Were you dying to know what I was doing up at past 5am on a Sunday night/Monday morning?

I was doing my part to uphold the family reputation.

Background: Our government has this initiative about energy conservation. You can pay a nice inspector-type person to visit your home and analyze the energy use in it. They check all the windows and doors to see where you’re losing energy, check your heat vents and measure (somehow) how much heat your home loses and how it is lost. They go everywhere, from the attic to the basement. Then they give you some sort of document indicating their findings and making suggestions as to what you can do to make your home more energy-efficient.

If you decide to make some or all of the changes, you make them, then invite your inspector person back to measure those values again. If you’ve done a good job of fixing things and your energy use is decreased to an acceptable level as a result of those changes, the government will give you some sort of rebate, a very piddling amount though. The real benefit is in the years to come, when your heating bill is slashed because you’re no longer losing heat from that door leading to the garage, or out of Jummy’s bedroom window as is currently the case.

My father told me about this upcoming visit a couple of weeks ago, but I didn’t think that this person had to actually enter my room. When I realized that he’d need a path to my heating vent, shame filled me and I decided that I should at least make my room navigable. I’m a realist: I recognize that my room will never be presentable because part of being presentable is having a place for everything and that simply is not the case in my room. I have too many things that are in stacks and stacks of boxes, mostly my crafting stuff, kitchen stuff (even though I have never lived away from home and therefore never needed to have my own kitchen stuff), excess clothing, textbooks and notes from university, and every birthday card that I have ever received in my life. My goals were to create a path to my vent, make my room look less like a storehouse, and make some final decisions on things I don’t need but am constantly tripping on. I accomplished all these goals and managed to get rid of two garbage bags of clothing, and one of actual garbage in the process.

My room is far from decluttered, but it’s noticeably neater and lighter. Check out this sexy floor space:

Don’t be shy, come a little closer:

(And yes, there’s even more space that wasn’t photographed!)

It may not look like much but there is enough space for me to roll around the floor of my room in true tantrum form if I feel my inner seven year old coming to the surface. I now have enough room beside my bed to set up my exercise mat and do crunches (well, once I find the mat). My mother can run into my room with exciting news without worry of ending up on crutches. My father’s pained looks can be retired, and I can once again leave the door to my room open, daring the nosiest of guests to peek in.

And that is why I was up so late. Unearthing this space took a number of hours and even though the inspector fellow was only in there for 30 seconds, not feeling that anxiety I usually feel when someone other than family enters my room made the loss of sleep completely worth it.

Filed under: Mundane, Organize by jummy