Last night I went to my second meeting of Clutterers Anonymous. It was slightly less awful than last time, and I certainly started to feel like I might belong. I feel a huge resistance to this program in a way I don't to Debtors Anonymous, probably because DA (a larger group, to be sure) is full of bright, apparently with-it people who are generally achievers (and most of the women are beautifully accessorized, oddly enough). I know I have to approach this problem sideways rather than head-on for the very simple reason that there's no intellectual problem at all: I can look at other people's messes, clutter and junk and tell them 1) how they ought to arrange the stuff to take up less room, and 2) which items are the best candidates for getting rid of. With the exception of my mother, these people generally escape any advice-giving because I do know how to bite my tongue. But the fact that I have the impulse tells me that I don't need Techniques or Organizational Systems as much as I need to fix the hole in my soul.

It's interesting to me how much my problems with time, money, and the allocation of space fit together and reinforce each other. It makes all the sense in the world to me that DA has special meetings for clutterers and for those with time issues.

Right now it feels like I'm locked in a death-match with the worst side of my nature. It may be that this time in my life--while I'm freelancing and slightly underutilized as an editor, and awaiting the arrival of my son or daughter--is the best moment to address some of my worst personality traits.

Onward and upward.

Posted by: Attila at 02:41 PM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
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