Love in Dark Settings

Fourth Priority Resolutions
Disorganized Things That I'm Not Tripping Over

YARDS

Situation last fall:
--The English Ivy has taken over the front yard and is beginning to creep into the side yards.
--Our yards could use some more natural areas.
--They could also use some tidying.
--I could use the exercise.
--Gardening gets me outside without requiring me to leave the boundaries of my home.

Problem:
--I will quote auntbijou here: "[Our English ivy] has covered our front porch, is working its way across the porch ceiling, and is even curving itself around the front door. Personally, I suspect it is contemplating interior home invasion . . ."
--The fact that I've never gardened probably contributes to the delightfully natural look of the yards . . . but there's a point where "natural" turns into "needs desperate help."
--I'm mildly allergic to most plants, so I have to cover myself neck-to-toe when I garden. This limits the times of day when I can garden and makes me reluctant to go through all the trouble of getting ready to garden.

Goal:
--Get rid of the ivy in the side yards.
--Pull the ivy off the sides of the house.
--Cut the bottom of the ivy creeping up the trees (in order that the ivy on the trees will die).
--Clear out all of the ivy around the trees, other than a fringe.
--Clear out all of the ivy around the dogwood, other than a fringe.
--Clear out the ivy from under the boxwood.
--Persuade Doug to permit meadow areas in the front and back yards.
--Set aside no-mow areas where the moss it taking over.
--Put up fences/walls around the meadows and no-mow areas.
--Put up a bird-bath.
--Figure out a way to channel the drainage water onto our yard.
--Trim the forsythia (since I'm not quite as gleeful with the clippers as Doug is).

What I actually achieved:
--I tried to do too much in one year, I think.
--I got rid of the ivy in the side yards.
--I pulled the ivy off the sides of the house.
--I'm two-thirds of the way through clearing out all of the ivy around the dogwood. I decided not to keep a fringe of ivy.
--I created a one-yard clear space between the ivy and the house in the hopes that this would keep the ivy from crawling up the house walls by next spring.
--I'm still trying to persuade Doug to help me pick up some wood from the city's public woods area so that I can border the newly cleared garden beds with logs.
--After I'd discussed the drainage situation with Doug, he moved one of the drainpipes so that it drains more on the lawn.
--I asked Doug not to mow a couple of bits of the lawn where I'd like plants to grow.
--I developed a gardening outfit that works for me, except that my forearms still get exposed.
--I put up a bird-bath (though the birds seem to be ignoring it).
--I didn't garden regularly.
--Yards goal partially met.

My goal for the coming year:
--Persuade Doug to mow the autumn leaves so that they will be mulched throughout the lawn.
--Persuade Doug not to clear out the leaves in the garden beds.
--Cut the bottom of the ivy creeping up the trees (in order that the ivy on the trees will die).
--Clear out the remaining ivy in the yard.
--Identify the newly grown plants in the garden beds (the places where I've cleared the ivy).
--Clear out any newly grown plants between the trees and the house (so that we'll have walking space).
--Put logs around at least some of the borders of the garden beds.
--Buy longer gloves.
--Develop a workable schedule for gardening.

ART

Situation last fall:
--A goodly number of posters and calendars I've accumulated over the years, which have been gathering dust under the bed (the only safe place to store them).
--Same deal with my Mother's posters and calendars, except that they're in the basement, and some of the posters are framed. Some of the framed art are actual paintings, not posters.

Problem:
--Some nice stuff, mixed in with stuff I don't need.

Goal:
--Put the art on display that I want to keep.
--Put aside a small number of art items as back-up.
--Get rid of the rest.

What I actually achieved:
--Nothing.
--Failed to meet art goal.

My goal for the coming year (the same as last year):
--Put the art on display that I want to keep.
--Put aside a small number of art items as back-up.
--Get rid of the rest.

PHOTOGRAPHS

Situation last fall:
--Dozens of photographs by Doug and me.
--Hundreds of Mother's photographs.

Problem:
--Only a very small portion of my own photos are organized.
--None of Mother's are.

Goal:
--Organize the photos.
--Figure out how best to display them.
--Give the extra photos to my relatives.

What I actually achieved:
--I browsed through the photos.
--I sought out information on how to store the photos in albums.
--I stumbled across information on how to digitize the photos.
--Photos goal partially met.

My goal for the coming year:
--Organize the photos.
--Give the extra photos to my relatives.
--Digitize the remaining photos.
--Then put them in albums.

STATIONERY ITEMS

Situation last fall:
--Two desks that are filled with stationery items, mainly from Mother.

Problem:
--I don't need most of this. I rarely use stationery items these days.

Goal:
--Get rid of most of the stationery items.
--Organize the remaining items.

What I actually achieved:
--I gave away some of the stationery items to a local school.
--Stationery goal partially met.

My goal for the coming year (the same as last year):
--Get rid of most of the stationery items.
--Organize the remaining items.

GREETING CARDS

Situation last fall:
--Six boxes of greeting cards, left by my mother.

Problem:
--When was the last time I sent a greeting card?

Goal:
--Get rid of the vast majority of these.
--Organize the remaining items.

What I actually achieved:
--I began going through the cards but got sidetracked.
--I've been setting aside more cards than I actually need.
--Greeting cards goal partially met.

My goal for the coming year (the same as last year):
--Get rid of the vast majority of these.
--Organize the remaining items.

LINEN CLOSET

Situation last fall:
--Stuffed to the gills with linens, thanks to my mother's death.

Problem:
--Doug and I can't get to the linens we actually need.
--We don't need this much stuff.

Goal:
--Get rid of the linens we won't be using.
--Organize the remaining items.

What I actually achieved:
--I pulled out the linens that we won't be using, though I haven't actually gotten rid of them yet.
--I organized the remaining items.
--We still have too many linens.
--Linens goal met.

My goal for the coming year (the same as last year):
--Get rid of the linens we won't be using.
--Organize the remaining items.

MEDICINE & UTILITIES CLOSET

Situation last fall:
--Stuffed to the gills with medicine and utility items, thanks to my mother's death.

Problem:
--Most of the medicine is out of date.
--I can't find the utility items I actually need.

Goal:
--Get rid of the out-of-date medicine.
--Get rid of utility items we don't use.
--Organize the remaining items.

What I actually achieved:
--Nothing.
--Failed to meet medicine & utilities closet goal.

My goal for the coming year (the same as last year):
--Get rid of the out-of-date medicine.
--Get rid of utility items we don't use.
--Organize the remaining items.

KITCHENWARE

Situation last fall:
--Whoa, my mother really liked kitchenware.

Problem:
--The formal place settings came in real handy during Mother's memorial reception, but Doug and I just don't entertain guests normally.

Goal:
--Get rid of the kitchenware we won't be using.
--Organize the remaining items.

What I actually achieved:
--I got rid of the plastic storage bins we don't use.
--I organized the remaining plastic storage bins.
--Kitchenware goal partially met.

My goal for the coming year (the same as last year):
--Get rid of the kitchenware we won't be using.
--Organize the remaining items.

New resolutions that don't fall into the above categories

COMMUNICATION

My goal for the coming year:
--Cut back drastically on my criticism and sarcasm (especially humorous sarcasm).
--Stop my sniping and grumbling.
--Spend less time talking/writing (except for writing fiction) and more time listening.

MENTORING

My goal for the coming year:
--Read monthly the protocol that my apprentice and I follow, and endeavor to keep it.
--Hold progress reviews weekly.
--Hold seminars regularly.
--Serve as a role model.
--Be attentive.

STUFFED ANIMALS

My goal for the coming year:
--Clean my stuffed animals.
--Find new homes for the animals that I'm no longer attentive to.

NONFICTION READING AND TRIPS

My goal for the coming year:
--Regularly read writings on the topics of authorship/publishing, DS/mentoring, etiquette/protocol, ethics/spirituality, and simplicity.
--Set aside time in the summer to do research reading and trips.
--Read the nonfiction that I've already downloaded or that I already own.

HOUSEHOLD

My goal for the coming year:
--Communicate more with Doug about household matters, especially finances.
--Continue to spend minimal amounts of money.

HOUSEWORK (redux)

My goal for the coming year:
--Load and unload dishwasher as needed.
--Tidy at the end of each day the areas that I've used.
--Do laundry weekly.
--Dustmop under my desk and beat the desk rug weekly.
--Dustmop the rest of the house monthly.
--Clean the toilets monthly.
--Clean the kitchen counters, microwave oven, and stovetop monthly.

Looking at the four parts of this list, my feeling (other than a hysterical desire to scream, "Just burn it all down! Get it out of my life!") is that 90% of my recent problems with mental and physical clutter have arisen because of the Internet: excessive Internet usage has prevented me from having time to put the rest of my life in order. Now that I'm making some progress on the Internet front, perhaps I'll be able to accomplish more next year in digging myself out of the quagmire I'm currently trapped in.

As it is, I'm reasonably pleased with how this year went. I made progress in tackling some very serious problems, and I found that it wasn't as hard as I thought to get rid of belongings, which caused me to decide to get rid of more items than I'd originally planned. Most importantly, I achieved my #1 goal, which was to get my Internet usage under control - a goal that, for over a decade, I'd been struggling tooth-and-nail to achieve.

That I succeeded is mainly due to my determination to find a solution to that particular problem within a year of my mother's death; I wanted that to be my gift to her, because she hated how the Internet took me away from my family and friends. It's no coincidence that I finally achieved my solution on the very week of the anniversary of her death. Thank you, Mother.