Thursday, February 18, 2010

Controlled chaos...

I am embarking on a new journey... Housekeeping! For many years I would say that the house "kept" me, and not the other way around. I was not born blessed as a clean freak, and have a certain sentimental magnetism toward clutter. Even as a child I felt guilty if my toys were not played with equally, and felt even worse getting rid of them. (I cried like a baby watching Toy Story II when the cowgirl doll sings about "When she loved me"... okay may have been a little stressed and/or exhausted at that point too...) So I have decided enough is enough. The stress of living in a small apartment with all of this stuff is too much to be worth keeping things. Now don't fret, I won't end up on an episode of "Hoarders" anytime soon.... but when the bathroom counter is so overrun by barely used cosmetics that it can only dream of being cleaned, it's time to de-clutter!

I started by ordering two books from amazon. One that is "tried and true"--my mom used the original version when I was a kid! (see this thing is genetic, I tell ya) The New Messies Manual: The Procrastinator's Guide to Good Housekeeping... And another that appealed to me as a former working mom who had no idea how to become a stay at home mama "Domestically Challenged: A Working Mom's Survival Guide to Becoming A Stay At Home Mom . The second arrived first, and after reading about halfway through it, I stopped. I had just gotten to the good stuff, where she discusses actual strategy... but the first half of the book seemed to have one message: Get over it, you are not going to become a domestic diva anytime this millennium. Get used to being in your pjs at 2pm with a filthy house and screaming banshee children. Tell your husband to pick up the slack. Thankfully about the time I stopped reading this one, the first book arrived to save the day.

I absolutely love the New Messie's Manual, and even though I am extremely resistant to change, I feel a definite ray of hope in her writing. The classic "Messie" she describes fits me to a T. I'm sitting here wondering why I'm admitting this... Hmm.... Well maybe to find a kindred soul or to let other closet "messies" know they are not alone nor are they defective!

I look at my home and I see things I have never seen before. And I don't just mean the floor! I see potential... Shayne says it's like the mess blob monster that had previously consumed our apartment is receding and leaving order and cleanliness behind it. Others may still see controlled chaos at this point, and I'm okay with that. I'm not inviting any of you in. Ha! But it is so relaxing to have a clean sink, empty of dishes to start the day, clean clothes without hunting, and enjoying a seat on the couch! I realize now that if I do a little every day, then cleaning for company or what have you is not such a herculean task! I have 3 boxes to take to Goodwill, which I normally save stuff for "people" that the ideal giftee never gets found and the stuff stays..... so this is a good change for me.

I have never felt so relieved by getting rid of stuff and having a structured cleaning schedule. It really doesn't take nearly as long as I previously told myself... and I really love the change! Change is gooooood.

1 comment:

  1. Change is good. Make some good changes, and I'll appreciate you, LOL!! ;)

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