Deliverable

I keep looking at my 2nd hard-drive to make sure that it’s actually true. It’s 12:38 a.m. here on December 31st, 2005 and the detritus does indeed appear to be gone from my computer. There are some miscellaneous photos to go thru, but I’m calling that a project and I’ve created an e-reminder in my new electronic tickler file. (It’s an e-version of the 43 folders hard system I’ve been using, without the 31 days… only the months.)

This was one of the major remaining things on my to-do list before 2005 was thru.

It feels terrific!

(Wish I could take credit for the Buddha desktop idea… I totally stole it from this guy.)

There are only a few things left on my list for 2005. It’s going to be tight, but I’m damn sure going to try and finish them all!

It’s the final push. 8:01 p.m. Friday night, December 30th 2005. I still have things on my list to do. I will not quit! I will prevail! Down with disorder!

• Avoid polyester, rayon, or otherwise unnatural fibers in shirts, especially short sleeve ones. They don’t breathe well and get hot and sweaty in the summer. The whole point of a short sleeve shirt is to stay cool, right?
• Avoid light colored khakis. They tend to look white and white colored pants only look good if you’re yahting, and even then they’re highly questionable.
• Avoid pleated casual pants. They might look ok in a suit or a dress pant, but not so good in crisp khakis… no matter what that Gap marketing campaign might say.
• I’m not really a sweater person. They might be fine if I spent alot of time outdoors chopping wood or something, but they’re not so good when you have to go from the cold outside to the warm inside. Better off to get a good down jacket for those blistering cold days. If you have to layer do it with a couple of thin shirts.
• Don’t pack your bathing suit away in the winter months. There’s always the chance that you’ll be traveling some place with a hot tub.
• Beware of “reevaluating that piece of clothing next season”. You probably won’t.
• If you can’t easily access those high top sneakers in the back of your closet you’ll probably never wear them and should either throw them out or donate them. Sure they cost a hundred bucks when you bought them 15 years ago but when’s the last time you played basketball anyway?
• Bring along someone you trust to help abjudicate your fashion choices. Cleaning out the closet can be fun!

We’re coming up on the end of 2005. Though I don’t know the exact dates, I think that I began reading David Allen’s “Getting Things Done” back in January of this year. I set up my 43 folders. I started to clear the clutter from my life. In April I made my first post on Deliverable. What this process has shown me is that I do much better when the detritus is removed from my environment and I have the proper buckets set up to capture all of the input in my life.

With that in mind I’ve decided to set some agressive “de-clutter” goals for the remainder of the year. I really want to start 2006 with a space that will support me in the quest for my dreams. This past year has taught me that one of my greatest strengths can also be one of my biggest weaknesses. I tend to think very randomly, making leaps from on thing to another very quickly. This is a really cool thing… I think I make associations that others do not at times. However if there is clutter in my work environment it can be difficult for me to focus. At times I will literally walk in circles if the disarray is bad enough.

So here they are. I’ve got a really busy schedule this month with traveling and the holidays, but I am committed to achieving these things.

By 12/31/05 I will complete the following

• Island of obsolete technology gone from my kitchen. All of the pile will be given away or dumped. (completed 1/1/06) Ok, it took a couple or so hours of 2006 to get this out the door, but it’s gone. I still have to decommission the old hard drives (they’re not as easy to take apart as one would think) but the rest of the junk is gone! Woohoo!
• Camera and cases will go back to VA. (completed 12/22/05)
• Top left kitchen cabinet w/junk cleared & organized (completed 12/7/05)
• Boxes under microwave cleared & organized (completed 12/30/05) – For maximum organization I could use one of those boxes that hold little nuts and bolts and such, but the jar/ziplock solution that I have in there will work for now.
• Extra set of dishes purchased from BBByond (completed 12/7/05)
• Create a shelf next to sink for dryer and toothbrush (changed: see below)
• Purchase a wall mount hair-dryer. (changed: see below)
• Where the heck do I put the darn hair dryer? M. makes some good points, mainly about the efficacy of said wall mounted hair dryer and the fact that it would take up just as much space as a simple basket. I may go back to the whole shelf idea. Stay tuned. (see below)
• Attach hook for hair dryer (completed 12/30/05) – I opted for the simplest route. Hopefully the hook will stay attached, but we’ll see.
• Closet by my room: Assess. Junk gone and better buckets for whats there (completed 12/30/05)
• Closet in living room: Assess. Junk gone and better buckets for whats there (mostly completed) There are a couple of file boxes that I’d like to go through to see if I can throw away more stuff. I’d also like to label what’s in the small boxes as well. I’m learning that any detritus that’s hiding in my apartment weighs on the brain even if you’re not fully aware of it. I plan to set this as a project to complete by the end of January.
• End table drawer cleared (completed 12/7/05) – I’m making way for the chest that I will build in 2006 for this space
• Living room desk: Zen space for morning writing – Junk gone. Chargers relocated. Simple pen holder & stapler there. (completed 12/20/05)
• Studio: VHS tapes. Keepers to a box and stored beneath bed. The rest trashed or given away. Shelf clear for binders and supplies. (completed a while back, not sure of the exact date.)
• Drawers under phone – Contents organized into smaller boxes for easy access. Want to know what’s in these boxes and have one place to go for all of my office supply type things. (completed 12/7/05)
• Under bed: Organized. I want to know what’s under there and be able to easily access things. Cords all to one box. Eliminate the multiple bag solution I’m currently using. (mostly completed) Here’s another task that I’d like to revisit by the end of January. It’s a heck of alot better under my bed than it was when I began, but I’d like to clear and organize it even more. Especially since I’ll be moving a new bed in there within the next week or so. Stay tuned.

I feel really motivated to complete these things. I believe that I can do it. I will find the time.
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12/7/05 – Mo’ Stuff

• Organize the shelf above the sink – Trash what I don’t need, organize the rest. (completed 12/7/05)
• Organize the shelves above the stove – Trash what I don’t need, organize the rest. (completed 12/7/05)
• Organize the silverware drawer – Trash what I don’t need, organize the rest. (completed 12/6/05)
• Organize the cabinet beneath the sink – Trash what I don’t need, organize the rest. (completed 12/7/05)
• Drop off headshots to be reproduced (completed 12/7/05)
• Approve test headshots and give go ahead for printing (completed 12/9/05)
• Pick up my headshots (completed 12/19/05)
• Clear the space next to the refridgerator. All junk gone. Sweep up broken glass to right of fridge. (completed 12/8/05)
• Set up my voicemail correctly on the home phone (completed 12/10/05)

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12/10/05 – Mo’ Mo’ Stuff

• Clear the frames near near the bike (completed 12/10/05)
• Clear the top of the bookcase in studio. (completed 12/22/05)
• Prints from the top of bookcase to frames. (completed 12/25/05) – gave to K. to frame… he’ll mail ‘em back to me.
• Purchase and set up new bills binder (completed 12/20/05)
• Completely clear detritus from HD’s (completed 12/31/05 – 12:37 a.m.)
• Set up studio so that it’s good to go w/ W (completed 12/11/05)
• Purchase hooks & hang bass & guitar in Studio (completed 12/11/05)

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12/21/05 – “Almost there” Stuff

• Clear final pile of paper from living room (completed 12/31/05) Ok, technically I spent about 10 minutes tonight before bed taking down the last little bit of the pile but I’m still gonna call this “completed on 12/31″. The larger achievement is that I can honestly say that the entire pile is gone. That little “10 minutes left to do” has always been the spark that in the past becomes a raging forest fire. It’s outta here!
• Seal AC area (completed 12/20/05) – Not the elegant and neat solution I’d intended, but I think it’s functional for a while at least. I’ll reassess periodically to see if it’s keeping out as much cold air as I’d like.
• Sort thru old clothes in chest, wardrobe and closets. Bag for donation to the church. (completed 12/20/05)
• Donate those clothes to the church. (completed 12/29/05)
• Install spice rack over sink (completed 12/30/05)
• Install kitchen wrap organizer (completed 12/30/05)
• Attach velcro to desk (completed 12/30/05)
• Install cord snake beneath desk (completed 12/30/05)
• Hang light catchers (completed 12/30/05)

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1/1/06 – 8:42 a.m.
Though it might look like it from the time stamp above, I’ve not spent all night finishing up my 2005 tasks. Got in late from a job and had to see my friend off to a flight, so it’s really only been a couple or so hours spent in 2006 on this. I seem to have knocked out everything that’s on my list above. It feels good and I think I’ve found a process that I can “rinse and repeat” each month. Time now for bed. I’m really looking forward to setting some goals for the end of January 2006!