17 votes

Take care of a minor task you've been putting off, then tell us about it here.

This is sort of a "backlog post" but for real-life: take care of something small that, for whatever reason, you've left unaddressed for too long.

Maybe it's something that keeps ending up on your to-do list but never gets resolved. Maybe your desk is cluttered. Maybe you haven't vacuumed your carpet in a while. Maybe your fridge could use a cleanout. It doesn't have to be cleaning themed, but that's what's coming to mind for me right now, so you can probably guess what mine will be.

Whatever it is, take a few minutes to resolve the issue, then tell us about it here.

  • What was the issue?
  • Why do you think it kept getting put off?
  • How do you feel now that it's done?

3 comments

  1. MimicSquid
    Link
    During the latest rush of work, I've let the housework go. We've never run out of clean dishes or clothes, but there's definitely a backlog of work to be done. It kept being put off because it...

    During the latest rush of work, I've let the housework go. We've never run out of clean dishes or clothes, but there's definitely a backlog of work to be done.

    It kept being put off because it wasn't important in comparison to the paying work.

    I feel better. It was a lingering thing that I knew I needed to deal with, and now it's no longer sitting in the back of my head reminding me it needs doing.

    7 votes
  2. patience_limited
    (edited )
    Link
    What was the issue? Cheese. Too much cheese. I know there are those among you who may not be able to conceive of such a thing. But I was trying to diet, at the same time we've moved to bounteous...
    • What was the issue?

    Cheese. Too much cheese.

    I know there are those among you who may not be able to conceive of such a thing. But I was trying to diet, at the same time we've moved to bounteous cheese country, and the spouse got me a cheese subscription for the holidays last year.

    The cheese collection was outgrowing the bottom bin of the refrigerator, and we do occasionally need space for vegetables and foods of that ilk.

    Some of that cheese has been around since mid-2018.

    • Why do you think it kept getting put off?

    Cheese is, in the main, indestructible. That's what thousands of years of dairy technology has brought us.

    The only excuse I've ever found for throwing it out, instead of cooking with the dried out bits, is when it turns pink or black. That usually indicates something pathogenic finally managed to colonize it.

    Also, I despise cleaning the refrigerator. It feels like the ultimate indictment of my fundamental wastefulness and sloth when I have to throw food out.

    • How do you feel now that it's done?

    Like I've done a reverse Marie Kondo and just made room for yet more new cheese that may or may not get properly consumed.

    [Oh, and also, like disposing some of the redundant cheese by consuming it with crackers and wine was not the worst thing that could happen today.]

    7 votes
  3. kfwyre
    Link
    My desk was suffering from neglect. Things had piled up. Unopened mail, post-its, Amazon boxes, Diet Coke cans. It was all there, and all because I simply didn't do anything about it. I didn't set...

    My desk was suffering from neglect. Things had piled up. Unopened mail, post-its, Amazon boxes, Diet Coke cans. It was all there, and all because I simply didn't do anything about it. I didn't set out to have it be a graveyard of detritus, but it happened, one piece at a time. Over the course of months. Because I'm apparently that kind of person.

    At some point, things apparently got bad enough that the piles got shifted (but not removed, of course), so that larger, sturdier piles become foundations for smaller items. I took the time to stack everything but not the time to throw out old napkins. Because I'm apparently that kind of person.

    Cleaning up everything was like an archaeological dig. I went back in time as I went back through the layers. Pay stubs from last week. Then receipts from last month. Then a vet bill from June. All neatly supporting the box (in pieces) and inserts from the new mouse I bought in July.

    It's clean now, but unfortunately I'm still that kind of person.

    2 votes