Decluttering Is Like an Onion–It Grows Back

I’ve used the webmail of a certain very large website as my primary email for years. Recently I lost patience at last with my glitchy inbox, and switched to another email address as my primary.

Let me tell you, it’s been rough. How was I to know I had so many things linked to that one address? I’d done the linking one thing at a time, over the last eight years or so. My social networking sites, my forums, my send-me-a-recipe-a-day-that-I’ll-never-make memberships. Even my 750words.com account–and I can’t change that. I’d have to make a new account, and lose my Albatross badge earned by writing 750 words every single day for going on a hundred days in a row. (Soon I’ll have the phoenix again!)

It has been rough, but it’s also been a good thing. I can’t believe how much garbage I was signed up for.

Perhaps I should mention I’m a patient sort. You won’t often see me complaining about spam. It takes seconds to delete, it’s the price of email making communication so easy, et cetera. If I get a newsletter from something in which I have no interest, I’ll delete it, but it’s a rare day when I’ll click the “Unsubscribe” link. Next time that newsletter might have an interesting article! One of these days I’m going to buy again from that company that’s been sending me sales flyers for three years!

Only since changing my address, that fact is changing too. My new email will import items landing in my old inbox, but I’ve discovered that I rather like an uncluttered inbox. So lately I’ve been hitting the “Unsubscribe” link. A lot.

It’s carrying over, too. I’ve been decluttering my Twitter follows. When someone tweets an ad, I’ve been clicking over to their profile to see if they ever talk about anything but “buy my ____!!” If not–unfollow. In the kitchen last week I got tired of the shelf in front of the window, and decluttered it. One of the things that went away was an onion that was responding to spring in the air. (Or perhaps the moisture in the bag I’d left it in, oops.)

Sometimes as I toss things, I wonder what I was thinking, even keeping that (email, old onion, ripped shirt) in the first place. But then I stop myself, because there are enough people in the world wanting to put me down–I don’t need to help them. So instead of dwelling on the negatives, I tell myself I’m dealing with it now. I’m making room for other things.

The same thing has been happening in my professional life. I haven’t “tossed” any books anywhere, but publishing them makes a difference. I don’t have ten manuscripts lying around needing editing anymore–I have seven, and three published books. I think it’s been very good for me. I’m feeling less stifled creatively, and entertaining new ideas again. I’m wandering out of the Dream’verse and finding It Is Good. (though I’ll never abandon the Dream’verse, don’t worry!)

I’m really excited about bringing Queen’s Man to readers next week. I adore Joss, and I can’t wait to share his book. But also I can’t wait to get him off my To-Do List.

If you’d like to win an e-copy of Queen’s Man, you can go over to Stumbling Over Chaos to enter. If you’d like a print-copy, keep an eye on Goodreads. I’ll be doing a giveaway soon.

Or, you know. Just buy a copy. It goes on sale April 1st.

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