I Love Clutter

In our early years of our marriage, Terry really struggled with my messiness. He liked a tidy apartment, with everything put away, while I was perpetually surrounded by stuff. Not only that, I got angry every time he wanted to be helpful and put my stuff away!

I remember once, in our tiny kitchen on St. Mathieu Street in Montreal. I was cooking dinner, taking spices and other things out of the cupboards as I needed them. Suddenly I stopped, confused.

Where was the .... (whatever)? It had been there a minute ago! I turned to see Terry carefully putting back into the cupboards everything I had taken out.

What are you doing? I asked, shocked.

You're leaving a mess. I'm just putting it away!

We were diametrically opposite: I needed to be able to see it; he felt compelled to put it away.

We have come a long way since those early days. Although he still loves a clean house, he has adopted some of my messiness.















Here beside his Lazyboy is the table where he keeps his important papers. (I'm not allowed to touch them!! I might mess them up!)

And me, well, I'm as disorganized as ever. Here is the desk in my study.















I really do plan to tidy it up today - but it feels as if I just tidied it yesterday, and look at it again!

At least, I'm not the only messy person in the world. I just had to tear out this picture of Noam Chomsky in his study.














It reminds me of the apartment of a neighbour I once had, a well-known (unmarried) journalist. Although I never actually entered his apartment (he never had friends over), from the doorway I could see books and papers piled as high as they could go without toppling down.

I do want to better manage the clutter in my life, and even buy books that I hope will help me.














But they sit tidily on the shelf, as unused as the diet books!

I have come to the conclusion that I thrive on clutter. There is a certain richness to it. Imagine all the piles of paper being piles of money! - Wouldn't you feel rich surrounded by it all?

That's how I feel with books, magazines and papers piled up around me. I feel rich with opportunity - ideas to read, digest and enjoy.

And I can usually find what I'm looking for, if nobody moves anything, trying to tidy it up.