Quick Break and Deep Breaths

I'm taking a short break in between cleaning, purging, and packing. This has been a busy weekend for me so far, and the next two weeks ahead are going to get even more busy. I'm trying to do as much organizing and packing as I can this weekend, because I don't think I'll have much time to do it during the week. This happens to be my busiest time at work and I have a lot of deadlines and a lot books going to press this month. I have so much to do that I brought home a lot of work that I'd like to do before Monday. At times like this I envy people who work at jobs that aren't controlled by deadlines. Those people have the luxury of leaving their work at the office and it's easier for them to take time off whenever they want. Whenever I want to take time off, I have to constantly plan around my schedules and deadlines. Everyone always tells me that I need to take more time off and I need to take more vacations. While I agree with them and wouldn't argue, sometimes it's just hard to actually fit everything in. Although I love what I do, this is one of the biggest frustrations I have.

So with all the work I need to do—both professional and personal—I'm starting to panic and starting to feel stressed. I'm trying to figure out how I can make it all happen without sacrificing the basic needs in life, like eating and sleeping. Oh well. I'm sure it will all happen somehow.

Purge

Packing and moving can be a huge hassle, but one of the benefits of moving is that it gives you an opportunity to reevaluate everything you own. I mentioned in several posts that I own a lot of books and books happen to be things that I collect and have a difficult time getting rid of. But there are other things I've grown less attached to. It's only now that I'm forced to go through these things that I realize, one, that I actually still own them, and, two, that I don't really need them.

For whatever reason I still have a lot of clothes that I know don't fit me very well. As I mentioned in an earlier post, a lot of clothes just don't fit in the shoulders and the back. Yet, I still have these clothes hanging in my closet and naturally I haven't worn them in years. What's the point of keeping them if I could at any minute rip through them like the Incredible Hulk? (Yes, I realize that many of you will laugh at that statement considering I'm 5'2" and 100 pounds, but still.) So those will go into a donation bag and maybe someone else can wear them.

I've also held on to a lot of things from my student days. I still have a hard time getting rid of papers and notes from class. Basically, anything that shows my actual hard work is something that I tend to keep. But over the years I've also collected copies and printouts of journal articles or chapters from books that I've used for research. These books and journals will always be around somewhere in some library, so there probably isn't a need for me to keep them. It's just a lot of wasted paper, wasted space, and added weight that I don't need right now. So I've gotten rid of all of these and dumped them into the recycling bin.

Even though I occasionally have a tendency to hold on to things that I think I might need someday or things I might have a sentimental attachment to, it feels really nice to get rid of things. It might be a cliche to say, but it's nice to get rid of the past when you're about to do something different or start something new. Even though I'm just moving downstairs, I might as well use it as an opportunity to clean out and start over, so to speak.

Books, Books, Books

Even though I don't officially move for another two weeks, I've decided to start packing. For now I've started to pack my books, because it's likely I won't need these at any time over the next few weeks. As I might have mentioned before, I have a lot of books. So far I've packed nine boxes just with books, and I still have more to go. Looking at the stacks of books placed randomly across my living room, I think I'll need about three or four more boxes to pack everything I have left.

I know that I'm just moving downstairs and could probably just carry these books down in smaller and somewhat lighter boxes. But if I'm going to have movers handle the big furniture anyway, I might as well let them handle the bigger and heavier boxes. Yes, I am strong enough to carry my 30- or 40-pound desk up three flights of stairs—the desk was still in a box and disassembled—but I'm just not in the mood to do that again. I'll stick with the lighter and easier stuff this time around.

Packing

Now that I've started to narrow down when I'm going to move, I've decided to start packing. People might wonder why it would take me two weeks to pack a one-bedroom apartment, but if you looked at the amount of books I own, you'd know why. Over the years I've collected a large amount of books. When you're in school, you have to buy books for your classes. Then you buy more books when you have to do research. And when you're a nerd and just love to read and own books, you buy even more books because they look interesting. And to top things off, I work for a book publisher and can bring home books for free. Needless to say, I have a lot of books. I tried counting them a few days ago, but lost count when the phone rang. When I lost count, I was somewhere in the 300 range with probably another 100 or 200 to go. Even I would admit that this is a lot. Is it really too much? I don't know. The bookish part of me thinks that you can never have too many books. But it always feels like too many when you have to move them—books in boxes can get really heavy.

Well, after I get resettled into my new apartment, I suppose I can reevaluate my library. I bet I could make some money if I sold a few of them at a used bookstore or something. We'll see.