Organizational skills elude me…almost completely! In the 90’s I read a book on housekeeping entitled Sidetracked Home Executives…and I bought the index cards and the file holder…then wrote all the tasks and how long it took to complete them…and that was it. I was perpetually sidetracked! But… 
My friend, Nora…she is an organizational whiz and a retired physician’s assistant. She and Becky, a pediatrician, came and gave three weeks to our bodega (our large clinic storage room)! They sorted and sifted and cleaned and blustered about what we had! They kindly taught me what all we had since I have no medical background.
Volunteers put on masks and moved instruments we would never use to an unused room. And we gave it all away! Some of it was golden for hospitals and some, not so much…but it went to the government clinic and hospital to be shared and used.
Nora and Becky labeled the medicines and supplies so we could restock easily. Becky pointed out the medicines we would never use, so there was no need to keep them. We decided what date was too dated and weeded out those medicines as well. What remained was the World’s 8th Wonder to my eyes! AND…
A shot in the arm to do some more organizing…
Danelia organized the pharmacy and labeled it all! It looks great and so, so easy to pull those random, not-used-much medicines.
With the help of the delegation from Lopez Island we went through the second building and separated out equipment we could realistically use in the clinic. We saved potty chairs, Depends, walkers and wheelchairs for the infirm to give to our elderly patients. We kept a reasonable amount of crutches and “pieces parts” to fix machinery that we do use in the clinic…THEN…
We gave stuff away again!
The clinic staff…our Nicaraguan staff…are *Just. Like. Us*….in that we are all terrible pack rats. So, Danelia would say, “What about this thing? We might use it in the future?”
“If we need it THEN we will ask for it again, until then someone else can use it.”
It is wonderful. I feel energized instead of heavy about needing to go through stuff. We could – would – never have done it on our own. We needed volunteers with skills none of us had. -- Kathleen
This is one of two false titles she used to try to claim ownership of our Center (with our house, offices & volunteer dorm) and the Industrial Park (where the Genesis co-op, the cotton gin and the sewing co-op are all located). Now that her attempt to register our land as her own has failed, we are no longer in danger of getting the ground stolen out from under us!
