Want to know a little secret? Actually, if you know me, you won’t be surprised, but I’ll tell you anyway. I’m a pack rat. I save magazines (I might want to pitch the editors one day, I reason), books (you never know when you will want to re-read that amazing novel), and a few select cooking sections from the Washington Post (I will eventually try the recipes).

I’m re-vamping the office, which means I have to sort through those stacks of papers and rows of books to bring some simplicity to my surroundings. I am making progress. Today I tossed my 2006 Writer’s Market and a year of back copies of Working Mother. Of course, I had to thumb through each copy and got caught up reading an article or two. That explains why I’m treating my re-vamp as a marathon and not a sprint. 

In clearing my clutter I’ve come across some of the things I love but that I’ve never taken time to display. I’m hoping to finally frame a Jodi Picoult autographed novel and an autographed John McCain non-fiction book. I’ve always thought I would hang htem in an office “someday.” For some reason I always thought that someday would be when I had a new house with a big office, but I’ve decided there is no reason to wait. We should embrace the life we have instead of waiting for the one we might have, right?

As I sort I know there are things I can’t part with—such as my back copies of Writer’s Digest, copies of my own articles and business receipts. I’m trying to find a creative and concise way to store and organize them. I’m paying attention to where the piles accumulate and trying to figure out why. Maybe getting to the bottom of it will help me minimize those piles moving forward.

Albert Einstein said, “Out of clutter, find simplicity.” That is my motto as I finish clearing off my bookshelves and sorting through my desk drawers. It might even extend out to the rest of the house, but I’m taking it one step at a time.