Singing the blues

I'd just like to clarify some things about Senator Cory Booker's marathon Senate speech in protest of the present administration and everything they are doing to the American people.

Senator Booker was NOT allowed to sit down, eat, or use the bathroom during his speech. Sitting or leaving the room to use the bathroom would be considered yielding the floor. Eating would have interfered with his speaking and the person who has the senate floor must continue to speak, except when listening to questions that they will then answer.

He only took occasional sips of water.

The person who previously held the record for longest speech on the Senate floor did have bathroom breaks and also did things like read from the encyclopedia.

Senator Booker did not do that. His speech was to point out the damage that this administration is doing and he stayed on that subject.

Senator Booker's speech did reach many people. It wasn't a silly stunt that was done so that he could take the record for longest speech. He wanted to show the country that democrats will do something to bring attention to the problems we are facing. That democrats are listening to them.

Senator Cory Booker spoke for 25 hours and 4 minutes to "make good trouble."

I'd just like to clarify some things about Senator Cory Booker's marathon Senate speech in protest of the present administration and everything they are doing to the American people.

Senator Booker was NOT allowed to sit down, eat, or use the bathroom during his speech. Sitting or leaving the room to use the bathroom would be considered yielding the floor. Eating would have interfered with his speaking and the person who has the senate floor must continue to speak, except when listening to questions that they will then answer.

He only took occasional sips of water.

The person who previously held the record for longest speech on the Senate floor did have bathroom breaks and also did things like read from the encyclopedia.

Senator Booker did not do that. His speech was to point out the damage that this administration is doing and he stayed on that subject.

Senator Booker's speech did reach many people. It wasn't a silly stunt that was done so that he could take the record for longest speech. He wanted to show the country that democrats will do something to bring attention to the problems we are facing. That democrats are listening to them.

Senator Cory Booker spoke for 25 hours and 4 minutes to "make good trouble."

Room Rescue: Basics of Roomkeeping*

*As opposed to housekeeping.

I was talking with someone I know about the basic things that make a room feel better for the least amount of know how and effort. I told them I'd do a write up of my advice so they could refer back to it. I hope it's helpful to some others as well.

Who This Is/Isn't For

This isn't for the folks who already have pretty organized and clean spaces - I am not one of you, I can only admire from afar. This isn't for the folks who don't yet have clear walkways to their bed, bathroom, food, and exit. Been there, you have my love.

This is with a bedroom in mind. This works best if you've got 10-20 minutes a day you can work on it. This works best for people who have already done some decluttering done though maybe not quite as much as they need. This works better in smaller spaces than larger spaces. This is for those people who keep piling up stuff and don't know what to do with it.

Zoning

Your room needs zones. I like try to have the zones the CPG Grey talked about in his Spaceship You video:

• Couch/Lounge
• Bed/Sleep
• Work/Creative
• Movement/Exercise

In very smell rooms, some of these around going to overlap and that's fine, just so long as you know where each of them is. Movement for many people is going to be an outside zone and that's fine.

Once you've established these zones, only stuff that belongs with that zone's focus can stay in that zone.

You will pretty quickly come across lots of stuff that doesn't fit neatly into your zones yet. Either you don't have the storage for it yet or you're not quite sure if you're going to keep it long term. That's fine. This is where the support zones come in handy.

• Trash
• Laundry
• Staging/Take Out
• DOOM (Didn't Organize Only Moved)

It's my personal opinion that trash and laundry should be in containers with lids/bags that zip closed. If that genuinely doesn't work for you don't listen to me. The pro of this is that when it's contained like that it feels like less of a task/there's less visual clutter and it's less stressful to see them.

Staging/Take Out zone is for things you want to take out of the room when you get up. They should wither be close to the door or close to where you put that stuff down anyways.

DOOM (Didn't Organize Only Moved) zone is for all the boxes, bags, random pile of crap that do not currently have a place. The ideal place for this zone is the least visible spot from the door. I recommend this because how you enter the room determines a lot of how you feel about it. Stick anything that doesn't yet have a place here. Use boxes, pile high.

From there, you can dedicate 15-20 minutes a day to tidying first, then using the leftover time to improve the space.

Tidying

I like the Five Things Tidying method from KC Davis. Everything in your room falls into one of five categories:

• Trash
• Dishes
• Laundry
• Things that Have a Place
• Things that Don't Have a Place

Start at the top and work your way down. Don't get through the whole list in 15-20 minutes? Just get as far as you can and come back tomorrow. Things that don't have a place can go in your DOOM Pile. If all you can manage if 5 minutes, that's great. Do what you can.

If you miss a day, no big. Shoot for more days out of a week than not and your space will steadily get cleaner.

Improving

If you have time leftover after tidying each day, I recommend doing some of the following:

• Decluttering your DOOM pile/establishing object homes
• Clearing horizontal surfaces
• Decorating/hang up mementos
• Physical cleaning

You will always have some sort of DOOM or Miscellaneous Pile/Box. I don't know of a single sane person in my life who doesn't. The goal is to get it to something manageable for you. Maybe it's a section of your closet, maybe it's a box under your bed - whatever ultimately strikes that balance between the stuff you want to fit there and the space you want for everything else you do in your room. Which is to say periodically going through DOOM piles is not a sign of failure, it's a normal chore. For decluttering, I highly recommend Dana K. Whites No-Mess Decluttering Method.

Clearing horizontal surfaces is s constant battle in my experience. They love to collect things. The only things that should be on surfaces are things that you have decided go there. Have a lot of items? Group them into bags and boxes so they can be moves more easily. Leave the tops furniture for decor and lighting and, in the case of desks and bedside tables, a well curated selection of favorites. These selections will need updated and rotated through when you're in different seasons of life. It's not shameful, it's a normal chore.

Decorating is a vital part of living in a space. I will die on that hill. You can add as much or as little as you like but some personalization is so key for mental health. Take a little time here and there to put up pictures of loved ones, cards or other ephemera that make you happy. Put up lamps that help you see better and works of art that inspire you. It's also a chore.

Physical cleaning. The main cleaning that needs done in a bedroom is dusting and vacuuming. Honestly if you're starting from scratch, once a month is often plenty to start with. Clean up spills as they happen. Take out trash when it's full. Do your laundry as needed. Refill tissues and such when you run out. Most of cleaning is responding to events and your own needs.

Conclusion

I hope this gives someone some ideas on how to improve their room a little so it's a more pleasant space to be in. This won't result in like a pinterest level room but it strkes that balance between neat and easy to care for in my experience.

Take what's useful and leave the rest!

girls