-I've been a little busy as you can see...-
I'm not one for clutter. Once a year I gather up all the clothes I haven't worn in a few years, the books that I realize will never be read again for they have no great memories or adventures of our times together stitched into the bindings, and perhaps a strange and warped kettle I had in college that has survived all the previous moves. They get stacked into boxes (or tossed into a bin if it's really no good) and it goes to the Goodwill where I leave it on the step and never remember to get that yellow donation ticket for my taxes.
I don't do it for taxes, though. I do it for sanity.
I thrive on order and am an apostle to cleanliness in the most archaic sense. It doesn't matter how beat I am when I come home, or how terribly sick I may be, or if my deadline is in, "Oh shit, I have a half hour before this is due to my editor!" I will flagellate myself on a stack of dirty dishes until they're properly stacked and each wine glass sparkles like my credit score.
