My mother, in her more lucid moments, taught me some useful skills. One of them has served me well all my life, and I'm in the process of using it even as I sit here, taking a break to write this journal entry.

The skill? When faced with a massive, seemingly overwhelming task, break it down into manageable portions, in your head visualize it, before you even lay a hand to it.

So the last few days I've been mulling over how to unpack, sort, cull, and then organize back into place this room I've designated as office space. When I retired, and especially after I rented out the bottom floor of the house, I crammed everything into this room and the bedroom across the hall. It's been a disaster area for months. Maybe even years.

I've pretty much mastered the master bedroom (drum roll, thank you) and now the monster maw of the office awaits.

Following my mother's example, I've bought boxes and each shelf or cupboard space goes into a separate box, with a label indicating where the stuff originated. Then, when the room is clear, I'll paint it (may even refinish the floor--who knows) and then, box-by-box, I'll sort, cull and restore.

I couldn't deal with it en masse, but now that I have a plan, I'm all over it, like white on rice. I'm actually eager to tackle it. Once I've made a decision and formulated a plan, I'm not one to dither and procrastinate. "Do it now" is my motto. Yesterday would have been better. (Typical December baby.)

Well, OTOH, maybe I'll read another couple of chapters and have a cup of coffee first...hey? (Told you).

Thanks, Mom. I'm very grateful you were my mother.