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It’s About Time Ruth Wong |
Half-finished projects
add to home's clutterWhat book have you read recently that gave you a fresh new way of looking at things?
For me it was "Making Peace with the Things in Your Life," a book about "Thing Management" by Cindy Glovinsky.
You know what those "things" are -- most of us have too many of them in our lives.
One reason we have so many Things is due to what Glovinsky calls "long engagements."
They occur when we embark on a project and gather the things necessary, put them aside, and buy more things, but never complete the original project.
Some long engagements hanging around my home are: recipes to try (I've begun purchasing some of the ingredients), clothes that need to be altered (I have the thread and notions), photos to send to new friends met on last year's trip to Italy (I've had reprints made and even bought notecards with a picture of Tuscany), a wedding gift to be sent, and palms for my patio that need decorative pots.
Do these sound familiar?
Only when these things are put together and projects are completed do they become what Glovinsky calls "Thing Marriages."
There are a number of obvious problems with long engagements, one being that it's so easy to lose parts of the project. When I was ready to try that recipe, I needed to find it before I could buy the rest of the ingredients.
And as for sending those pictures of Italy -- I had, then misplaced, the addresses of my new friends.
And having all those parts around can easily clutter our available space.
Another problem with long engagements is that one part may expire on you. Too many seedlings have died waiting to be planted.
It's also just plain tiring to have all those unfinished projects, or loose ends, in the brain.
Those long engagements can be money wasters too. I don't know a crafter who doesn't have boxes full of unused craft supplies. The dollar value can add up. Or else we go out and buy more of the things because we can't find the original.
Our long engagements are merely good intentions and sadly, many will never become "Thing Marriages" unless we make them so.
It's about time to put forth the effort to turn our long engagements into marriages.
Just think of the decrease in clutter, fewer loose ends in our mind, and the satisfaction of seeing the finished product.
Your assignment is to take note of all the long engagements lying around your home, pick one to focus on this week, and bring it to marriage.
Just think -- if you can end one long engagement a week, you can perform 20 "Thing Marriages" by the end of 2003!
Happy weddings!
In my next column I'll share why some people are more prone to long engagements. See you in two weeks!
"It's About Time," by Ruth Wong, owner of Organization Plus, runs the fourth Friday of each month. Contact her at "It's About Time," care of the Honolulu Star-Bulletin, 7 Waterfront Plaza, Suite 210, Honolulu 96813; or e-mail features@starbulletin.com
