Of Becoming a Cleanie

I've mentioned previously a book I had recently begun reading entitled "Living Organized." The photo on the cover depicting neatly stacked pastel boxes drew me in.  I'm kind of a sucker for boxes and baskets of all sorts - ask my husband.  And the concept of organization has always fascinated me - as in, I love to dream up (and sometimes go so far as to implement) various tactics for keeping my things orderly, but often find the system only works if you put work into it - which, let's face it, sounds like a lot of hassle for a lazy girl, such as myself.  Besides, I can't re-organize if my things are already well-organized, right?  It's a sick cycle into which I put myself.

So, back to the book.  I have only read the first couple of chapters, but there was one concept the author mentioned that has stuck with me and revolutionized my life already, in the short few days since I first read them.  "Messies," as she calls those struck by my plight, tend to do all things necessary to avoid "frustration" now, but, in the end, only cause more frustration later.  As in, I don't feel like putting my shoes away when I take them off because it's not convenient.  But when it's time to walk out the door and I can't find that other brown shoe, more time and emotion is wasted than would have been if I'd simply put them in my closet when I removed them two days ago.

Suddenly, I find myself constantly questioning my motives.  "What can I do now to avoid frustration later?"

And it's working.

I'm daily vacuuming, making my bed, re-filling the ice cube trays.  And, amazingly, I can relax daily, knowing my floor has been cleaned and relieving myself of the stress which comes from being surrounded by crumbs, shreds of paper and grass tracked in.  I less often have to deal with the annoyance of an empty ice cube bin when all I want to do is sit down to dinner.  I can crawl into an orderly bed without tugging sheets into place.

And, most importantly, I can have guests over without having had to spend the entire day frantically putting things back into place which could have been returned to their homes long ago.

Is this what every day life is like for the "Cleanies"?  Why, on earth, have I been avoiding this for so long?  Crazy, I tell you, crazy.