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SOUTHERN OREGON JOURNAL Organizing can wait for winter Comment By Peggy Dover for the Mail Tribune MailTribune.com By Peggy Dover for the Mail Tribune Posted Feb. 22, 2015 at 12:01 AM By Peggy Dover for the Mail Tribune Posted Feb. 22, 2015 at 12:01 AM » Social News I’d just gotten a game start at organizing my life and all the accompanying stuff that so easily entangles, now six or seven weeks into the new-ish year, when it suddenly dawned that I hadn’t been to Ashland in a while. Plus, the sun shone bright, it was 60-some degrees in February, and my friend had an appointment to paint some trees’ portraits in Lithia Park. Did I mention it was Tuesday? Half of every Tuesday flits past by the time I’ve visited Uncle Dick and read with my two SMART niblets out at Lake Creek Learning Center. After my weekly bowl of chili with onions, cheese and jalapenos at Lake Creek Store, an organizational mood is beyond the pale. Reading books such as "Charles the Ranch Dog" and "The Class from the Black Lagoon" pulls what scant left-brained energy I had when I started the day right out into the fresh air, where it floats off on a false spring breeze. To illustrate that I’m not a completely disorganized boob, I did begin the day full of pragmatic gusto and composed an extensive TO DO list. Wisdom roared to the fore as I broke overwhelming tasks into baby bites, allocating them to specific months. It may be time to start again by the time they’re completed, but with the practiced resistance that accrues with age, hopefully I’ll have packed in less ballast. I no longer save twist ties, for example. Nothing on the list was possible to achieve in a mere half day, but I compromised by weeding my scarf rack, which now hangs leaner and unencumbered. I made purposeful movement toward burrowing out of a 27-year accumulation in this house alone. There have been others. The stack of unsold clothing I retrieved a year ago from the consignment shop (two steps forward, one step back) I placed very definitely into a box destined for a clothing exchange with no plans to replace, unless there’s a cool scarf there. I have room now. Then I tackled a dusty pile on my dresser containing two safety pins, two bobby pins, one large paper clip, two packs of replacement buttons that accompanied garments purchased four years ago, and a checking deposit slip. I’m smiling because I can hear you wondering if I made this up. Right-brainers are not known for being overt neatniks, OK? However, chaos tends to clog the creative flow. When that happens, with half a day left, I convene elsewhere. Frankly, I’d rather spend every day with my head in a story — mine or someone else’s. Discipline is paramount for a writer. I could procrastinate myself out of a career for the sake of clearing a drawer of loose beads, singular earrings, old greeting cards and monkey socks. You heard me. Monkey socks will soon pop up on a Goodwill rack nearby and get snapped up by the first shopper with a yen to play at “sock puppets in the jungle.” Meanwhile, there’s Lithia Creek chortling over my shoulder. My friend, in the time it takes for me to recite from "As You Like It" — “Now we go in content to liberty, and not to banishment” — has created a fabulous landscape appetizer of Lithia Park, long a favorite haven, especially in the good old days when I could play my tambourine for the swans. And this week opens the 2015 Oregon Shakespeare Festival! Soon, when winter emerges from its hiding place (Massachusetts, I suspect), I’ll tackle the designated clean-out region for February from that most excellent list. There’s a satisfaction that comes with making headway when you’ve been looking at a closet or shelf ruefully, shaking your head and murmuring you must get at that sometime. Fortunately, my column isn’t about organization, it’s about the wonderful and diverse people and places of Southern Oregon, and when stories call, I must follow the lead and leave paperclips and dust bunnies to find their own way home. Peggy Dover is a freelance writer. Visit her Facebook page at Peggy Dover-writer and contact her at [email protected]     By Peggy Dover for the Mail Tribune MailTribune.com By Peggy Dover for the Mail Tribune Posted Feb. 22, 2015 at 12:01 AM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... 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