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Organizing the un-organizableBy Jennifer M. Latzke Last time in this space I asked the question, "Will I be a Worrier or a Warrior?" In case you missed it, I have decided to start calling 2012 the Year of the Warrior. What, pray tell, will the Year of the Warrior entail, you might ask? Well, it sure won't be sitting on the sidelines watching the world pass me by. No sir, it's going to be a year of action. This is my year to make things happen. Unlike the past 33 other New Years--each of which was THE year to make things happen--this one is it. I can feel the change. This year I'm not making a bunch of grand resolutions that never get met. I'm not going to set some lofty goal and then feel crushed the first time I stumble toward meeting it. This year is going to be different. I've decided for the next 52 weeks, I'm going to tackle my list one thing at a time, one week at a time. My theory is that small steps can make up the long journey. These first few weeks of the year, the goal is to get back to some semblance of organization in my personal life. Specifically, I want to clear out the soul-sucking vortices of doom that are my closets. In my little bungalow I have 11 different closets, one storage room, and three outbuildings in the back yard--plus an attic that I have yet to even peek into despite owning this home for four years. And, for a single woman, I have managed to accumulate a lot of useless junk that fills each and every one of those spaces. Granted, some of that is junk that I inherited with the house, but most, I'm ashamed, is stuff I moved in of my own free will. I'm doing pretty well on this project so far. My office closet is already cleaned out and organized, and my hall closet is in pretty good shape. But that leaves 13 more spaces to sort. And you would be amazed at what's cluttering them. For example, the random jars of preserved vegetables in one basement closet that came with the house. Knowing the trouble it is to can vegetables, I feel bad just throwing them out, but I need the space for my own pantry. I can only hope the long-since deceased and unnamed canner forgives me for my tossing transgression. And that she overlooks my mutterings of "why would anyone put up 50 jars of green beans and peppers?" In my storage room I have boxes I've still not unpacked from my move into the house four years ago. That's right, three moving boxes I've never gotten around to unpacking. I suppose if I haven't used what's in them in these past four years I probably can live safely without those contents for the rest of my existence. To the curb they go, after I've sorted through them, of course. The last two places I have to organize are the final frontiers of organization in the bungalow--the attic and the locked shed out back. This is what separates the Worriers from the Warriors. When I bought the house, the shed out back had a padlock on it but no key and I've just never gotten around to cutting the lock off. As for the attic, my fear of ladders, heights and enclosed spaces has stopped me from exploring. But, as this is the Year of the Warrior, I'm going to brave the unknown and tackle those two spaces first. I'm going to swallow my fear of being surprised with rodents, spiders, snakes or other creepy-crawlies. I'm going to push aside my terror of falling and breaking a leg or getting trapped in a tiny crawlspace. I'm going to hitch up my gumption and quit putting off this chore. And, when all is said and done, and I have 15 cleaned, organized and neat storage spaces to call my own. I'll be one organized Warrior. Jennifer M. Latzke can be reached at 620-227-1807 or jlatzke@hpj.com.
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