sift through my huge backlog of mail

I found some nice things during this project, too. I uncovered a reward certificate from Amazon worth $25 and a card worth a free appetizer at CPK, so far.

I used the Amazon thingy to buy “The Secret” on DVD. I know, I already know all that stuff, but this is an excellent time to revisit it. I began reading The Laws of Attraction two years ago when getting laid off and going back to school was so frightening, and it all went beautifully. I could use a bit of that mojo now.

Picture this: My floor’s covered with piles of stuff I’ve already sorted into how they’re going to be used or filed, housemate’s about to get into the shower, and somebody opens the front door downstairs.

It’s a Realtor with his client, and he wants to show the place. He says he called ahead, but neither I or my housemate got his call. I sweetly asked him to wait 5 minutes, and housemate & I scamper around tidying up – hiding the laundry, putting all the dratted papers in a single stack, stuff like that.

And the guy’s gone. Just gone. Never did come back.

Well, at least the Universe is bringing potential buyers as close as my doorstep!

I’ve spent another hour on it today. I don’t know why this stuff collects—I gather it up and set it aside, but don’t make time to go through it. There may be something profound in that, but I prefer to think about the profound “clearing the decks” thing I’m doing today.

I’ve sorted through the stuff that was already opened: receipts, packing slips, coupons, school papers—I even found my diploma cover, and now I can put my new degree in it.

I have about half a postal tray of mail still to open, but most of it is bills I’ve already paid electronically and offers I can shred. But somewhere in there is probably lurking something that could cause panic. Probably why I haven’t done it berfore today.

I’ve had stacks of mail, magazines, and other paper stuff neatly soldiered in the upstairs hall. The rest of the house is clean and organized, but whenever I’ve had friends over or for some reason needed to clear clutter, I’ve stacked it in this one spot. I tackled that today.

I found about 100 issues of the Hollywood Reporter daily (why did that subscription seem like a good idea?), my new college degree, Christmas catalogs, junk mail, magazines, and lots of bills. Okay, so the bills were paid electronically already, but still, I’ve got to open them, cuz it’s something I do.

I’ve sorted through it all, and the mail is a small stack of items that’ll be opened, filed, shredded, or panicked over. Seriously, I’ll have a much better feeling about my life in general when I’ve done that.

HRD mags, junk mail and catalogs get thrown away, the copies of Muscle & Fitness (which doesn’t really meet my needs after all) will be abandoned next time I go to the gym, and the rest will be disposed of in some way. Soon.