The Clutter Conversation
Or How A Piece Of Plastic May Change My Life
Photograph by sergis blog (cc)
My name is Ellie Blunt and I am a clutter-aholic.
I say this with conviction to the crowded-yet-empty room. In my mind, the observer sits, head propped in her hands, pushing her glasses back onto her nose bridge. The critic is posed on the edge of her seat, notebook in hand and has begun to scribble something. The logical part of me paces back and forth and the creative side, runs her finger’s through her hair, ready to problem solve. She thinks she is a team player, but is often at odds with Reason (aka logic).
I have their attention with my introduction and they respond with “Hello Ellie.” Then there is a pause, exquisite silence and I enjoy it.
The critic is the first to speak, “That is true Ellie, you are a clutter-aholic. Everything is piled up everywhere. How can you live in this mess?”
“It is a sign of creativity. She is constantly working on stuff,” my creative side comes to my defense.
“But is that the most productive way?” asks Reason.
The observer watches all this without comment.
This is a conversation I often have with myself when things get busy-crazy. These are the sides of me I commune with during self-hypnosis and very often each serves its purpose well…until they gang up on me. The most recent incident was when I went shopping to stock up on tea for the office. My normally organized purse was in its own state of crisis and this became known to everyone in the grocery store when I had to go excavating not only for my credit card, but also for my “user loyalty card” (yes, I want those points to save on my gas expenses). Out flew old receipts, lipstick, cell-phone, eye drops, Aspirin vials, and a few unmentionables. All this trouble was to save a few cents on a gallon of gas. Was it worth it?
The answer is yes. Yes, all the ungraceful moments of my life circumstances leaking out of my purse for the world to see was worth the trouble. Sure, I will save a tad on my next tank of petrol. But, the incident in question tells me something more is going on inside me. I have let some hecticness filter in and affect me. I am not taking enough time out for myself (I do not believe I meditated yesterday). It also reeks of a need to simplify again, to reconsider a new organizational system (I do like a good system).
As I pulled out my abundant key ring (remembering I had my loyalty card attached to it), the wad of plastic and metal seemed really overbearing. There was a sudden flashback of trying to find my office supply store card on it, only to realize it had worn away and had released itself into the wilds of the world, becoming another piece of plastic litter. Unacceptable.
While perusing buzzpond.com, I found a potential solution, a new system for organizing loyalty cards. The name of this fabulous thing is simply The KeyRing Thing. Basically, it lists all your loyalty card barcodes on one card (holding a total of six loyalty cards), thus combining a series of annoying little plastic tags or several cards that take up space. The reality is, you could probably make one card yourself by combining all the tags and laminating them onto card stock. But for a small shipping and handling fee (about $2 a card), this could be a really useful piece of plastic to carry around (provided you can find your wallet in your purse or briefcase - lol).
As a hypnotist, I appreciate things that easily modify behavior, whether you trance out for it or not. Therefore, I have ordered said card and will give it a go. My creative self is still thinking it would be fun to make my own card, but Reason has won this one (this is cleaner, neater, and by the time I buy the card stock and lamination supplies, the cost will well exceed $2). My inner critic seems satisfied and is taking a coffee break and the observer? Well, she is always watching.
Visit KeyRingThing to learn more.
Tags: The KeyRing Thing
