…and now I’ve been emotionally hijacked by a folder from 2009.

🎵 [Theme music: bright + slightly unhinged piano flourish, like a raccoon learning Chopin]

Hi. I’m Angela. Queen of Focus-ish.

And today’s episode is sponsored by… the paper pile I just emotionally excavated from the back of my office drawer.

Let’s talk about paperwork.

No, not fun paperwork like coloring books or divorce forms.

I mean the other kind.

Mysterious folders filled with expired coupons, inspirational quotes I printed in 2013, and a sticky note that says “CALL BOB” — I do not know who Bob is. Or was. RIP Bob.

You know what I realized while sorting papers?

Paper is emotional.

Every piece of it is like a tiny time capsule from a version of you that thought:

“I’ll need this someday.”

No. No you won’t. You won’t need the instruction manual for your 2007 printer. You don’t even have the printer. What you do have is a mild panic attack every time you open the file cabinet.

So I gave myself permission.

I made a little system:

• 📸 Take a photo of anything I’m scared to throw away.
  
  
• 📦 Put the “unsure” pile in one box.
  
  
• 🗑️ And then I lit a candle. Played a power ballad. And started tossing like a confetti cannon of freedom.
  
  

I even found swag tucked inside the papers.

Because of course I did.

Burner stickers. Unused wristbands. A note to myself that said “Organize this stuff before it multiplies.”

I didn’t. It multiplied.

But here’s the moment that hit me:

I kept holding onto the paper because I was scared to let go of the dream attached to it.

A business I didn’t launch.

A workshop I almost hosted.

A project that fizzled, but still feels… tender.

And instead of judging myself?

I took a picture.

I whispered “Thank you.”

And I let it go.

So if your dining table is currently a “paper staging zone”…

If you’ve got a file labeled “IMPORTANT” that’s just old receipts and one Taylor Swift lyric sheet…

If you haven’t seen the surface of your desk since the Bush administration…

You are not broken.

You are thoughtful.

You are overwhelmed.

And you are very, very brave.

🎵 Subscribe to Doom Piles & Distractions.

Next episode: I try to sort my swag boxes… and discover 47 memories, 2 craft projects, and a missing ex-boyfriend’s bracelet.

Until then — remember:

You are not the paperwork.

You are the fire that can recycle it.

🐿️✨

Learn more at AngelaDiCarlo.com

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