Tidy

Today I've indulged in something of a tidying frenzy.

The large pile of 'stuff for filing' from downstairs has been sorted and taken care of.

The large pile of 'stuff for filing' from upstairs has been sorted and taken care of.

The missing pile of 'stuff for filing' (as identified by a missing 'period' in the bank statement filing) has been located (tidied into a bag at some unremembered point in the past), sorted and taken care of.

Bills have been sorted by type and filed, bank statements have been ordered by date and stuck in their binders, instructions and warranties have been safely stowed, tax stuff has been carefully tucked away for future action and a ton of out of date material has been shredded, compacted and emptied into the recycling bin.

As ever in this small house, things like files are tucked away in hard to get to places, so I tend to save stuff up and then have a purge. Now I knew I had let things go a bit, but even I was surprised to find stuff from 2004...

So does this uncharacteristic desire to tidy indicate that I must be very ill, or that I must be feeling better. Maybe it's just one of the first signs of spring.

Either way, I'm basking in the glow of a job well done.

I'm put in mind of one of my favourite lines from the excellent Sarah Dean, who has mused on how hard it is to 'do the right thing in life'. With so many competing ethical and environmental concerns it can be paralysing.

Perhaps one of the simplest maxims is: Think Globally, Act Locally

And just as Sarah suggests, I too can now relax knowing that the world may be a mess, but my filing tray is now incredibly tidy.

Now would seem an appropriate place to give Sarah a proper plug:

Girl and Dean return to the Canal Cafe with an hour-long show of lovingly and-crafted sketch comedy. The intrepid pair will endeavour to answer the important questions in life like:

• What courses do Learn Direct have to offer the undead?
• What does grade 6 on the classical guitar actually sound like?
• What did people do before Spirograph was invented?

A wildly diverse celebration of false beards, hand-knitted costumes,and badly played musical instruments.

Dates: Thursday 29 March; Friday 30 March; Saturday 31 March 2007 Time: 7.30pm Price: £7
Location: The Canal Cafe Theatre, The Bridge House Pub, Delamere Terrace, Little Venice, London W2 Box office: mail@canalcafetheatre.com 0207 289 6054

So if you live in London, well sorry there's not much I can do about that, but go and see Girl and Dean and the laughter might afford you some temporary relief at least.