A little decluttering in my life is happening right now.

My weekend adventure involved finding some of my fountain pens, cleaning and inking them up. 

I found my Pilot Vanishing Point pen all sad and dried up in my desk.  I thought it was inked up and probably was a month ago.... then it dried up.  So cleaned her up and reinked her.  What really was sad was I found a back up that I also bought.  It was the second vanishing point that I bought at some point because the spring in the body of the first one went bad in the old one... so I am really glad I have the back up. Switched out the converter too.  And now... I am in bliss.  

I got VERY inspired by the post (I suscribe to the blog) on The Well Appointed Desk where Goulet Pens interviews Ana Reinhart about pens, paper, her work, her blog and everything inbetween.  I realized that I can be creative with pens and stamps and ink and paper and stickers and foil and ribbon and jimmies and and and.... I just have to do it.  

Now I seem a little disjointed of late. I have a metric ton of chaos in my work life and I am trying to bring focus into my at home personal life so here is where I am trying to work it on out.  Just bear with me.  

So the pen thing.  YEARS and years and years ago in a past life of sorts I used to buy fountain pens all the time.  I would go to Meinengers here in town and buy pens and schmooze with a really rad lady who worked that counter. She would let me try out pens and inks and I would usually buy at least a pen a month.  So... I have amassed quite a collection. I had this display table at my old condo for a while that I would put my pens into and they sat there all pretty and interesting to look at but when I got that Pilot I was dedicated to journaling at least with it almost daily. 

 I don't journal daily anymore but I make lists EVERYWHERE... in my calendar, in a pocket notebook, on a spare sheet of paper... and found myself this weekend opening up a printed napkin (it was a watermelon print on one side and white on the other) and making a list on it with a ball point pen... I have so many things going on in my head that I have to write them down so I don't forget anything... or completely obsess not forgetting what I wanted to list about trivial or not. So why not do it with a nice pen and ink?  I have so many notebooks too.  I just have to go into action mode and use them.  

I decided yesterday that I was going to use at least one of my fountain pens a week and write in my journal for a page... just free thought... list, no list, paragraph, run on sentence and whathaveyou.  It felt great. I didn't work anything out... and censored myself a little bit actually but I felt good writing at whim again.  

I am moving away from the homesteading and home design blogs too. Unsubbed from about 40 yesterday.  It's mental clutter that I just don't need.    I have amassed quite a list of to do items in my pinterest that would keep us busy if we were even to attempt a few.  So... I have to reset.  I cut out 20 or so recipe blogs too over the past few months. It was tough but I have a library of cookbooks that I should use.  I just removed about 30 blogs from my index that haven't updated in over 12 months.  I feel better.  I unsubbed from a few feeds to  just simply because of the amount of mental clutter they bring to my feedly.  It's insane. There is a music blog that updates over 100 articles a day.  It's too much.  

So cleaning out and finding pens.... and this week the Pilot has my heart.  So... diggin this pen hard.  I  forgot how great it was.  When I replaced the cartridge with the better nib I remembered why I loved it so.  

BUT when I was digging out the pens and through the drawer I found a pen that I did buy that I really totally regret.  I got hyped up in it's cool factor.  I bought a Recife Eyedropper Pen back in say 2006 and honestly it's still in the box.  I have never ever even tried to use it.  I even have a set of the glass refill cartridges.  I think I was more intrigued by the idea than actually writing with it.  What makes me face up to that is I was listening to the Pen Addict podcast today and one of the episodes had a question about have you ever regretted a purchase.  I think that made me wake up and realize I have so many fountain pens that I miss actually using them.  It was a little bit of a wake up call.  

I just cleaned out the drawer and cigar box that had all my fountain pens and found some that I forgot that I had.  Most are not expensive but three were.  Need to use them.  So the Recife is in that bucket.  

And on a personal note I am trying to declutter at work too. Cleaned out my desk drawers and simplified.  I actually have two offices.  One that the desk is completely blank.  I have a coffee mug and that is it for personal items and I am ready to do the same with my other desk.  It's time.  Declutter everywhere.

Use what I got.  

I anticipate in the next few weeks that will change.

PS that goes for the pantry too.