Holey doughnuts. It’s my own fault. I know, I know, I know. But still. Holey doughnuts!

 

Since Mister and I moved into the new pad a couple of years ago, I have let my filing (receipts, documents, etc.) get away from me. And I don’t care for this, as I long to be anally-retentive-organized in every single aspect of my life. I’m not, but I want to be. So about a week ago I decided it was time to get serious about my filing and tackle the gi-normous pile of paper hidden in my closet. Taking the to-be-filed sack out of the closet was the first step (ain’t it always), and now I’m knee-deep in paper.

 

One aspect of filing the ignored paperwork of the last few years is getting rid of old, unneeded receipts and documents. I’m talking about restaurant receipts from 2011, and auto oil-change paperwork from before that. It’s one thing to keep warranties and manuals. It’s another to keep receipts and instructions for items we no longer own.

 

So I’m going through a ridiculous amount of paper, deciding what needs to be kept (very little), what needs to be shredded (quite a bit more), and what needs to be recycled (the majority). It’s a slog. And when I get into the zone, I confess to becoming a bit zombie-like. Sadly, afternoon coffee does nothing to combat the slog.

 

But going through the old papers is also fascinating. I have found receipts for concerts (Ray Wylie Hubbard, Laura Cantrell) and receipts for travel (Italy, Seattle). I have also found something I can’t explain. There are about a jillion receipts – spread out in our files – covered in glitter. Glitter! I mean, what the heck is that about? The other day, as I was nearly unconscious from filing, it occurred to me that maybe all that glitter magically symbolizes the source of my super-power: my filing abilities. And I thought that if that’s true, I’ve got a lot to be pissed about. Because dang! Filing as a super-power? And even if filing is a super-power, I have clearly not gotten the power part of the equation, since I let the filing slide for 2 friggin’ years! But then, after getting riled about all that, my brain got enough oxygen and I came to my senses, and stopped obsessing over the mystery glitter. Some things I’m just never going to understand.

 

So filing. I am about halfway through the sack and that feels great. Getting rid of unneeded stuff also feels great. And having receipts and paperwork filed in their allotted spaces? My anally-retentive-organized dreams are this close to coming true. I can hardly wait. Just hope I don’t slip into a coma before I get there.