I finished my desk declutterizing, and yes, it was somewhat like an enema. (We have lots of people who swear by colonics' health benefits over here, along with crystals, marijuana as a lifestyle enhancer, etc) Here, in no particular order, are some of my discoveries:

• 5 boxes of various kinds of business cards from art jewelry, counseling and writing ventures over the years. Apparently I didn’t give many out but always meant to.
• My son’s senior high school portrait in which he looks like a pouting Hayden Christiansen in one of those bad Star Wars movies.
• YAY! PRINTER INK CARTRIDGE!!! The printer has been sitting, mouth agape, for two months at least waiting for me to go buy ink. I already had some! This is worth it all of a sudden.
• A stash of chocolate Easter eggs for emergency emotional  first aid.  *crunch crunch*  Should they crunch like this? and they're beige not brown. Well maybe these are a little old…
• That really good article on Adult Attachment Styles in Scientific American Mind that I’ve been telling all my clients about and can’t find because I put it in a “safe place.”
• A flotilla of bank statements, tax forms, check stubs. Arg! April 15^th looms, but now I at least have 2011 all in one big envelope.
• At least 6 marked-up copies of various book manuscripts. I wondered where those went. *toss* Then, wonder if someday when I’m as famous as Steven King, they’ll be worth something. Dig out of trash. Decide I’m being ridiculous, such hubris is disgusting. *Re-toss.* (I think I mentioned The Shadow lurks in clutter. Mine is Hubris) This whole process with the manuscripts alone takes roughly 45 min.
• A box of broken costume jewelry, single earrings, loose beads found on my grandmother’s bedside table with a note inside “FOR TOBY.” Aunts sent it to me when she died. Apparently she remembered I used to fix jewelry (ten years ago.) Bittersad because it’s all junk I should toss. Bittersweet because she remembered anything at all about me as Alzheimer’s took her into the dark. Put the whole thing in my jewelry box to deal with some other declutterizing time (with tissues).
• Floppy disks. Hm. What?
• Credit cards I thought had expired or been destroyed long ago. (cut, cut, cut!)
• Several outdated cell phones that still work and incite guilt when I look at them.  *Donation box*
• A post-it note from when my daughter (now in postgrad program) first left for college and left post-its all over the house saying “I LOVE YOU.” I never found this one… *sniffle*
• Mysterious cords. Many mysterious cords. I don't know what any of them go to but I'm sure it was something important. *Donation Box*
• Expired art calendars for that someday collaging project. Can’t I keep those? Pretty please? Okay I’ll take them to school where they actually will get used for collaging.
• An article on the latest research in blood spatter crime scene analysis, with photos of blood spatter. I have to stop and read this all over again. *Fascinating!*
• Area maps of Oahu, Maui, Kauai and Molokai. Not because I need them, but because that’s where my next books are set and I needed to study the geography and street names, etc. (boy I’m glad I brought in those accordion files for this project.
  

  I think he shows it rather well.

• A poignant piece of art from a young client- self portrait titled, I AM WORRIED AND ANGRY. I think I meant to discuss it with my supervision group.
• The laptop from when I did my Master’s Degree, circa 2001. WOW it’s big and heavy. Still works, damn it. *More donation bin.*

In a way this project has been an archeological dig of my life in the last five years. I highly recommend lots of coffee and garbage bags when you do yours.