OT: A Challenge To Distract And Inspire
zuz...@webtv.net
Everyone I talk to and many in the newsgroups I read have expressed the
same sentiments about the war... it's pretty damn depressing.
It becomes especially difficult to stomach when it seems that every
channel is in "all war, all the time" mode and you can't escape it, or
become obsessed and stay glued to the TV. Personally, I think that
watching too much of the war can be very destructive as the reality is
that most of us have absolutely no power to do anything to change what
is happening right now. We can only feel a sense of helplessness, and
fear and sadness for the troops and innocent civilians tthat have been,
are being, and will be killed. Sometimes you have to stop watching for
your own mental health, and I would like to offer a challenge to those
of you that should take a break from the madness. I think you'll find
that if you meet that challenge you'll feel a little bit better. :-)
(plus, you'll have spent some constructive time *not* watching the war!)
First a little history:
A little less than a week ago I posted to a "clutter" newsgroup looking
for some articles about hoarding behavior that I could present to one of
my employers, who I was trying to convince to help me rescue some cats
from another employee (a long and painful story I won't go into here.)
The people in the NG were very, very nice and I started to read some of
the threads. I hadn't realized what a very real problem clutter is for
some people, and how some go so far as to have real emotional ties to
it. It made me sad, yet I was also inspired and motivated. It's a very
interesting group to read and very often you find people posting lists
of everything they "declutter" (which made me feel a little guilty about
that little stack of papers on the dining room table I hadn't yet got
around to going through.)
Needless to say, over the last week I have thought about them a lot and
I've found myself paying more attention to what I do, and have started
putting things away (cases of cat food for example) as soon as I bring
them in the door, instead of setting them on the table/counter/etc. and
doing it a liitle later. It's actually very motivating and leaves you
with a good feeling. And it snowballs!
In the NG someone started a thread about doing *one* thing, and it was
amazing the *positive* effect it had on everyone that responded, so I
thought I would bring that idea over here in the hopes of taking
people's minds off the war for a little while at least and see what
happens, so here is my challenge to you:
Turn off the war NOW, put on some music, and do *one* thing you've been
meaning to get around to but have put off, then report back and let us
know what it was. I did a bunch of things today and am feeling pretty
darn good. I:
-cleaned out most of the garage and threw a bunch of crap away I know I
will never use
-put up the new storage shelves and tossed the rickety old ones
-did a couple of loads of laundry, folded it coming out of the dryer and
put it away
-brought cat food up from the car and put it away
-went through a bag of stuff I had taken out of my old car, left in the
garage and forgotten about
-shredded papers I don't need
-rewarded myself with some kitty snuggling :-)
So there you have it. A distraction that will do you some good. Give it
a try. I think you'll feel better. :-)
Megan
"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do
nothing."
-Edmund Burke
Learn The TRUTH About Declawing
http://www.stopdeclaw.com
Zuzu's Cats Photo Album:
http://www.PictureTrail.com/zuzu22
Karen Chuplis
zuz...@webtv.net at zuz...@webtv.net wrote on 3/26/03 5:22 PM:
> The people in the NG were very, very nice and I started to read some of
> the threads. I hadn't realized what a very real problem clutter is for
> some people, and how some go so far as to have real emotional ties to
> it. It made me sad, yet I was also inspired and motivated. It's a very
> interesting group to read and very often you find people posting lists
> of everything they "declutter" (which made me feel a little guilty about
> that little stack of papers on the dining room table I hadn't yet got
> around to going through.)
Heh. I'm trying to get ready to move sometime in the semi near future and it
is "forcing" me to declutter. Dang it's hard. Not that I'm as cluttered as
some, but boy do papers and magazines stack up. You have to be ruthless
about those. I don't know why it's so difficult. Have I *really* got any
intention to make all those recipes? I also need to learn to rotate cat
toys. My place looks like a five year old hit it most times. I'm quite
certain that they wouldn't miss certain things, but I always wonder "what if
they feel like playing with X if I am out?" When truly, there are pretty
certain things that are the ones they play with. It's a challenge allright,
but it does feel quite good to go through a stack of old bills (why, I ask
you do I think I will need a phone bill from a year ago? But still I worry
and keep it.) and get things whittled away.
Karen
zuz...@webtv.net
>sometime in the semi near future and it is
>"forcing" me to declutter. Dang it's hard.
>Not that I'm as cluttered as some, but boy
>do papers and magazines stack up. You
>have to be ruthless about those. I don't
>know why it's so difficult. Have I *really*
>got any intention to make all those
>recipes?
If I'm reading this correctly, a lot of the magazines you are saving are
for recipes? If so you can get a three ring notebook and those clear
plastic sleeves made to fit a notebook and simply tear out the pages you
need, put them in the sleeves, and then organize them in the notebook by
category. That way when you need a recipe you can take it right out of
the notebook and if you happen to spill something on it, it will be no
big deal to just wipe it off as it will be in a plastic sleeve. Then all
those pesky magazines can go!
>I also need to learn to rotate cat toys. My
>place looks like a five year old hit it most
>times. I'm quite certain that they wouldn't
>miss certain things, but I always wonder
>"what if they feel like playing with X if I
>am out?" When truly, there are pretty
>certain things that are the ones they play
>with.
Get two wicker baskets of whatever size is appropriate and split the
toys between them. Put one away in the closet and when you are ready to
rotate, put the toys that are out back in their basket and switch it
with the one in the closet.
Megan - looking forward to hearing what *one thing* you accomplished :-)
Karen M.
Wow, Megan! I just jumped on the newsgroup from Google to see what was
going on (I've been busy lately trying to get work done *and* tear up
my front lawn) and the first thing that pops up is this thread and it
made me feel quite inspired! I have several in-house projects to do
and they are, indeed, a challenge when they've been piling up. Here's
one thing I did last weekend (does it count if I did it *before* this
thread??):
I went through my filing cabinet and cleared out *all* the old crap in
there (do I really need rental agreement information from 5 years
ago?). It felt great! :)
Karen
MaryL
<zuz...@webtv.net> wrote in message
news:11641-3E...@storefull-2134.public.lawson.webtv.net...
>
> Everyone I talk to and many in the newsgroups I read have expressed the
> same sentiments about the war... it's pretty damn depressing.
>
> It becomes especially difficult to stomach when it seems that every
> channel is in "all war, all the time" mode and you can't escape it, or
> become obsessed and stay glued to the TV. Personally, I think that
> watching too much of the war can be very destructive as the reality is
> that most of us have absolutely no power to do anything to change what
> is happening right now. We can only feel a sense of helplessness, and
> fear and sadness for the troops and innocent civilians tthat have been,
> are being, and will be killed. Sometimes you have to stop watching for
> your own mental health, and I would like to offer a challenge to those
> of you that should take a break from the madness. I think you'll find
> that if you meet that challenge you'll feel a little bit better. :-)
> (plus, you'll have spent some constructive time *not* watching the war!)
>
> amazing the *positive* effect it had on everyone that responded, so I
> thought I would bring that idea over here in the hopes of taking
> people's minds off the war for a little while at least and see what
> happens, so here is my challenge to you:
>
> Turn off the war NOW, put on some music, and do *one* thing you've been
> meaning to get around to but have put off, then report back and let us
> know what it was. I did a bunch of things today and am feeling pretty
> darn good.
>
> a try. I think you'll feel better. :-)
>
> Megan
>
>
> "The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do
> nothing."
>
> -Edmund Burke
>
> Learn The TRUTH About Declawing
> http://www.stopdeclaw.com
>
> Zuzu's Cats Photo Album:
> http://www.PictureTrail.com/zuzu22
>
Okay, Megan, you inspired me. Here is what I did (yesterday and today):
-took Duffy to the vet for exam and nail clip; took Holly to the vet's tech
for nail clip
-returned a defective microwave that was still under warranty
-weeded two small flower gardens; my azaleas (lots of them!) are in full
bloom, so it was time to spruce up some of the other beds
-took a piece of pecan pie to my mother at the nursing home (this might not
count because I visit her 3 times a week, and I regularly take pecan pie to
her - her favorite)
-took an oil painting to my mother at the nursing home and hung it for her
(this does count! - I finished the painting some ago but procrastinated
about taking it to her)
-took my cell phone to my mother's room at the nursing home and called my
sister so they could talk for awhile
-shipped 2 oil paintings to a friend
-checked the completed Income Tax forms for my mother and me and verified
all calculations; now I can mail them on Monday
-arranged to have a handyman come in next week and do some basic repairs
-filled all the bird feeders and washed the 3 birdbaths
-cleaned cat litter boxes and replaced with fresh litter
-shopped for groceries and extra cat litter, put supplies away, then let
out a big "whew!"
-"gifted" myself with a good night's sleep; I had been overwhelmingly
tired, so I didn't even set the alarm clock
-took some time out to watch the third round of the golf Player's
Championship and also the women's singles final at the World Figure Skating
Championship; sat beside a window where I could also watch the birds and
flowers (yay! - a day with lots of relaxation interspersed with spurts of
work)
-spent lots of time with a cat (usually Duffy) in my lap, sometimes working
on other projects at the same time and sometimes just relaxing and enjoying
them (the real "quality time" of my day)
MaryL
Photos of Duffy and Holly: http://tinyurl.com/6amr
Karen Chuplis
wrote on 3/29/03 10:04 PM:
Wow. I feel useless ;)
Karen
MaryL
"Karen Chuplis" <kchu...@earthlink.net> wrote in message
news:BAABDEF0.25AA%kchu...@earthlink.net...
> Wow. I feel useless ;)
>
> Karen
>
Don't feel bad. That's exactly what I intend to do tomorrow -- be useless
all day.
MaryL
Steve Touchstone
wrote:
>in article v8cr671...@corp.supernews.com, MaryL at stan...@yahoo.com
>wrote on 3/29/03 10:04 PM:
>
>>
>> <zuz...@webtv.net> wrote in message
>> news:11641-3E...@storefull-2134.public.lawson.webtv.net...
<snip>
I thought we were supposed to do "one" thing so I cleaned a month's
worth of stuff off the computer desk. Looks Like Maryl did a whole
week's worth.
Tomorrow I'm going to spend all day looking for something I cleaned
off the desk.
--
Steve Touchstone
email stou...@sirinet.net
home page http://www.sirinet.net/~stouchst/index.html
MaryL
> >Wow. I feel useless ;)
> >
> >Karen
> >
> I thought we were supposed to do "one" thing so I cleaned a month's
> worth of stuff off the computer desk. Looks Like Maryl did a whole
> week's worth.
>
> Tomorrow I'm going to spend all day looking for something I cleaned
> off the desk.
> --
> Steve Touchstone
> email stou...@sirinet.net
> home page http://www.sirinet.net/~stouchst/index.html
That's always been my problem -- put off everything as long as possible,
then overwork myself in catch-up mode for awhile, then back to "useless" (as
Karen so aptly described it). And, yes, I've also done just you
described -- clean things up, put them away, then I can never find them
again!
Steve, I enjoyed your landscape pictures. You should add some more (then
you can claim it as one of Megan's inspirations).
Fat Freddy
>> have put off, then report back and let us know what it was.
I ate a piece of left over pizza and took a nap. I was putting it off
until noon, but this thread inspired me to do it at 10am.
MaryL
"Fat Freddy" <ptg...@pacSPAMBLOCKbell.net> wrote in message
news:300320030951022761%ptg...@pacSPAMBLOCKbell.net...
I like that concept. I think I'll go have an ice cream sandwich.
Immediately!
MaryL
Karen Chuplis
stou...@sirinet.net wrote on 3/30/03 1:34 AM:
>>>
>> Wow. I feel useless ;)
>>
>> Karen
>>
> I thought we were supposed to do "one" thing so I cleaned a month's
> worth of stuff off the computer desk. Looks Like Maryl did a whole
> week's worth.
>
> Tomorrow I'm going to spend all day looking for something I cleaned
> off the desk.
LOL!!!!!
Karen
Karen Chuplis
ptg...@pacSPAMBLOCKbell.net wrote on 3/30/03 11:53 AM:
LOL!!!
zuz...@webtv.net
>Wow. I feel useless ;)
zuz...@webtv.net
>newsgroup from Google to see what was
>going on (I've been busy lately trying to
>get work done *and* tear up my front
>lawn) and the first thing that pops up is
>this thread and it made me feel quite
>inspired! I have several in-house projects
>to do and they are, indeed, a challenge
>when they've been piling up. Here's one
>thing I did last weekend (does it count if I
>did it *before* this thread??):
No. :-D
>I went through my filing cabinet and
>cleared out *all* the old crap in there (do I
>really need rental agreement information
>from 5 years ago?). It felt great! :)
It does, doesn't? It's the time leading up to getting started that sucks
the worst, but once you jump in the momentum builds and before you know
it you're done!
zuz...@webtv.net
>newsgroup from Google to see what was
>going on (I've been busy lately trying to
>get work done *and* tear up my front
>lawn) and the first thing that pops up is
>this thread and it made me feel quite
>inspired! I have several in-house projects
>to do and they are, indeed, a challenge
>when they've been piling up. Here's one
>thing I did last weekend (does it count if I
>did it *before* this thread??):
No. :-D
>I went through my filing cabinet and
>cleared out *all* the old crap in there (do I
>really need rental agreement information
>from 5 years ago?). It felt great! :)
It does, doesn't? It's the time leading up to getting started that sucks
Ginger-lyn Summer
Clutter? I'm the Queen of it!
I wish I could get it together to do something, but find myself
completely overwhelmed just by the newsgroups, e-mails, private
groups, lists and such I'm on. Anybody got any help for that? I have
over 200 messages in my inbox I need to clean out; I have four
websites that badly need updated; and forget even *trying* to get to
cleaning out my basement!
Arrrgggghhhhhh!!!!!
Ginger-lyn
Feeling Completely Overwhelmed By Everything!
MaryL
"Steve Touchstone" <stou...@sirinet.net> wrote in message
news:3e869d18...@news.sirinet.net...
Okay, I followed Megan's instructions this time and did only ONE thing. I
finally made it to WalMart to buy some glucosamine & chondroitin. I ran out
a couple of weeks ago and have procrastinated ever since, but I really
needed to get some more. Other than that, I still intend to spend the day
being useless (I stole that from Karen - really like the description for a
day spent relaxing). I tend to be one of those people who alternate between
times when I'm a work-a-holic and other times when I can just sit and watch
the clutter accumulate. Now is one of those times (no-work-day).
Karen Chuplis
wrote on 3/30/03 3:58 PM:
I have a friend who named his private getaway cottage "Camp Useless" :)
Karen
zuz...@webtv.net
>Clutter? I'm the Queen of it!
>I wish I could get it together to do
>something, but find myself completely
>overwhelmed just by the newsgroups,
>e-mails, private groups, lists and such I'm
>on. Anybody got any help for that?
Yes. Turn off the computer and do something else. :-) I've found that
all that stuff can be a big time-suck and I have found myself making a
point of spending less time there and focusing on real life.
>I have over 200 messages in my inbox I
>need to clean out; I have four websites
>that badly need updated; and forget even
>*trying* to get to cleaning out my
>basement!
>Arrrgggghhhhhh!!!!!
>Ginger-lyn
>Feeling Completely Overwhelmed By
>Everything!
Part of your troubles are because you are looking at *everything* that
needs to be done and it does seem overwhelming when you lump it all
together. That's why it's good to focus on only *one* thing and get it
done. Once it's done you'll feel better and it's one less thing you have
to do later. Plus, as they say, one thing leads to another. So, pick one
thing, maybe something easy, and get it over with. :-)
Megan
MaryL
"Karen Chuplis" <kchu...@earthlink.net> wrote in message
news:BAACD52C.27A0%kchu...@earthlink.net...
Love it!!
MaryL
Lyn
However, it's ever been a problem for me, not the "watching the war"
part (I consider it all propoganda and utterly bastardized), nor the
clutter part.
I have a routine that helps me cut down on clutter - when cleaning the
house, I work for 45 mins straight, then take 15 minute breaks to do
something relaxing. That way, it never becomes overwhelming. When I
watch TV, I use the commercial breaks to do little things around the
house - you can get a lot done in 3 minutes. At night (before bed), I
collect all of the things in the kitchen and living rooms that need
putting away, and do so. If I haven't used something in two years, it
gets donated. All of our mail gets sorted when it comes in the door,
and either recycled, or put into each of our cubby holes in our
secretary desk. Everybody is responsible for their own messes. These
are just some of the habits I have developed to cut down on the
housework. They seem to be working pretty well.
-L.