At my age, I do not expect to have major revelations in my own thinking. I figure that I’ve long ago puzzled things out and that, at this point, I am just refining my thoughts and ideas. But, today I was happy to discover that I can still have major revelations about my life, my world, and my own thoughts.
Of course, what I realized is also something that’s so obvious, it’s a wonder it took me this many years to figure out.
The problem, the perennial problem, is that my personal work space at home is a mess. Granted, I am one of those people who, despite the piles, always knows where the important documents are and can produce them instantly. But, still, there are piles of stuff on every available surface including, unfortunately, my Casio keyboard next to the desk (meaning that I only have access to about 2 octaves and only one some weird instrument I created in the FM Synthesis module and cannot change because the instrument selection buttons are buried under things).
My solution has always been to organize as much as I can. I keep telling myself that given a file cabinet and drop folders, I can get it all squared away and pretty, like in the Pottery Barn catalogs where the desks are pristine, inviting, devoid of dust and crumbs, and so very well lit. Well, maybe not that last part. Having one’s office in the basement does preclude nice lighting to a large degree. However, in any organization project, I hit that stage where I have items that have no home and no place to go and thus get put in one or more piles for me to later figure out. In short: FAIL.
Then, today, it hit me. My hobbies are three-dimensional. I’ve been applying two-dimensional thinking to a three-dimensional problem. I don’t need more file folders or pandaflex thingies. What I need are cubbies and boxes or baskets. I need a basket into which I put my sketch books, pencils, sharpeners, erasers, how-to books, workbooks, and anything else that fits the “learn to draw” hobby. I need a box for guitar strings, the digital tuner, extra picks, songbooks, and my teach-yourself-to-play software and DVDs. I need another box for all things scouting including fishing lures, pinewood derby kits from years past, Scouting and Boy’s Life magazines, and so much more. And so forth and so on.
I don’t know why I never figured this out before. We’ve long organized Kiddo’s stuff this way. He has shelves in the family room which have cubbies in them inside of which fit boxes and baskets, each containing a different type of toy. And it works pretty well for him. But I never made the connection to my own space and my own needs. Of course, I have no cubbies nor baskets nor boxes so implementing this is not going to be happening immediately. But as we design our new office and prepare for future renovations (fingers crossed!) I now at least have a much better idea how I will keep things organized then. Until that time, I’m sure I can fit fishing lures into a manila folder, right?