The Imperfect Perfectionist

Tuesday I asked, "What's on your desk?"

Maybe one good question deserves another: Are you cluttered or simply prepared for the worst?

I am a naturally curious person who always wants to find a use for everything. (politically correct translation: "easily amused and distracted like an above average two-year-old") This leads to some interesting scenarios when you remember the privileged access I have to garbage via my profession. Ten days ago I couldn't help but dig a plastic bottle out of the recycle bin to construct a portable home for a Chrysalis that I found during my cleaning rounds. I doubt it will complete the metamorphosis but I'm waiting to find out anyway.

It's strange trying to wrestle and reconcile the dual personality traits of being a saver (some say clutterbug, I just say I'm prepared) and a neat freak. Last winter I used some spare styrofoam and cardboard parts to build a desk cabinet for the tea and granola that I like to keep stocked and handy. That lasted fine until I actually needed something that wasn't on the top and in my quest to select the desired piece from my snack inventory I collapsed the whole thing and it fell into the trash can, which is where I and the styrofoam were first acquainted.

You may also rightly conclude that I'm cheap, or if you're kind you'd say frugal. The only things on the list of my desk items that I personally bought are the Nalgene bottle, the dry food/beverage supplies, the pictures, and one of the picture frames.

Even though I could easily survive a severe storm overnight in my office, let's just conclude in general by agreeing that I'm not cluttered, just prepared for the worst.

But what if the "worst case" isn't a natural disaster but rather the dread of having a cluttered desk? How do I prepare for that?

What's on your desk?

Today I had a brief discussion with my supervisor regarding an appropriate and effective strategy to clean offices and cubicles without disrupting the unique and eclectic systems of orderliness within someone's professional work space. We quickly agreed that order and organization is somewhat relative in a typical office community and thus I should only feel responsible for floors, periodic dusting, and emptying trash.

Even though I bear the title of Junior Assistant Flat Surface Technician responsible for cleaning the workspace of others, my shared office area is far from the model of perfection. I cut myself some slack (and I hope you would also) because approximately 98.7% of my professional time is spent actively working in rooms other than my office.

A witty person once told me, "Normal is only a setting on your dryer". So as I began thinking about the things on my desk I wondered what, if anything, they reveal about me. And naturally I wondered if other people like you (or you, or even you!) would draw similar or different conclusions about me based on the condition of my desk.

I'll go first with the confession of everything on my desk at the moment from east to west or right to left:

Cordless phone charging base

Chysalis in an empty 16.9oz water bottle

Computer

Computer mouse without a mouse pad

Prayer calendar for some friends overseas this week

Prayer request sheets from church office

Three Family pictures: All wallet sized, whole family in the center, Hans to the right, Esther to the left

Two shoebox-sized boxes containing napkins, plasticware utensils, a bag of cereal granola, daily supplements and an assortment of tea: White Asian Plum, Green, EveryDay Detox, and Throat Coat

A makeshift styrofoam 'coaster'

A hot beverage tumbler

An empty napkin holder

My NIV Bible


After I spend some reflective time in the vast ocean of custodial solitude I'll share my own introspective conclusions. Feel free to add your own comments at any point along the way.