Alex is a Hoarder
Today I have the great honor of introducing you to my beautiful wife, Rachel! She’s written a post to let you in on my creative process (yeah, that’s good spin). I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.
In 40 years, this will be my clean room
My name is Rachel Humphrey. This post, however, is not about me – it’s about Alex.
My husband, Alex, has many roles. He is a great husband and compassionate friend. But there is something about him you would not expect.
Ever seen the show on television about hoarders?
If you have not had the express joy of observing these phenomena; please view this brief, concise explanation. I will allow Wikipedia to explain:
“Compulsive hoarding (or pathological hoarding or disposophobia)is the acquisition of possessions (and failure to use or discard them) in excess of socially normative amounts.”
I first noticed Alex’s tendencies when I saw his house for the first time. His room – immaculately spotless; His desk – covered with every kind of sticky note, ruled note card, or scrap of paper imaginable. Every note covered with discreet bits of information jotted in his handwriting. Books or websites he wanted to read, videos to watch, quotes that brought a new perspective into his life. The seriousness of the situation never really hit me until observing his open browser page. Who knew fifteen tabs could be open at once? I mean, seriously, fifteen? (editor’s note: it’s usually way more than 15). And then there are the links. I find links saved, jotted down, or zipping about in emails on a non-stop basis!
Ok, so I am joking with my implications just a bit. My husband does have notes in carefully structured stacks. He does open (ed: at least) fifteen tabs in a browser window at once. He does save and view any link he thinks is intriguing.
But, Alex is not a hoarder.
Alex loves to share. He finds inspiration in the words and thoughts of others. And then he shares that inspiration with you, me and anyone who is interested in learning and growing together. This is one of the things I find so amazing about my husband.
How can you influence inspiration in others?
Brandon (132)
Loren Pinilis (109)
Mike Luna (103)
ixnayonthetimmay (83)
Dustin (78)
moe (63)
Don Sartain (59)
Pastor Matt (36)
JeniferR (30)
Adam (20)
Haha, that was pretty funny, Rachel.
I’m the same way — there’s so much I’m interested in and want to know and learn. It has the potential to lead to a lot of clutter.
Loren Pinilis recently posted..The Problem with Spiritual Gifts Tests
I think it’s a good thing overall, but it can get overwhelming sometimes! Lol
15 tabs!? That’s impressive! My brain can honestly not function with more than 5 tabs open! haha…
Brandon recently posted..The Living Nativity
Haha, sometimes more…
I hear ya on the sticky notes — they’re everywhere on my desk! I usually consolidate them after a while into a half sheet of paper..but then I get half sheets of paper floating around.
Tim @ Faith and Finance recently posted..Turbo Tax Free Online Tax Prep in 2012
I tried sheets of paper and even putting them into Evernote for awhile, but I ended up going back to sticky notes and small slips in a pile on my desk.
Glad to see I’m not alone! lol
Psychologically, I find a clean work area to be more calming and focusing than a messy work area. My brain will reach a critical mass of mess occasionally and I will feel the need to just clean everything up. Sadly, this means a lot of “things I’ve been meaning to get to” will get lost in the purge.
I wholeheartedly agree though; sticky notes are the best! And I’m proud to say I have only one real and one virtual sticky note on my monitor right now.
When I get to that point, I usually stack everything into neat little piles. In a few months, I may go through one of those piles and find ideas and tasks that should have been done long ago. lol