel good about me.

I miss being able to spend time and share my life with Gregory but I still have talks with him and he talks to me as well. I know he is pleased for my life, my success, and my strength. I know that he is grateful for all I did for him throughout our 41 years and especially during the last 12 since the Dementia/ Alzheimer's diagnosis. I have learned a lot from him about live and about myself. I can continue to honor our union and our love by living my life with love of self, love for others, compassion, simplicity, forgiveness, and patience for myself and for those in my life.

Cleaning the Closets

Boy it feels good to organize one's life. To throw out things you no longer need. To give away clothes that you haven't worn in a long time. To break up and recycle boxes that you saved in case you had to return an appliance. To destroy paperwork that is no longer valid. To give away useful items that you no longer have a use for. To re-inventory your pantry. To toss all those expired medications, drugs, and ointments.

Boy does it feel good to rearrange shelves, drawers, and other surfaces so they make more sense today than they did a while ago. To hang clothes in an order that facilitates their selection each day. To iron all those shirts that have been patiently waiting. To find and mend all those buttons that have gone off on their own.

Boy it does feel good to organize one's physical life because when you do, you find that inadvertently you have organized your emotional life as well! Try it and let me know what you discovered.

P.S. If you find any wonderful tiny treasure trinkets that you think I might like to add to Michael's Museum, I am still holding on to those things. 😄

Party

Gregory's birthday is on July 4th along with our Nation's. This will be the fourth year that we have had an immediate world party inviting everyone we know and giving them automatic permission to bring guests. Usually thirty to forty people show up for appetizers, dinner, fireworks and birthday cake.

I am known for the style in which I throw a party. I like it to be set up ahead of time, organized, and self-serve so I can mingle with the guests. To this end the appetizer station is set before the guests arrive, all the dinner buffet items are in a row on the back counter or saran wrapped and in the refrigerator ready go. I have been known to place a red flashing arrow at the beginning of the buffet signaling the direction of flow. Next to the glasses and ice bucket, I post a sign listing available drinks and where they are located: on counter, in refrigerator, in ice chest on balcony.

The cake is on display in another corner of the counter island with small plates and forks standing by. By the front door there is a schedule of events and a menu. In the T.V. room there is a slide show running of a recent vacation or pictures of G or myself growing up depending on the event.

While friends and family enjoy our parties and anticipate the next (July 4th, Fall Fest, Christmas, etc) they also like to make fun of how well organized I am. So to them I propose the following new approach.

When the guests arrive they will receive a laminated card listing the drinks, menu, and events of the evening. A chip will be embedded in the card which will confirm their arrival time as they pass through the entry hall and activate a place for them on the next event's party list.

As they pass the appetizer or drink station the card will announce the options and silently notify me by cell phone if any of the food is running low. If the guest feels the need to use the rest room and it is already busy, the chip will automatically put them on a wait list and the card's LEDS will flash when the rest room is available.

On passing the gift table, the card will note if a gift is left and record its weight. It will also photograph and tag the gift with the giver's name for future reference when it will automatically generate a thank you note e-mail.

At the end of the party the card may be inserted in the reader at the computer located by front door to give the attendee an opportunity to take a survey regarding how they enjoyed the party, if the rest rooms were clean and in order, if their meal was ample and hot, if the dessert was to their liking and will ask for any suggestions for future parties. By taking the survey, the guest will be moved closer to the top of the next party invitation list as well as receive a 10% discount on their parking fees.

"We appreciate your holding and appologize for any inconvenience you may have encountered. There are no cashiers in the lobby. Please take your ticket with you and pay at the machines in the lobby before exiting. One moment please. Please wait. We are encountering technological difficulties and are working to correct them.  We thank you for your patience."

The Refrigerator

At dinner, sitting across from the refrigerator, I found myself thinking about what an ideal refrigerator would look like.

First question: Is there such a thing as an ideal refrigerator? I think not. I speak from experience having spend most of my teaching career looking for the ideal briefcase. Never found.

Second question: If there was such a thing as an ideal refrigerator, what would it look like. I like my refrigerator to be in order at all times. Now don't be thinking "alphabetical" but at least in order by category. And be thinking room enough to accommodate our food needs.

Here are some of the qualifications for meeting the criterion of ideal. The cheeses and lunch meats need to be in their drawer and the vegetables and the fruit in their various drawers. The butter needs to fit in its keeper.

The large door shelf holds the gallon of milk and the Soy Moo. In turn, the other door shelves hold, each their own category: jams; condiments like mustards, catsup, mayo and relish. (I was very pleased when I found pickle relish in a plastic squeeze bottle so it could live with the mustards etc.) Next are salad dressings, yogurts, fruit cups, and cooking sauces. I think that is eight door shelves in all?

The inside selves must contain upcoming meals, melons (too big and too heavy for the fruit drawer,) breads, eggs (wish there was a dozen scooped tray but what would I do when I had a few extra eggs and a new carton waiting?) Dairy like cottage cheese, sour cream, and cream cheese must live on the shelves. Each seem to have their own geographic location on the inside shelves.

The rack holding the soda cans does well but since there are only two rows, I have had to narrow it down to diet coke and LaCroix Water.

I hate, having returned from a shopping trip, having to stuff everything into the cold box just to make them fit, so I guess the ideal would be to have a refrigerator that would be large enough, and compartmentalized enough to meet our needs and possibly room for expansion and variations.

I am aware that I continue to narrow down what kind of refrigerated food we need (read "What I buy.") so that everything will fit where it belongs. For example I cannot add one more variety of mustard as there is no room in that door shelf. Another example, recently Gregory asked me to buy little cups of Tapioca and Rice Pudding. I gave in since I love him but am anguishing over where to keep them in the scheme of things.

So there you have it. I could make you feel better and say that I am NEUROTIC but I'll bet you think about (or don't allow yourself to think about) the same things.

Next time, the FREEZER and the following time - PANTRY SHELVES.