I started on a mission to organize my house. I cleaned out my dresser and closet and brought a large bag of clothes to the GoodWill. Yesterday, I finished putting the last of my loose photos into an album I had purchased years ago and never gotten around to filling. It contains an array of pictures dating back to early 1900s up until I went digital. Each picture in it feels like a treasure. I may have to add some information to some of the images but that’s a project for another day.

Today, I decided to take on the junk drawer. That is where I came to a screeching halt. Such is the way with every effort to get organized. What exactly is supposed to go in a junk drawer? For me it’s one of two things, either everything I don’t know what to do with or everything I’m too lazy to put in its proper place. As I emptied out the contents, there were screwdrivers, playing cards (I can’t remember the last time I played cards), sewing things–an unopened package of a dozen spools of thread, a package of needles from Singer, and black thread (again I can’t remember the last time I sewed anything), screws (I know not from where they came), and cards. The cards consisted of ones I had received, cards I had bought and never sent, and business cards. Paper clips, matches, flashlights, drain deodorizer, a key chain full of membership cards for a multitude of businesses, batteries, and instruction manuals rounded out the collection.

When we moved into this house four years ago I contemplated not having a junk drawer to avoid this dilemma. That lasted about six months. I’m tempted to just toss everything out, but you know, if I do I will need one of the items after the garbage truck drives away. So, the next step started with finding proper places for things that don’t belong in said drawer. That led me to the utility cabinet by the washer and dryer. An entire shelf of lightbulbs resides there. Why you ask. Because it seems every lightbulb harboring device requires a different size bulb. Then there’s the batteries with far too many varieties. Of course we need to make sure we have a sufficient supply should a hurricane come our way. They also take up a shelf in the utility cabinet.

Just for grins, I googled, “What goes into a junk drawer?” Low and behold, many of my items are “the right stuff.” After throwing away some items and finding new homes for others, it will no longer be jam-packed. My mission continues. On the list next, my office. My aging computer is about to be retired and so it’s time to also clean off my hard drive. This time I am not going to just transfer everything over, I’m going to be deliberate about what gets saved and what goes.

Once everything is in its proper place, I’ll begin writing again, and painting. I know what I want to paint and I have just the right canvas – 24″ x 36.”