This is that dreaded bar. This is how it looks most of the time. I clean it, and then within 2 days it's back. Why is this so hard for me??? How come some people can "get" it and some can't. What do they have that I don't? Do they not have stuff? I honestly have some OCD tendancies, and I have some things completely organized...but the majority of my life looks like this. How come I can figure some things out? Am I hopeless???Monday, February 11, 2008
why why why???
This is that dreaded bar. This is how it looks most of the time. I clean it, and then within 2 days it's back. Why is this so hard for me??? How come some people can "get" it and some can't. What do they have that I don't? Do they not have stuff? I honestly have some OCD tendancies, and I have some things completely organized...but the majority of my life looks like this. How come I can figure some things out? Am I hopeless???
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7 comments:
Oh Holly, I really sympathize! I have a similar problem with mail piling up, and not dealing with it. I don't know how other people keep on top of it and why their homes always look so clutter-free!
No, you're not hopeless! Just human!
:-)
Well, thanks for saying I am human. Sometimes it's so hard to feel that way...everyone else is so neat. I can drop in on lots of people, and they will say "sorry for the mess" and I look around and say "what mess??"
It's all in your perspective, I guess.
Holly,
I'm tellin' ya, put some loops of barbed wire on the bar, and no one will pile anything there. :-)
We really have this problem, too, all the time! I'm constantly cleaning up piles taller and wider than yours. The girls have cleaned up piles 10 times today because I get so sick of the piles they make. :-)
Big families = piles. You have a busy, full life. :-)
What I do for each room, and each cluttery area is write down every single thing that is on your bar at this very moment. Every, single thing. Then, go through the list and find homes for those things. It's simple, but it takes lots and lots of thought and time to find solutions and homes for everything.
If it's stuff that you use all the time in that spot, then make homes on the bar, think containers, for that stuff. If it's stuff that goes elsewhere, put it in a home elsewhere.
We actually have an elsewhere box in our hall closet that only gets cleaned out a few times per year. Everything in my hand that usually got piled in the hall closet, goes into that elsewhere box until I can deal with it or find a home for it.
It took me almost 6 mths to figure out our laundry room situation. I would go in there everyday with my notebook, and wrote down every single item that ended up in the piles and then I found homes for everything. If stuff has homes, then it can go "home" and not have a slumber party on your bar.
I'm coming over to help, do you still have chocolate? :-)
Here's a cheater way to organize and still live your busy life with a full, busy household. We can't all have those organizing shows finish our houses in 2 days, sadly. :-)
This will sound bizarre, but something I still do is push everything into a big box everyday and put it into the garage. Not to get rid of, but to sort later and to get it out of sight.
That way, my counters look clean and perfect, and are empty until I can find homes for things.
Then, you can go through each box slowly, as you find homes and solutions for things. And, it's out of sight, and isn't so depressing to your brain.
Try to keep bills and important papers somewhere safe, but try this for week: sweep your arm across the whole mess, slide it all into a large rubbermaid, and voila your bar is clear.
Do this everyday when piles appear. Keep the boxes of sweeped off stuff all in one area in case you sweep off something important, so you can go look for it easily.
We did this for months with our kitchen countertops, and finally I found homes for things, but my countertops were clear during the process which kept me motivated to keep going. It's hard to stay motivated with piles staring you in the face.
I made it such a habit, that I find myself filling a box every now and then, just to keep the countertops clean. Then, later I go through the stuff and find homes for it.
What I attempt to do is to periodically grab 2 trash bags. One for goodwill and one for garbage. I go through the house and do not stop until both are filled. If I do this once a month or sometimes every 2 weeks. It helps me cut down on the clutter and helps to keep the youngins motivated to keep their things put away. Sometimes I will give the children a bag and tell them they must fill it from their room before they can do anything else. It is a good way to declutter. If regular trash bags seem to overwhelming at first try smaller sized bags and fill them!! That way when you move to a larger size bag you will be used to filling it rather than stopping short.
sometimes if I am on a roll, I keep going and end up with a couple bags worth! If you are on a roll don't stop but make sure you do not stop before your one bag is finished.
These are great ideas! Thank you Robyn and Mamaarcher. I like your idea of not stopping before your bag is full. That's alot of my problem, I think. I tend to flutter around, cleaning here and cleaning there...and never finishing ANYTHING! I have given the children a bag before. It works. It's kind of comical how I can make them be organized, but I can't do it myself. :)
Oh and Robyn...someday I will share my uhaul story with you. It's a real riot!!!
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