Clean Up Your Act

On Friday a woman called my office looking for a place that would recycle her children's old textbooks. This is not a service we offer, nor am I familiar with anyone who does offer textbook recycling, so I was a little annoyed by the call. As the conversation continued, I humored her, but I was eager to get off the phone. Later that day, I heard about a charity which will take book donations and use them as credits towards providing books for local schoolchildren. I immediately called the woman back and relayed the news to her. During this second phone conversation, she mentioned that she would be so glad to get those things out of her house. She also said that she was in her 80s and working on getting rid of things and cleaning everything out so "those who come after her won't have as much work." At that point the phone call took on an entirely new dimension as I realized it was more of a wake-up call than a chance phone call from some little old lady.

I am messy. I am a borderline hoarder, which is hard for me to admit, but not hard to deduce from seeing my living and working space. I go through phases where I will attempt to get rid of things, but it does not work. I am constantly losing things and becoming frustrated because I have to walk around and work around piles of papers, clothing, and just stuff. Whoever "comes after me" will have a horrible time trying to sort through my messes.

This phone call made me realize that not only am I making life harder on myself, but I am also building habits that are going to be more difficult to break as I grow older. It also made me realize (allow me to get a little melodramatic here) that I am blocking my progress in life; this messiness is the reason I cannot find someone to date, move out of my home, or become the person I truly would like to become. I am mired in clutter and junk and until I get rid of some (well, a lot) of it, then I will be the exact same person I am now with the exact same problems.

I love my life, but at some point I have to move forward. All of this junk is a part of my past, and it keeps me stuck in the past. I know that God wants me to be happy, and this crap is definitely not making me happy. I also believe that God had that lady call me as opposed to her calling our main line. She has definitely given me a wake-up call. It's time to clean up my act, for those who come after me, and for those who are with me right now.