Clump #136:  Just 30 minutes of paper.

Spending time in a hospital with my mom lately, I have watched a great deal of daytime television.  I don’t recommend it.  In the waiting area today, I noticed a metal plaque specifying “offensive” shows that should not be watched on the hospital TV, specifically Jerry Springer and Maury.  It kind of amazed me that a metal plaque was ordered and was bolted to the wall for this purpose.  Would they have to update it for new offensive shows to come?  But I did come away with a good tip from Hoda and Kathie Lee, which must have been part of The Today Show. They were interviewing a man named Tommy Barnett who wrote a book called The Power of a Half Hour: Take Back Your Life Thirty Minutes at a Time.

I thought this might be a new way to look at my dreaded paper piles: a clump of a half-hour, instead of the physical pile.  I have been avoiding the piles like crazy.  I feel as if I’ll be swallowed up by the overwhelming number of decisions.  So I set the timer for 30 minutes and dove into the stuff that has been neglected on the flat surfaces in the kitchen.

I can report that the finite-ness of the half hour made a huge difference. It freed me from the quicksand-like fear I have of paper clutter.  Left to right, below: lovely holiday cards that filtered in recently; shred pile; and recycle pile. (Believe you can …)

I decree it is not too late to put cards in the tree-shaped holder and think warm thoughts about the people who sent them.

What’s left?  Catalogs I’ll love to savor, off the clock, and  a pile that needs husband consultation.

We could most likely get through it in less than a half hour.

Warm wishes for actual warmth in your world on this cold, cold day.