I am not organized.
I am admitting this in print to my deep and abiding shame. The part that makes this far worse is that with my OCD and Anxiety issues, clutter makes me crazy (er). So in 2007 I have resolved not to be organized but to be WAY over organized to be so organized that Martha Stewart will call and be like 'hey, power down on the organizing, sister'. I want to be the mom who knows where the emergency numbers are, who remembers to flip the mattress and can lay her hands on any book in her library STAT. I am not this person currently. I'm not sure I even know this person so that I may bask in their glow.
So, the first thing I did was head down to Borders after the new year to take advantage of the half price calender deals. We bought a big old calender for the fridge (which will most likely NOT be updated) and then I bought something put out by Dayrunner called the Busy Mom's Planner. Well, okay I'm a mom and I'm busy. Although a good portion of said busy is locating stuff that a more organzied person wouldn't lose. Like a cat. I was thrilled with it's blank pages that begged for me to write down everything from my car and house insurance info to my childs fingerprints. And so I have. I spent three days filling in each blank that I could. I annoyed my husband for things like the name and number of our insurance agent, his complete medical history and whether I should put the addresses of people I detest in said book. One Mom planner ready to go! So far I have taken it everywhere. I take it to dinner, I take it to work, I take it to church. I spend more time with it then my computer and THAT is saying something. So I am now the mom with the 411 on any possible thing anyone would ever need to know concerning myself or my family. I also shoved a Shout Wipe, a stamp and a thing of dental floss in the pocket. Hey, organized people have time to floss, remove stains and mail letters.
Next I have embarked on the Saturday straighten plus one larger project a week plan. Saturday includes about an hour of cleaning which may involve:Laundry (all of it and I'm very OCD about how it gets done), wiping all vertical surfaces with appropriate cleaner, spritzing shower with Tilex, reshelving books, helping my daughter pick up her toys (all little people go in two boxes. Despite my husbands plan of organizing them by Old and New Testament they just go in two boxes and they can argue religious philosophy amongst themselves). Also, we change sheets and I use a Mr. Clean eraser to touch up any weird floor marks (okay, why do all shoes now have black treads? Why?) and try and get any errant crayon masterpieces off walls. We get the various tools for vaccuming out and do battle with the attachemnts. Also, pottys are scrubbed and sinks are de-toothpaste clumped.
This light cleaning does not involve mopping, scrubbing down the shower pan, washing any shower curtain liners, defrosting anything, canning, sewing, darning, reupholstering, picture hanging, sorting boxes or drawers or any other 'project' that might derail me. This also includes the disposition of the fifteen boxes of bamboo flooring in the garage which would be better served by being installed. Fortuantely Dorky Dad was over this weekend measuring and says that said boxes will be vacating my garage soon and that I will have a shiny new bathroom floor posthaste.
So, first major project was my laundry room. Frankly, the laundry room (closet) was so gross that I find it hard to believe anything clean ever emerged from there and possibly was grosser then when it entered. Some times I indeed washed things twice since anything sitting on top of the dryer for more than two minutes was regarded as a cat bed and whichever got there first reserved the right to role around upon the garment until it looked like an angora sweater (and there is nothing grosser than using a towel covered in cat hair to dry off with when you realize that it was covered in cathair and you are now wearing it making you look like you forgot to NAIR for eight months). So I took everything out of the laundry room and discovered it was gross with or without stuff. I scrubbed down the washer and dryer and to my delight found that they were not grey but white. I wrestled a step ladder in and dustbustered, windexed and wiped the shelf down. I then looked at the small amount of linoleum sticking out around said appliances and had to shut the doors. When I opened them again it was still nasty so I found a cleaning product that advised I use gloves to handle it. I used no gloves and sprayed it with abandon all over the linoleum. I figure the worse that could happen was that it would eat through the linoleum which meant the scum would also be gone. Turns out linoleum has pattern other than grey sticky stuff. Thus satisfied I tossed out old bottle with less than two drops of cleaner in them and relabeled (with my label maker) empty spray bottles ( I use bleach, Murphy's, Oxy and Vinegar to clean with usually so I use mostly just plastic spray bottles). I got a basket and folded all cleaning cloths into it so I knew where they were. I clipped the lingerie bag (which I found in the crap on top of the shelf) where it is directly over the washer and then as a final act, I put in hooks where I attached a pair of scissors and a lint roller. Just last night I needed a pair of scissors to cut a label off before tossing it in the washer and to my amazement there WERE scissors where and when I needed them.
This weekend I cleaned out my office (closet). We have multipurpose closets all over. I forced my husband to make use of one of those cable holder together things and to my delight, my office is clean. No really, CLEAN. I can find thing that I need without danger of being garrauted by the DSL cords. I even uncovered a few CDs (Greenday), two travel books (Seattle and the Caribbean)and a scad of magazines (Better Homes, RWA, Living). Also, more little people. I believe the more conservative little people are fixing to break off with the larger group and start boycotting Disney at this point.
And now the car. Yesterday I bought something I had seen in Real Simple magazine (I neither normally read magazines nor buy things in them). It's the mobile desk. It velcros to your front seat and has a place for a lap top, files, phones, water bottles, tissue boxes, pens, CDs and whatever else. I am now the mom who can whip out sunblock from her car on a moments notice. I also bought one of those nifty trashcans that velcros to the floor of the car. I am more than anxious to start using it too. Thank God for carpool and the abject embarressment of having strangers poking their heads in your car twice a day. It really shapes you up fast.
So 2007, the Year of Annoying Organization. Let it begin...
Okay, handy links for those with these same problems (not that YOU do but maybe someone you know):
The FLY Lady I bought the book a couple of years ago and damned if it doesn't work if you do it like bootcamp. For all those suffering from C.H.A.O.S. (Can't Have Anyone Over Syndrome) this is the place for you. I felt as though she had visited my home, took notes and then wrote a manual for me. She has lists for everything, tells you how to complete them and the book makes you feel much better about your slovenly ways and offers light at the end of the cluttered tunnel. Basically her mantra is this: Your house didn't get this out of control in a day and it's going to take more than a day to fix it. In fact, she says that very few people 'know' how to clean. As children we were told to clean our rooms but we recieved no real intruction as to what that meant beyond making the bed and tossing clothes in a hamper. Essentially, reprogram yourself.
The Mobile Desk Awesomeness on wheels and totally necessary if you tend to accumulate junk in your car. You still have junk but now it has a home.
The busy MOM planner Be THAT mom who knows the number for everything and can tell you on what day Thanksgiving 2009 falls.
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