No need to comment. Just a (icky) 'memory shot.'
I worked at home today and spent a lot of it in my study. As the day wore on I was increasingly distracted by all the clutter and disarray. Little is where it is supposed to be. Even books in a row are the wrong books in the wrong place. Photo stuff is piled up. Papers are stacked -- already scanned, old and not needed, and critically important all mixed up. So everything takes longer because it involves finding what I need. I need a week with nothing just to get to a starting point. It's not going to happen. Oh well...
Dinner then back to work. Getting ready for our staff meeting tomorrow and grading papers. Life sure is exciting at the moment.
It doesn't look so bad, and I see some (hopefully) happy memories in there.
Perhaps you can answer a question, how do teachers stand to read student reports or term papers? I remember just throwing up vocabulary words on a page in the hopes of getting a good grade.
I feel your pain! Even if I had a week off, I am sure I would end up flitting from one incomplete project to another, and the result would be not a single projected completed!
What a great (and brave) idea for a capture! I can easily match your clutter, but I tend to hide mine in just one very messy room behind a closed door!
@riverlandphotos Thanks for the kind comments! And yes, many happy memories (if only I could see them through the clutter). Re paper grading...I have two really good groups of students, so for the most part, they are trying hard to do well. But what I'm asking of them is fairly hard, so it takes a lot of time to read their drafts (so that their final ones at the end of the semester should be really good). It's just with two groups, it takes forever and does get tiring, even when I can tell they are working hard and for the most part, 'getting it.' Teaching is hard work, though! No matter what the age group.
I neglected to say I liked the collage - the clutter doesn't look bad to me, but al things are relative and if you saw my closets, no room for skeletons.
Can't image how difficult is to teach. I think teachers should be paid what professional sports teams get paid.
What's interesting is that your collage seems to present a visually organized image, so it took reading your narrative to fully understand that seeing books that "seemed" to be in place wasn't really representing the truth of the situation.
I'm afraid my office looks rather similar, except I share it with my 17 yr old son and his college work, so there is no hope of getting it organised any time soon!!! I like how you have put it all together into a collage.
It looks much tidier than my bookshelf. My sister once commented that she hadn't realised it was possible to have books facing in so many different directions.
Like the collage of all of it (and the hint of a gorillapod in amongst the books). Teaching just never slows down, does it? We finished conferences this week but then it's still all go, go, go!
I understand your frustration - having to waste time looking for things drives me crazy! Maybe if you tackled one shelf every day, it would get done - think of it as an investment. The time you spend organizing is gained back many times over by not having to search ever again! As you can probably tell - I love to organize things ;-) Most people get overwhelmed by thinking they have to tidy "the whole thing!" in one go. One shelf per day doesn't seem so bad.
Believe me, it may appear cluttered to you but as one who had decluttered someone's house- this is neat!! I think it's you like to be more organized than this, not so much that this is cluttered- it's not organized. I am like that too- I hate it when things get out of order! I love your teddy!! And, when it gets like this for me, I just take one section at a time and sort- eventually it all gets back to where it belongs.
@olivetreeann Ah...I realize from everyone's comments that the compulsiveness in me made it look better than it does. I should have done an overall showing how it really is a cluttered mess with little stacks everywhere. But the stacks ended up all looking like they are part of the same bookcase and then the collage is so structured. So funny in hindsight that I chose such a structured way to convey what is truly a mess. But I do like yours and @timandelke Elke's suggestion to take a shelf (or my interpretation) a stack at a time and just get it done. Thanks for taking the time to look and comment.
@nanalisarocks Thanks Lisa. It's an eclectic mix that is quite jumbled among professional books, books I've read for fun, books I want to read for fun, books people have given me or I've bought but can't remember why, etc. And since 365, my reading has plummeted.
I do love the way you have shown us your chaos in such an organised tidy way! I need to tidy my whole house which bears an uncanny resemblance to this! Trouble is since 365 housework has taken a much lower priority in my life!
Organized chaos! Like my home office - but I know where everything is. It looks comfortable. We have book cases in every room in our house - so many books - glad to see others to too!
Great collage! It doesn't look so horrifying, but I know often disorganization is a feeling, more than a state of being. Hopefully, you were able to achieve the order you are seeking.
I like the gorillapod jostling for position amongst all the books! We have shelves like that, and my photography accessories have a bad habit of being left on there too, making the whole area look even more messy! Good idea for a conscience jog!
Oh, I went through the Great Migration from one room to another before school started (with my office), and I've already mucked it all up AGAIN. Seriously, it's just hard to keep it all together. :)
There is a certain comfort in clutter. It is as if those books are your friends, there to watch over you..... Well that is my excuse for having a very similar home office.
Perhaps you can answer a question, how do teachers stand to read student reports or term papers? I remember just throwing up vocabulary words on a page in the hopes of getting a good grade.
Can't image how difficult is to teach. I think teachers should be paid what professional sports teams get paid.
I agree with Macdeafdog about what teachers should be paid!
I love looking at people's bookshelves :)