From Someday to Serenity
For years I made it my mission to rescue all the wood. Old fence boards, busted cabinets, extra shelves, every scrap piece of wood from every reno project for the last nine years . . . they all came to live in my shop, so they could get a new life. Many pieces of scrap wood were repurposed into new pieces, and the remaining wood went into a pile in the corner of the shop to be used someday. Over the years the piles of unused wood grew bigger and the usable space in my shop grew smaller.
Sure I could remove all the nails, trim the splintered edges, plane, and sand that piece of old paneling, and it could potentially be something useful again . . . someday. The remaining remnants of that old cedar fencing could make a dozen adorable birdhouses . . . someday. I looked around at my overcrowded shop and realized I was drowning in somedays. But what about today?
My UN-happy place
I was in a barely usable shop. Every time I tried to get to one of my tools, I had to move a pile (or three) of wood, which made me not even want to go into my shop. The clutter and the chaos of someday were choking the life out of today. And let’s be honest, we all have a limited number of somedays. Looking around at my piles, I estimated I would need to live to be 212 to use up my someday piles. Statistically, I calculated that was highly improbably, so I decided to do something about it.
I rented a dumpster, and I got ruthless. I looked at each pile of boards and asked these questions:
Do I have specific projects in mind for these boards?
How likely am I to actually complete these projects?
Would I benefit more from keeping the wood or having the space in my shop?
Goodbye to unrealistic expectations!
At the end of a very long weekend, I had space in my shop and a full dumpster. I still have plenty of wood to keep me busy for a good while (maybe even more than I need). But I no longer feel suffocated by somedays every time I walk into my shop. My shop was meant to be my happy place—a place where I could get away, relax, and do the things I love to do—and now it is again.
Look at all that floor space!
So, do you have a long list of someday projects that keep you from living your best today? Is there an area in your life where the clutter and chaos are keeping you from your dreams? Or is it just me?
