"We're the kind of people who, if we were deciding what absolute minimum essential items we'd need to carry in our backpacks for the final, treacherous ascent to the summit of Mount Everest, would take along some aquarium filters, just in case."
Dave Barry
Goal 3: Get Organized. I suffer from what flylady.net calls CHAOS (Can't Have Anyone Over Syndrome). When my friend calls and says "Hey, I'm going to be in your area this afternoon. How about I stop by?", I feel the panic rise. I look around at my apartment and see the cat hair build up because I haven't vacuumed recently, my couch cushions in disarray, and a coffee table I can barely see the surface of. That's just for starters. I would love to walk into my apartment and see everything clean, but when I do clean up I can not seem to keep it that way. I often wonder what is wrong with me. It seems so simple for other people. I don't know how many times I have been told that all I have to do is put something away when I'm not using it. But try as I might, I cannot seem to do this.
Several years ago, a friend (thank you Amy) introduced me to a book called 'Sink Reflections' by Marla Cilley aka The Flylady. I have read book and articles about getting organized before, but this one was the first one that explained how to keep it clean. The answer is time management. The Fly Lady has developed a series of routines to ensure that things get clean and stay clean. I don't start doing them all at once, but start small and gradually add more. It is going to take a lot of time and work, but ultimately I hope to form new habits.
7 years have passed and I still love the FlyLady! I am not always organized and life events have certainly gotten in the way these last few years, but FlyLady always gives me hope! And it shows me that a small thing (like making your bed or cleaning the sink) makes a big difference in how you feel and how things look. I have been battling CHAOS here since we moved in. After 2 years of feeling guilty for not returning the favor of having someone over for dinner, I am plunging into crisis cleaning and we are having their rather large family over on Sunday night! AHHHH!
ReplyDeleteIt's funny . . . our family is working on all the same goals as you. The main thing has been getting financially healthy (living within our means, paying off debt as soon as possible) and I have been working on organization. We are attempting to eat a slightly healthier diet but that has been met with some opposition by all of us. I think I am addicted to sweets, and Shawn doesn't want to give up salt & grease. We're still working on that . . .
-Amy
I think I am familiar with this CHAOS of which you speak... yes... all too familiar... ;)
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