Old enough to vote

Back to basics

“I can’t deal with cleaning up. Let’s sell the house.” -a lesser known but equally poignant quote from Apollo 13

If it feels like something’s missing, you’re right. The podcast is on hiatus in case you plugged in your headphones yesterday only to hear the sweet sound of nothing; except for maybe a Spotify commercial for Tide Pods (what I’m listening to as I type this since I don’t have Spotify premium). So today’s newsletter feeling a little off kilter is likely the product of me experiencing a kind of content empty-nester’s syndrome. Fitting as we’re on issue 18.

Back to what’s on tap for today. I revisit an important topic that I covered last fall on the podcast: decluttering. Since an entire winter has passed since I last talked about it, now is a good time for me to check in and see how I’m doing. Ack, I’m now a few seconds into that annoying Old Spice commercial, so that’s my signal to wrap this intro.

-John

Moving Forward

Catch this week’s episode any prior week’s episode on Spotify.

Moving Forward is also available on Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, iHeart, CastBox, Pocket Casts, Spotify for Podcasters (formerly Anchor), and Audible.

Some things I learned from not doing any new episodes this week:

• Time continues to move, and seemingly faster, when you’re not recording new episodes.

• I should take more breaks often.

• I don’t feel a shred of guilt at taking a break.

• I’m only 30 episodes away from the finish line.

• Other miscellaneous thoughts not related to the podcast.

Check out the most recent episodes of Moving Forward:

• MF 470 : Inspiring individuals: Dr. Lauren Zimski (mid-season finale)

• MF 469 : Inspiring individuals: Angelo Spenillo 🎸

Hacks

Shred your way to freedom

It’s been a while since I talked about my decluttering journey. For those just hearing about this, check out MF 443 - 451 from last season where I talk about why and how I started decluttering my life. In that series, I shared that my most daunting task would be purging paper clutter. As a former practicing lawyer and recovering packrat organized hoarder, I’ve accumulated an oak tree’s worth in countless bankers boxes, bins, drawers, folders, and envelopes. And we’re talking one of those gigantic thousand year oak trees too: the kind you see in fantasy films with magical societies living in them.

While I’ve mostly enjoyed decluttering, finding it to be challenging yet satisfying, paper was the category I dreaded most because of the sheer volume and logistics involved. I talked briefly about it on MF 445 last October but at that time, I had barely scratched the surface on purging the mountain of paper I had inexplicably accumulated and stored. On that episode, I discussed the importance of properly discarding old papers with sensitive information, including old tax returns, mortgage statements, credit card and financial statements, etc. With these, you can’t just toss them into a bin and call it a day. They need to be destroyed or shredded. The problem is that doing it yourself can became a real slog as I discovered this past winter. I broke two shredders within a span of a few weeks (I’m now on my third) and witnessed the violation of several spatial physics laws as one box of documents ballooned into two gigantic lawn bags of paper waste. Also, if you’re in short supply of dust, problem solved. Joking aside, if you’re doing this at home, I strongly recommend wear a mask and pretend you’re in spring 2020 or summer 2023. Between constant shredder jams, paper cuts, and the sheer tedium of bagging homemade confetti, I moved at a pace of around 3-4 bags a month throughout January - March. While that sounds like a lot, if you reverse the “balloon bag” math, DIY was neither fast nor efficient.

I ended up putting aside paper to purge easier, more traditional clutter, including books that I continue to sell on Pangobooks, and old blankets, pillows, and miscellany that I donated to PurpleHeart (see MF 445 and 446). Meanwhile, the never ending paper piles continued to sit there, laughing at me.

Then, in early April, a throwaway email caught my eye. The Better Business Bureau was hosting a free community shred day to help combat identity theft. This one took place on a Saturday at a local fair ground. I decided to go and brought three boxes worth. I arrived early and cars were lined up like they were … at a fair! The BBB partnered with Iron Mountain, a professional document management and disposal company, which had several trucks on site. If you’ve never been to a community shredding event, it’s a thing of beauty and a model of efficiency. A team of volunteers would take box(es) of documents from each car, dump them into a tub, then roll it into a chute-elevator contraption built into the truck. Next, the elevator would lift the tub and dump the contents into a huge industrial shredder to grind it all into pulp. What used to take me hours, spread out over weeks, took less than one hour with most of it spent sitting in my car. The actual dump-and-shred took less than two minutes.

Shortly after, I discovered my library was also hosting several free shred events with a local company, Chesapeake Shredding, throughout the spring. I took several more boxes to one a few weeks ago and today, I’m excited, relieved, and in utter disbelief that I’m down to my last bankers box, which I’m taking to my third event tomorrow. And with that, I go from 😭 of turmoil to 😭 of joy.

Here’s my paper purging hack in a nutshell:

1. Cry at the amount of paper you have to discard if you’re a packrat or organized hoarder like me. Ok I didn’t actually cry but I did make any combination of these faces many times 😩😖😫.

2. Take a deep breath and start organizing your papers, one box at a time.

3. Separate papers you absolutely need to keep (be strict) from what you can discard (if you’re not sure, see if you can digitize and get rid of the physical copy). Be sure to remove paper clips, binder clips, etc. Side benefit: I’ve now collected enough of these from my decluttering that I never have to buy any more office supplies for the rest of my life.

4. Place all sensitive paper clutter into a big box (if you don’t have bankers boxes, use a leftover fruit or vegetable box from Costo as they can hold a lot).

5. Look for free community shredding events in your neighborhood. I recommend ones sponsored by the BBB or your local library. Condo associations often host them too.

6. Get there early. These shredding events are like concerts! You’ll find cars lined up as if Taylor Swift is performing at these (spoiler: she’s not).

7. Enjoy the rush you feel when you see your unwanted (yet sensitive) papers safely locked into a tub and ground into oblivion.

Available now at my bookstore on Pangobooks

Hands down one of the greatest rom-com screenplays ever written …

Quirky reads 📚

A look at some of the books I’ve been reading.

[Affiliate disclosure: these are affiliate links to Amazon through which I earn a commission from qualifying purchases.]

• How Civil Wars Start: And How To Stop Them by Barbara F. Walter (****)

• Storm of the Century by Stephen King (***)

• The Ferryman by Justin Cronin (** 1/2)

• The 5 Love Languages by Gary Chapman (*****)

Follow me on Goodreads for book recommendations and to see what else I’m reading.

Upcoming

Summer is around the corner and so is my next writing and self-publishing class!

Upcoming

Learn how to declutter your closet and drawers while starting a side business at the same time!

Resources

Teach a man to fish, you know the rest (if you don’t, check these out).

• Book a coaching call with me on Clarity.

• Follow me on Goodreads for book recommendations.

• Check out one of my favorite daily newsletters Morning Brew (affiliate referral link).

Books

I wrote most of these so spruce up your home library and look smart in the process.

• The Poshmark Guide for Individuals and Small Businesses (Paperback, Kindle, Audible) 

• The Poshmark Guide for Individuals and Small Businesses (Apple audiobooks)

• The Poshmark Journal for Individuals and Small Businesses

• The Corporate Cliches Adult Coloring Book

• I Am a Professional Metalhead (audiobook) (Audible affiliate link) written by Angelo Spenillo, narrated by John Lim

Support the newsletter and podcast

“What are you selling?!?” -actual quote from a b-school classmate

• Books! Check out my used bookstore on Pangobooks.

• Try out Audible (affiliate paid link).

• Try out Amazon Prime (affiliate paid link)

Affiliate disclosure

Note: Links to Amazon and Audible products are affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.