Over the past few weeks, I have spent quite a lot of time having a good old clearout at home. I started with some paperwork and progressed on from there. When I started looking, it was incredible how much paperwork I had that I no longer needed to keep. There were bits of paperwork such as compliance certificates for electrical work on the house we had before this one. Insurance letters regarding a car we no longer had. You get the picture.
So, I methodically went about culling a huge amount of paperwork and it felt really cathartic to do so. There was a lot of documents about performance appraisals and supervision and various other things that I had to do and keep information about. As I no longer wear a Social Work hat or badge or anything else that denotes me as a Social Worker, I have no need for such things.
I feel I have culled all the documents and bits of paper I don’t need for the moment and will try to reduce the amount of paper that descends upon my study. There is one section of paperwork that I don’t feel safe to jettison just yet. That is paperwork relating to my health. My health being such a fragile wee beastie, I don’t want to throw out anything that may be needed at any time moving forward. Giving the complexity of my various ailments and impediments, I think the wisest course is to keep them for now.
I have also cleared a lot of clothing out of my wardrobe and today also from out of a suitcase that has been gathering dust under our bed for the past four years. Although many of the clothes are beautiful, I no longer live in a world where I need posh, professional clothing. I have given it to a new friend of mine for her daughter, who has been wanting to present a much more professional image, but did not have the financial ability to buy very much. Hopefully, the daughter will come home and love the clothes and I will have made someone very happy.
I can recommend doing this to anyone. There is a great sense of achievement at the end of it all. Now I have more room for new purchases!
I’ve recorded a bit of a podcast, if you would like to give it a listen
My journey with Parkinsons 