How to Declutter a Cluttered Office - and a Cluttered Mind

Moving reveals lots of interesting habits... some not good at all.

Cody Wyoming. A secret lover meant for wild, abandoned times and incredible adventures. But, probably not gonna be home.

I love books.

From an early age, I collected them, stacked them, and reread them again and again.

It was part of me to look at photos, read about fascinating things, and hold on to them in physical form as a kind of reinforcement that they existed.

I love books.

And photos, and little mementos from shoots, vacations, and great times I have had for the last five decades as a creative.

But today I am moving.

I am following my own advice and getting out of the city.

(I tell all my friends, and I am telling you… get out of the cities. Just get out.)

I am moving into a smaller home in the desert. I can’t even see my closest neighbor, and the entry to my home is a dirt road.

The smell of creosote after a rain will replace the hot asphalt of a summer’s day. Roads lined with Saguaros will replace the tar-snaked abominations that are my current neighborhood’s streets. The constant sound of freeways near me will be replaced by an almost eery silence, save for the birds and occasional toad medleys.

I have been planning a move for quite a while.

Those who have been around for a while know my deep and unabiding love for Wyoming. Montana, Utah, and Idaho are close seconds.

Some people ask me why Wyoming and all I can say is you have to go, just be there for a while. It grows on you.

Oh, and the entire population is less than Glendale, Arizona, so there is that.

I found a place; an affordable home, good area, Sheridan, Wyoming.

And we began making plans.

Until.

I was sitting on the porch, deep into something or other, when it hit me. Somehow I was going to have to sit down with my grandbabies and tell them that Papa and Gramma were moving so far away that we may not see them more than once a year.

Wyoming waved bye, and we parted ways as friends.

I am a Papa, and I take that responsibility with deep respect.

So off to the desert to be next to my grandchildren and daughters.

I love the desert.

And - to tell you the truth - I was a bit apprehensive about those 30-degree below-zero days they have on occasion. I’m a desert rat; we grab sweaters at 70.

That’s a long way around to the present decluttering I am embarking on.

I have to move. My office, my cameras, my gear.

And as I make box after box, I have to make decisions on what to keep and what to let go.

I have a neat, but cluttered office, and I am going to have a neat and less cluttered office where we are moving.

My office will be a stand-alone structure (12’x20') with a small alcove. It is fairly bare right now, but I have some nice plans for a porch, patio, and a large picture window facing the mountains.

My very own office casita will be about 12 feet away from the home we are having built.

Privacy, quiet, views of the mountains, and a good amount of space to stretch out.

I have tried to give a lot of stuff away, but a cluttered office means that some of the stuff is of no use to anyone else. I have to part with some amazing items, and I am holding on to them to the very last. I am hoping someone wants them as I hate to see them on the recycling truck.

All this excess stuff can also weigh on your mind.

The mind makes relationships with the stuff, and the stuff begins stacking up in the brain like almost forgotten boxes of stuff you should have forgotten about a long time ago.

So while there is some loss in tossing old Creative Arts magazines, there is a letting go of the brain cells used to store the memory of what was in it and where it was stored.

The content remains, but eliminating the physical/mental connection seems to lighten the way, and we become more open to more of the real stuff around us.

How to Declutter My Office:

1. Starting Small: Instead of trying to declutter the entire office in one go, I am starting with one area at a time. One bookshelf cleared before on to the next.

2. Categorizing: Group items by their function. For example, I am keeping all writing instruments together, all computer accessories, all camera or photographic-related things go into clearly marked boxes.

3. Tossing or Donating: If I haven't used something in the past year, chances are I don’t need it. I’m tossing, recycling, or donating items that don't serve a purpose anymore.

4. Limiting Personal Items: While personal items can make my office feel more personal, it doesn’t reflect the now me rather, they remind me of the then me. Getting rid of a lot of it, and starting anew.

5. Going Digital: So much of the stuff I have is easily attainable online.

6. I Want a Clear Desk Policy: I have made it a habit to clear my desk at the end of each day. I haven’t been diligent enough, but in the new studio, it will be mandatory.

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Now, to the books.

I have too many. I started to cull them, but I realized I didn’t know how to do that.

No, I haven’t looked at my Avedon “In The American West” for a while, but that doesn’t mean I should consider tossing it. I can’t. Likewise, my collection of Rodney Smith, Herb Ritts, and Robert Mapplethorpe.

They cannot go.

So I will spend whatever time it takes to pack them carefully, and prepare them to be stored until my office is ready. Whenever that is going to be.

December? January?

Whatever… I keep these books. Every last one of them.

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The move comes at a terrible time.

But all moves do, I suppose.

I want this new studio, surrounded by desert scrub, Saguaro cactus, Cholla, mountains, and quartz-studded washes, to bring me back to more of a sense of peace.

I am so over city life.

My daughter and grandkids were shopping in our local grocery store when a bandit ran in, trying to hide from two police officers who were shouting “Get down, get down”.

Right here in our quiet little part of Phoenix called Ahwatukee.

We used to not be in the city, but now, it seems, we are deep into it

The last two weeks have been full of making boxes, surviving Covid III, preparing a lot of business stuff, and focusing on the fact that we must be out of this home by next Saturday.

Hence… I will not be very active online for the next week or so.

There will still be posts, but I am having to focus a lot on tape, cardboard, packing peanuts, and bubble wrap. Sheesh.

However, posting here will continue.

See you soon.