Get a free story when you subscribe

Author, Editor, Media Tie-In Writer

Declutter Monday for 28 Jan 2019

I decided to start decluttering on Saturday with my bathroom. That continued on into the hall closet. I didn’t expect the hall closet to take that much time. Except for the CDs. I’m one of those people who has held onto their CDs “just in case.” I’m part of the generation that grew up without the internet until my twenties. Some habits are hard to let go.

First thought: It’s amazing how much crap you stash away when you’re “just cleaning.” I remember doing a deep clean on the bathroom a few months ago, but I still found many tubes of expired makeup, hand cream, and sunscreen.

Second thought: CDs. Oh lord. Those included unexpected emotional bombs. Like hypnotherapy for weight loss and self-esteem. I kept about 160 CDs. This included my maybe pile. Donated 180+ CDs. I culled it by asking myself, “Would I miss this CD if the end of the world came and I only had a CD player to listen to music on?” If the answer was “No.” into the donate pile it went. I guess this apocalyptic question-and-answer was my version of whether or not something “sparks joy.” Now, three huge boxes have been condensed into a single wallet storage organizer I can get to easily.

Third thought: Me and the Husband are learning all about different recycling systems and services. Jewel cases are simple plastic recycle as long as they are empty. Also, locally, there is a company that does fabric recycling for fabric things that cannot be donated.

Fourth thought: Some areas are harder to declutter than others. I realized that I didn’t want to actually declutter my office. I kept thinking about leaving it until last, even though I said that I was going to finish the upstairs before I tackled the downstairs because so much of that needed the Husband’s input. (Husband unexpectedly home to help doesn’t count.) Thus, I decided I would take my time with the office. Partly why I started the declutter over the weekend, I guess.

Fifth thought: The large bookcase in my office was painful. Physically and mentally. I lost another gel nail. The same finger (left pointer) as last time, but this time, a full week early. Too busy to go get it fixed. Mentally…so many bad writing mistakes hiding in the back and bottom of the bookcase: Scams I was taken in by. Bad contracts. Really terrible manuscripts that I never want to see the light of day. I feel like I need a drink…and a hug. Not necessarily in that order.

Final thought: It is still a pleasure to shred. More tax / house documents 10+ years old. I hoarded that stuff like I was sure I would be audited. Though, my shredder is starting to make distressed noises. I need to be careful with it. It’s 15+ years old after all.

Next week, I start downstairs officially. The Kitchen. I don’t know how bad it will be. We did one round of decluttering about six months back. Part of me wants to redo the entire upstairs because I feel like I’ve missed stuff, but I think distance and time is the better bet. To hone my decision making skills and make sure my ruthlessness is used on the right thing. Do the downstairs. Then come back upstairs and start again.

Meet Jennifer Brozek

Jennifer Brozek is a multi-talented, award-winning author, editor, and media tie-in writer. She is the author of Never Let Me Sleep and The Last Days of Salton Academy, both of which were nominated for the Bram Stoker Award. Her YA tie-in novels, BattleTech: The Nellus Academy Incident and Shadowrun: Auditions, have both won Scribe Awards. Her editing work has earned her nominations for the British Fantasy Award, the Bram Stoker Award, and the Hugo Award. She won the Australian Shadows Award for the Grants Pass anthology, co-edited with Amanda Pillar. Jennifer’s short form work has appeared in Apex Publications, Uncanny Magazine, Daily Science Fiction, and in anthologies set in the worlds of Valdemar, Shadowrun, V-Wars, Masters of Orion, Well World, and Predator.

Jennifer has been a full-time freelance author and editor for over seventeen years, and she has never been happier. She keeps a tight schedule on her writing and editing projects and somehow manages to find time to teach writing classes and volunteer for several professional writing organizations such as SFWA, HWA, and IAMTW. She shares her husband, Jeff, with several cats and often uses him as a sounding board for her story ideas. Visit Jennifer’s worlds at jenniferbrozek.com or her social media accounts on LinkTree.

Browse the archives

You may also like...

Wrapping up stuff that happened at the end of 2022 and started this year. Releases, reviews, and interviews! Miscellaneous: I finally made a linktr.ee site. https://linktr.ee/JenniferBrozek Just cause. Release: My new FiveFold Universe novella, Truumeel’s Light, has been released! Review: Review of Truumeel’s Light. They like it. Yay! Review: A lovely compliment about me as a BattleTech author. Sometimes all you need is a brief, unexpected compliment to make an author’s day so much better. Release: My latest Shadowrun YA novelle! Shadowrun: Unrepairable. This is my third standalone YA Shadowrun novella. Gotta tell you, things don’t look good for the home team in this one. Support: As always… if you appreciate my work and would like to support me, I love coffee. I am made of caffeine. This is the quickest way to brighten my day. Video Interview: This was on GenConTV with Rem Alternis interviewing the entire FiveFold Universe...

scroll-horizontal

Article: An SFSignal Mind Meld on the Best Book Openings. Interview: Wag the Fox interviewed me about Apocalypse Girl Dreaming Podcast: Baen Books Podcast: BFRH 2014 11 21. Bryan and I talk about Shattered Shields. Review: SF Crowsnest reviews Shattered Shields. It appears that the review, Kelly Jensen, really liked it. Awesome. Review: Bookwraiths review of Shattered Shields. 3 out of 5 stars but really like it. Sale: Apocalypse Ink Productions is running a Winter Special. Code: WINTER2014. 20% entire order. If you ever wanted my Karen Wilson Chronicles, or Industry Talk… or Jay Lake’s Process of Writing… or Ivan Ewert’s Gentlemen Ghouls series… or Peter M. Ball’s Flotsam series… or Dylan Birtolo’s Sheynan series… now is the time. Writers: I am now open to edit your work. Here are my freelance editor rates.

scroll-horizontal