Rumor has it that I'm a very organized person. Seriously, I cannot tell you how many people throw out comments to me like, "Oh, well, I'm sure you're so organized." Or... brace yourself... "There's no way your house looks like mine, you're so organized..." Ha! Ha! Hahahahahahaha! I'm sorry. I can't catch my breath. I don't know WHERE this rumor has stemmed from, but it is NOT true. However.... because it is not true, I've put myself in a real pickle.
We always run late because I can't find something.
We waste money because I didn't need to buy this or that food because I either a) didn't know we already had it or b) let it go bad.
I get waaaaay overwhelmed at tasks I shouldn't, but when you are tripping on EVERYTHING or can't find ANYTHING, it's terribly frustrating.
My kids act like uncivilized ANIMALS at times because there is no peace surrounding them. When the house is chaotic, they are too.
I consider myself to be a "transparent" person. Meaning, what you see is what you get. But, since this little misunderstanding has gotten out of hand (my mother in law called my house PERFECTly organized), I feel compelled to let all my cats out of the bag. Starting now.
Now that I've ratted myself out, I'm actually on the mend. And, I intend to share the mend as things get mended. If only I'd taken some "before" pics. Actually, just look at my pics on facebook and stare at the backgrounds... you'll see!
My home has restored order. I think it was trying to run a business and having all these babies so close together that let things to get so crazy. It is most certainly not to anyone's benefit to have too much on one's plate. Finally, we've been able to cut some things out and thus, helping me find time to figure out what works for our home.
Small steps...
- I hung hooks on the wall for all those darn bags. No longer are they on the floor, the couch, the table... ($8, half price for 3 at Hobby Lobby)
- I have a crafting buffet. In our previous home, I longed to have a small area set up with craft stuff for the kids (I'm talking crayons, paint, and coloring books here!), but didn't have the room. A friend from church gave us her "old" buffet and I filled it with materials for activities with the kids. (buffet free, materials probably $10)
- Kid's toys never stayed in their room. Always land in living room, of course. So, my dad graciously bought us an organization system from Target and it's now in the... LIVING ROOM! Toys can get put away neatly and aren't dragged all over the house as badly as before. ($140 for all)
- Labels on the kid's dressers (plastic drawers inside their closets) so they can put away their own clothes. No they can't read yet, but they just memorized what goes where. Plus, helps Daddy get things where they need to go! :)
- Working on Tupperware for pantry...
- If we don't use it, I'm getting rid of it. No need to store a bunch of unwanted stuff, even if it's "good."
This has been a BIG mission for me lately. I've felt nearly hopeless some days... downright miserable. All because of the chaos. Things have gotten MUCH better. I actually feel like I can "do this" now!
