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Advice pls for 'going through my stuff' 1st time
kenzi | Apr 5 2006
I can't put it off any longer and must go through my stuff. I can't move forward with GTD until I do this, but it still feels like a monumental task to me. I am going to start this weekend, and take Monday off to do it. I would greatly welcome any advice you all can give me to help me through this, especially stuff that the book didn't tell you but you wish you knew before you did it. Here is some background: the place where 95% of my stuff is, is my home office/home. I have a job that pays the rent, but it's not an issue with respect to GTD except as an action item: go to work. I run a small business out of my home (I import handicrafts from Morocco and sell them on my website kenzi.com, plus I am a henna artist taking clients at home but also doing house calls. My home office/store is about 40% of my home; I work on my computer, store my inventory, process orders, welcome clients, etc. all at home. I also work on some creative projects, some of them for the business and some just for pleasure. A lot of my business stuff is mixed in with my home stuff, plus I have boxes that I haven't unpacked since I moved 4 years ago, boxes with work stuff in them. I have mapped out my home showing where there are piles of papers (my main organizational nemesis) and also boxes of stuff to go through. I also plan to deal with the personal/home stuff as well as the work stuff since the overall disorganization of my home/home office is making me crazy. I live in a loft with NO closets (though working on buying armoires) and only open space. I have a lot bookshelves and one filing cabinet. I think that I should buy another filing cabinet. I think that is sufficient background, but feel free to ask me any questions. I really welcome any suggestions you may have. 35 Comments
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 Progress reportSubmitted by kenzi on April 9, 2006 - 12:19pm.
1.5 days into the process and I'm pretty much finished going through my stuff. I have a pile of recycling 6 feet tall, one bag of trash (most of the stuff I chucked is recyclable), and two full trash bags of shredded material. My in box is about 3 feet tall. The amount of stuff that is getting thrown away is a thrill, but the huge in box is so daunting. The urge to organize it is quite strong but I know that I am "supposed" to just do the first thing and then the next. I didn't really expect to be this far along and so I haven't mentally prepared myself for processing my in box. I'm going for a bike ride to clear my mind before tackling that. All your advice to me has been very helpful. It feels GREAT to be on the other side; I did about 75% of it yesterday and because I was on a roll I kept going until about 3 am. I found two gift certificates from years ago that haven't expired, so those were some nice surprises. I found a couple of checks that I never cashed: embarassing! Plus I found a year-old notice from my bank telling me a check to me had bounced: also embarassing. Now I have to decide whether to call the client and ask for a new check. I should probably let it go and consider it a lesson learned. Doing a home office is tough because the personal is ALWAYS mixed in with the business stuff. And David Allen's suggestion to put aside two days to do this is excellent. I have had very few distractions; a few phone calls but I kept working while I chatted. I allowed myself to eat and go see a movie. I feel very proud that I finished about 6 years of papers in a day and a half. Ok, bike ride then my in box. Thanks again for your help everyone! » POSTED IN:
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