There’s an old saying that work expands to fit available time and I do believe there’s a corollary that applies to junk and clutter, as well. I took a look around El Casa Móvil De Pennington recently and am simply amazed and mortified at how my available space has been consumed with clutter. A lot of it has to do with the rash of deliveries we’ve taken from The Brown Truck O’ Happiness lately (in the form of yet-to-be-discarded boxes), but by no means all. I’ve slowly but steadily expanded my collection of “stuff” since I went off the road… adding a scanner, a printer, a couple of boxes of old photos that I fully intend to scan but haven’t quite got around to (yet… I tell myself), a larger TV, a desktop PC (vs. the old laptop), a larger monitor… and the list goes on. Photographic Evidence:
Compare those shots to my early days in El Casa Móvil De Pennington:
Being overcome with clutter is but one example of how men absolutely require the presence of a woman in their lives, as things tend to get out of hand when we’re left to our own devices. All that said, the routine cleaning… vacuuming, dusting, taking out the trash, doing the dishes and the other mundane daily chores… (mostly) gets done without fail. It’s a merciless purging I’m in need of… which is to say I need a field day* in the worst sort of way.
Soon. But more than likely mañana. It's time for Happy Hour.
* military slang for those days spent entirely on cleaning and policing the area.
Compare those shots to my early days in El Casa Móvil De Pennington:
Being overcome with clutter is but one example of how men absolutely require the presence of a woman in their lives, as things tend to get out of hand when we’re left to our own devices. All that said, the routine cleaning… vacuuming, dusting, taking out the trash, doing the dishes and the other mundane daily chores… (mostly) gets done without fail. It’s a merciless purging I’m in need of… which is to say I need a field day* in the worst sort of way. 
Give me a space and I can fill it up! Stuff, stuff, stuff and all of the best intentions for me to give it the attention it deserves!
ReplyDeleteDr Pepper, too! LOL!
You need a handy girl to come in to tidy that mess up and cook you a nice guisado. You're looking way too thin, Primo.
ReplyDeletebut its all so very clutterful. Is that a Miles Davis album cover? Your spice rack looks MUCH healthier, you should use it more often. Please tell me that's not a pkg. of Brie sitting atop the stove. Hey, your floor looks very similar to my fridge what with all the New Belgium colors.
ReplyDeleteHey -- cleaning and dusting is a good thing! We're both pack rats around here. I tell my husband that our dessicated old bodies will be discovered someday beneath stacks and piles of crappola. But even that less than pleasant thought doesn't encourage up to purge the possessions -- especially books!
ReplyDeleteGood luck!!!
Buck, I take umbrage with this statement: "overcome with clutter is but one example of how men absolutely require the presence of a woman in their lives" My days in the Navy were for the most part spent on Aircraft Carriers back in the '70's in what is now known as "BW", before women were allowed onboard combatant's.
ReplyDeleteEvery day, three times a day we had "Sweepers" called away. This was a ship wide call to sweep up and clear all accumulated trash. Also, on both ships we had Field Day once a week (both ships were on Thursday) and on the day before we pulled into any port we had Field Day again as well as what they called Zone Inspection. Not a single female on either ship (or a married one for that matter).
You just have to buckle down and put it into a routine. Just like on the ship, three times a day at specific times every day, without fail.
I say that all the while my basement is filling up with an accumulation of junk that I can't explain. How funny is that.
BT: Jimmy T sends.
I beg your pardon, sir, but the four women living under my roof are the source of clutter and disarray. I'm a neat freak in need of order and discipline, constantly thwarted at every turn.
ReplyDeleteI keep my toolbox locked, keys hidden away, so that I can have at least one thing in my life that is organized.
We didn't call it "sweepers" on the subs, but will still kept the place tidy.
I think many of us clutterers leave boxes and such because we don't have access to dumpsters. A person hates to block a small trash can with just one item...
ReplyDeleteBuck, I gotta get your secret on keeping the build of an eighteen year old. I walk every day and I still have the build of a donut eater!
Cynthia sez: "Give me a space and I can fill it up! "
ReplyDeleteSpace is the KEY consideration here. I don't have much of it, therein lies the problem. And yeah, Dr. Pepper! We move a LOT of that stuff through here!
Daphne sez: "You're looking way too thin, Primo."
Yeah, I know. I've been skinny my whole life, but this is ridiculous. I'm working on it.
Jay: Yeah, that IS a Miles Davis 3-CD album laying there. Good catch, same with the brie. And what's wrong with brie? Answer: not a thing! :D
Moogie: Getting rid of all my books was perhaps the HARDEST thing about downsizing life to fit in an RV. I hear ya there.
Jimmy: You may not have had wimmen on those carriers back in the day, but you had crusty ol' chiefs... who fill the same sort of role when it comes to cleaning up. My statement about women in this space was brief by design, considering the volumes I COULD have written.
I, and every other male who's ever shared living quarters with a woman knows ALL about the "Honey-Do" list. For the record... I am usually neat and tidy to a fault. I think it's that military thing.
Buckskins: Aside from what Jimmy said... I hear you, too! I may have mentioned this elsewhere, but the first time I returned from an extended (read as: over two weeks) bid'niz trip The Second Mrs. Pennington confessed to me she was was shocked at how cluttered up the house had become in my absence... and apologized for her previous nagging and accusations in this space. Nonetheless, women DO give us incentive to help keep up the spaces, no?
Darryl: re: the 18-year old body secret. It's in the genes. My father had the same sort of build, curse him.
Maybe it is time to hit the road - just to clean the clutter. I find that if you move every four years or so, you keep the clutter down.
ReplyDeleteIf you find someone who'll clean up all that clutter, send 'em on to my house, please. I hold several degrees in Clutter, Junk, Mess and Procrastination. Books, DVDs, CDs and clothes from the 8th grade are my downfall. I don't much care 'til someone threatens to visit. :-)
ReplyDeleteKaty: LOL! I feel pretty much the same. Visitors are great incentive to spruce up the place!
ReplyDelete