Slay your niggles!

What, you ask, are niggles?  And why should I slay them?

According to the Oxford Dictionary, Niggle- to cause slight but persistent annoyance, discomfort, or anxiety

I was introduced to the concept years ago by a dear neighbor who was supremely organized.  I can picture her now saying, “Oh, you know, those things that niggle in the back of your mind,” as she wiggled her fingers beside her head.  And immediately I did know those nigglers.  Those small annoyances that continually gall us.  Every time we see that certain thing that makes us wince and tell ourselves that we’ll get to it later.  But we put if off and then there’s guilt layered on top of the daunting task of fixing it.

It’s always the little things.  The hem that came out.  The missing buttons.  The shirt that needs to be ironed.  I wonder how many hardly worn items of clothing go to the thrift store every year because people like me never get around to fixing the little things.

This week we prepared to sell the trailer we lived in for a year while we built our house.  What does this have to do with nigglers?  Everything!  When we moved out of our trailer at the end of January, I was totally burned out on living in a small space.  I couldn’t make myself step foot in that trailer for more than a minute to quickly grab something I needed.  (Yes, my shoes are muddy, but I’m only taking a few steps inside.)  I left most of our things in the trailer in my haste to be done with that part of our building experience.  I shuddered every time I opened the door.  I just couldn’t face it.  Months went by and the trailer sat abandoned just as we had left it.  Clothes in the closets, food in the fridge, books on the shelf.  Only it became worse than when we left it.  Ahem, mud, mice, mildew.  The dreaded three M’s.  Now that our house is close to complete (only nigglers remain), there was no excuse to ignore the trailer anymore.  Summer is trying to make its appearance and so the market should be hot for RV trailers.  Quick!  Get that thing cleared out and cleaned!  But now it’s far worse for the abandonment, much more work than it would have been had I simply at least removed the flour from the cupboard before the mice spread it all over.  And did you know that mice eat bar soap?  I knew all along that I should take myself in hand and at least do some minimal clearing out in the kitchen.  But the longer I put if off, the more intimidating the chore became.  For some reason, I just don’t like mice manure.

The first few days I went into the trailer, I was overwhelmed and felt so guilty for procrastinating.  I was reminded again that guilt’s purpose is to stimulate me to change direction.  Once I have turned around, faced the problem and begun, guilt is no longer helpful.  Beating myself up further doesn’t get me where I want to go.  I cannot step back into the past and do it differently.  I must take steps forward from here, from right where I am right now.  I must take one step past the mud on the floor and wipe up the flour and manure on one shelf.  I wish I could say that once the momentum started, I breezed through the work determinedly.  But no.  I stumbled, faltered, put the project off time after time.  But I kept coming back.  I made plans to get help, but the plans failed twice and I decided I would have to slay the dragon alone.  So I just kept plodding.  Finally, I could see the progress.  The dragon had been wounded.  But where do I put all the things that were in the trailer?  Who knew we had stuffed so much into such a small space?!  I refuse to mess up my nice, clean, neat new house with nasties!  Everything that was in the trailer smells musty.  Let’s see, some things are easy to process into our new house.  Just wash the clothes and bedding and put them in our nearly empty closet with its lovely organizing system from Ikea.  The kitchen utensils and dishes are easy to wash and put away in my roomy cupboards.  Hooray!  Maybe this won’t be so hard.  The washing machine churned away hour after hour and the dishwasher hummed along.  At the end, dear Husband washed windows, scrubbed sink, shower, and floors again and better, put a new coat of finish on the cupboard doors, washed the outside of the trailer, ran the weedeater all around the trailer, and did repairs.  With his help, I faced my nigglers and slew them!

What I Learned

Keep guilt in its place

Start

Take breaks, but keep on

Savor the small victories

Keep the end in mind

Get the right tools so you can work smart

Have sorting containers rather than piles

Work until you must have a break, then instead of stopping, work on a different part of the job

Small steps in the right direction add up

Small steps in the wrong direction add up

Accept help, but be willing to go it alone

The problem piled up in layers, so work in layers.  Get the worst done, then go back and do it again more thoroughly

Step back occasionally and admire the progress

What niggles at you?  What can you do today to slay your niggler- or at least wound it?

PS  The day we listed the trailer on CraigsList, many people called to ask to come see it. It was listed at 4:00 pm and by 8:00 pm it was sold to the first person who got here.