CMLE Librarian Professionals discussion

Join us in reading our book for the month of October: The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up.

Do you constantly lose track of papers, keys, shoes, etc.? Does your desk look like a hurricane hit it? Do you stare enviously at the books on your shelves, and wish everything in life could be so neatly cataloged and organized? This is the book for you! It's also for you if you just want to improve your already-organized things!

We are looking forward to sharing our ideas and discussing this book!

We will start off the group with a few general questions. You can feel free to respond to these, to pose others, or just to enjoy chatting here with your colleagues!

1.) Marie says a messy room means a messy mind. Does this speak to your experience? Do you prefer working in a tidy area, or does clutter make your creativity flow?

2.) When you think about going through all your papers and throwing them out in big batches, does this make you feel free or inspire the beginnings of a panic attack?

3.) There were a few crabby reviews on Goodreads from people who did not (or could not) find joy in their possessions, so quit the process entirely. Does this speak to your experience with tidying? Or were you able to discard things that you found blah, and keep only the things that inspire you? Or, were you somewhere in the middle?

4.) In thinking about the habit of tidiness generally, what strategies have you used to create order in your work? Are you successful at it? Or, is your "order" just staying a step ahead of the chaos running behind you?

5.) As library people, do you find there is more pressure on us to seem organized, even when we don't feel it?

1. Well, I do think that a messy room makes for a messy mind, as long as we don't use the word "messy" as an insult. I think we are all built differently. Just because I have 3 coffee cups on my desk doesn't make me a bad person. I just don't NEED order to feel successful.

3. You know, there were so many parts of the book that I liked; however, I abandoned the book about halfway through. Once I got to the part about my socks have "feelings", I became quite skeptical. I started to book when I was preparing for a garage sale, and I wanted the book to be my inspiration to purge. And in a sense, it was. However, I found the whole process to be overwhelming. I'm a wife and mother. So many things my kids want to keep that I can't or won't throw out. I want the book to be more about balance and less about...well, less.

4. For me, I do better when there's a container, spot or vessel for my possessions. I know that I'm not supposed to worry about that until after the purge, but it's hard for me to purge, be left with stuff and then not have anywhere to store it right away. Mostly, I just try to stay ahead. I don't mind clutter, and until it gets really bad, I don't notice a mess too much.

5. I don't. As long as my materials are in order, I don't worry about the state of my office, or my mind.

We are involved in a building renovation project at SJU that required us to clear everything out of the library -- collections, offices, even old Christmas decorations! It certainly caused me to think about what was worth keeping and why. I haven't read this book yet but will be interested in hearing from others if it is useful. I do find that tidy spaces are most restful for me, but can't say I always achieve such.

I agree with these ideas - some level of mess seems okay for me, but when I have the chance to sift through things and get rid of them I do enjoy the feeling of accomplishment! As someone who has moved around a lot, I like knowing that it's okay to have "less" around me.

Although I did not have much trouble implementing this at home (my closet is lovely now! my clothes are nicely folded, and my socks seem to enjoy being talked to! clothes I had been hanging on to but didn't like - added to the Goodwill pile!), I have more trouble with this at work. I feel okay about throwing out my stuff, but I have a lot of trouble deciding to get rid of things at work. So I do accumulate more paper than is necessary! When I left my last job and cleaned out my office, I threw out pounds and pounds of papers that I had kept in file cabinets - just in case. It was both painful and freeing to just toss it all into various recycle bins to get rid of it! But I did really enjoy knowing that I did not have to think about it any more. And I have not missed a single thing yet!

Maybe the key to it all is just balance. Know what you have, try to hang onto things that are good, and try to get rid of the things that are not sparking joy!

I have read articles that link messy desks to creativity and innovation. I had to clear my desk during our fire restoration work and it promptly returned to its naturally cluttered state as I got back to work in my office. I know tidy is comforting to some, but I find it inefficient.

I also agree with Maria that I couldn't quite finish the book. The idea of finding joy in every item in a house with teens seems too lofty to me!