Who wants to hear more about clutter? Google the word and you’ll find dozens of definitions. What I’m talking about is the stuff that accumulates in your home. Perhaps it all has a place, but you haven’t had time yet, or taken the time, to put it away.

A week ago, I had a nonstop flight home after being gone for almost three months. On the way home from the airport, I told myself that before I sat down, I would empty my three suitcases and start a load of washing.

Three days later, nothing was unpacked. I’d made the nearly-fatal decision to sit down on the couch, which soon morphed into lying down, which then moved me to my long-lost, beckoning bed.

I blame the time change. Two hours. I have never adjusted easily to time changes, but now at 82, I might as well plan on a week for every hour of change. I’m not alone; I asked a friend who just made the same trip, and she said it took her two weeks to feel back to normal.

I have a week to go.

So what does this have to do with clutter? Getting to sleep well after midnight and awakening around 10 is not conducive to unpacking in one fell swoop. I opened the suitcases when I needed an item. Then I left each one opened in a different room — bedroom, living room, and study — with their contents draped askew over their sides.

It looked like I had taken the wind home that had aborted my balloon ride and encouraged it to make a mess.

Then I had a piece of chocolate, and the two larger suitcases got unpacked in a jiffy. The next day, the under-seat bag got dumped in the study. And there the remaining clutter sits.

It’s time for more chocolate. But I’m just starting to settle down before midnight, and I don’t want to jinx myself by getting too energetic. But I must get taxes done, and since this is ONLY my sixth year doing them (they were my late husband’s task), I have to be alert to pull off the job. Oh, I don’t do them myself, but my task is to gather up what the CPA wants (needs) and put the documents in a reasonable order.

I called my CPA when I got home and said I’d have the tax stuff to him by the end of the following week. I have two days left. I’m running out of time. I must start dealing with the clutter of three months of mail on my desk and on the floor. I hope I find at least some of the necessary tax documents in the piles before it’s time to repeat this whole process again next year.

But maybe I’ll take a break and have a teeny piece of chocolate to get started. After all, I am 82 and should be free to handle clutter when and how … and if I wish.