I’ve been on a decluttering kick lately, inspired by the fact that window installers were going to have to go into my office and as of last week, that room was in competition for an episode of Hoarders.

I figured that if the window installers needed to get anywhere close to the windows, I was going to have to clear some kind of a path through the piles of papers, books, and other detritus that had accumulated in that room during the past two years.

For a while, I told myself that the office was like a walk-in closet. It had become a place to put the things that had no other home, and then things took a turn, and it became a real catch-all.

Trust me, the infamous hoarders Homer and Langley Collyer would have felt right at home. There was so much junk in that room that it became difficult to open the door to get in. When company showed up, it became impossible to get in, since we locked the door to the office. Doesn’t everyone have a room in their homes considered “off limits”? The office was locked to maintain the illusion that our house was completely picked up.

I learned this trick from Mom. With five kids always on the go, she had her hands full trying to keep up with the laundry, cooking, and cleaning. When company came over, baskets of clean but unfolded clothes were known to disappear into closets. Piles of papers were shoved into cabinets and drawers. Things were straightened up. And if we were lucky, no one needed anything in that clothes basket for a while.

Likewise, my office became the place to shove anything to get it out of the way when company was coming over. Books? In the office. Papers and mail that needed sorting? Office. Old box springs?

You guessed it.

So motivated by near-term goal (the windows) and my sense of embarrassment, I bought a carton of contractor garbage bags and began my work. Seven very heavy bags later, the floor was becoming visible. I even found a missing birthday present in there. It was truly amazing.

Of course, there are still papers to be sorted (and shredded), but at least they are in one very neat pile along the edge of the wall.

The window installers were able to do their job without a problem, none the wiser about the transformation of the room.

And the floor? Visible at last.

I love happy endings. And my new windows.