It's tax time

Yup, it's that time of year again, and for most people, it's dreadful.

Not for me. I really enjoy doing my taxes. I like gathering all the papers, sorting the stuff into different piles, using my fantastic selection of pink sticky-notes. I like plugging the numbers into the program and maximizing my deductions (you had fair warning - I've made it clear that I'm an accountant).

I don't expect a refund. I'm just happy if I break even.

This is a major project because I'm really bad at opening my mail. I only do so about twice a year. All my bills are sucked out of my bank account automatically, and I can access all my banking information online. Ergo, the only mail I open are magazines and cards. Mail comes into the house and gets dumped on the china cabinet, or a basket by the back door, or into a pile in my office.

So, for the past couple weekends, I've been puttering around, gathering the mail into one central pile and opening it. I couldn't believe how much went into the recycle bin (that's a rant all its own).

As an added bonus, I've been gathering other things and putting those away as well. Like magazines. Yarn. Patterns. Clean clothes. CDs. Books. And, I've been cleaning the clear spaces left behind.

This job is nowhere near finished, but I'm almost to the point where I could have a contractor come in and give me an estimate for the work I want done without being completely ashamed of my home.

And in the process, I've remembered something I used to tell myself all the time: if it will only take five minutes, just do it, all ready.

Apparently, I'm a really slow learner.