My name is Robyn and I WAS addicited to notebooks

I am a feng shui practitioner and we hate clutter.  Hate. It.   And, for the most part, I do practice what I preach.   Usually. 
 
Loud & Proud!
We recently moved and I’ve been pretty proud (and vocal!) about the fact that we went through everything and moved very little that wouldn’t be used in the new house.   Unpacking was easy and we had everything put away within two weeks.  Go us!
 
Shhh, it’s just paper
Almost.  My dirty, little secret?  The storage closet in my office.   It contained notebooks + paper + old files + old notes + outdated labels.  See a pattern?  Paper.  It appears that I have a hard time letting paper go.   Oh, I’ve gone through the notebooks/files/notes and purged them several times.  Since moving in (9 months ago) I’ve even cleaned out and reorganized that closet – twice. 
 
Sometimes we can’t see what is closest to us.  I asked organizer Eliza Cantlay of Simplicana to come over and help me with a small project.  Relocating two small shelves of book that I couldn't find a home for.  I figured it would be a 15-minute conversation.  Wrong!   

It's not about the books 
After asking me a few questions to determine what I was trying to accomplish Eliza immediately started pointing out ways I could make room.  To my initial horror, she pulled everything out and literally, made me touch everything.  Everything.

Several piles induced a bit of resistance – until I got into her groove.  Letting go of the first notebook was liberating and I found myself getting rid of all that paper with pride and glee!  Notebooks from 2002 forward.   Bye-bye.  Those old labels I kept out of guilt and hadn’t used in years – gone!  Big relief.   And!  The books now have a home and there is room to spare.  Victory!
 
We ALL could use a little help
Why the big confession?  Because, sometimes we just need an objective party to help us overcome that last hurdle.  Someone who can push back and ask us the question – “seriously, do you really need 20 half-filled notebooks or will you buy a new one the next time you need one?” (yes, that was the question that triggered the massive notebook purge).  

If you have that friend, excellent!  Call them now.  If not, don’t be afraid to hire someone like Eliza (or Eliza!) and make that investment in your space, yourself.   The instantaneous relief will be well worth it!   And once it's done right, it's much more easy to maintain.
 
As we say in feng shui, Space = Opportunity.  I’ve  got the space, bring on the opportunity!