Wednesday, August 24, 2005

Mission: Organization

I am so hooked. Anybody out there addicted to this show on HGTV? As a perfectionist I am by nature a procrastinator and keeper of a cluttered house. I just have to tell you that this show has made an overwhelming difference around here.

Every few days Mark comes home to a box or bag of donation items to take to the garage. This show has really helped me learn to sort and purge things that I have been holding on to. I'll admit that it is easier to purge and sort in the kids' rooms, but I've been doing a bang up job in my room and our huge walk-in closet. It feels good to get rid of things.

The closet runs the length of our bedroom and is about five feet wide. It became the dumping ground for homeless items I found around the house after William took over the junk/guest room. Lately I could only walk about half way back into it. I pulled the old shelving out and put in a system of cubbies that looks like it is going to work perfect for home office supplies and some of our homeschooling items. Oh yes, and room for my greeting card collection.

That's right. I collect greeting cards. Now, I didn't know this until I started working in my closet. But as I began emptying out the closet, I'd find a box here and a bag with 2 or 3 boxes there. 21 ... that's TWENTY ONE ... boxes later, I really feel I have a problem. Or at the very least some "issues".

Sometimes I feel like I need to de-clutter my brain too. I remembered this week that Trini's dentist owed us a $25 refund from six months ago. How does that work? How can I remember knowing that they did in fact owe us, but not remember for the six months in between the point in time when I figured it out and when it returned to my mental in-box?

Something happened to my brain cells when Will was born. I didn't notice problems after Trini, but child number two has zapped me. My mental notepad ran out of paper months ago and the refill light blinks occasionally but I'm too tuckered out to reload most of the time.

I'm feeling a little stressed right now. I have several items to do that I'm juggling and I just know one is going to come crashing down any moment. Let's see ... Will's first birthday party and Trini's first ever soccer game ... on the same day, the new Bible Class Quarter starting at church, wall paper that I need to finish and some painting to get done before Will's party preferably, and all the dozens of things that I'm probably forgetting because of that blooming empty mental notepad.

I do love that God led me to start getting a Bible verse of the day from the Bible League. It's one to two verses and then a 3-4 sentence devotional. Every single day the new verse speaks to me and something going on right then. No matter how nuts I think I am, He's still working on me and giving me the tools to make changes to make life better around here. - Lesa

"What I can do plus what God can do equals enough." - A Free Methodist

1 comment:

Deana Nall said...

Lesa -- we are on the list of Purple Heart and several other charities that pick up stuff. They call every month or so to see if we have anything to donate. We just set it out on the front porch and it disappears! Mostly clothes, but PH takes just about anything.

Also -- over the last few years, I've really started hating clutter. It's so liberating to just get rid of it. There are some good tips at www.flylady.net. Of course now Julia loves collecting stuff and it drives me nuts!