I am an Organized Wannabee

I have come to a self-discovery. I am an organized wannabee. So, what does this mean? I crave organization. I love the concept of everything having a place and everything in its place. BUT...My very nature is spontaneous. I wing things a lot. And I have a large eclectic variety of interests. All this is naturally very UNorganized and cluttered.


The Dilemma
Do I remain my spontaneous, curious, fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants self? Or, do I give that up for an organized and planned out life? You see, I want it all. I want my feet on both sides of that fence. However, I am finding as I get older, and as my family gets larger, and the demands on my time grow, winging it can cause quite a bit of chaos. I am seeing that a bit of organization and planning of my time can be so freeing. If my day is planned out, I do not need to spend my mental energy on deciding what the next thing to do is. When I have an organized grocery list, my shopping goes much faster (and another bonus is that I usually spend less). When everything is in its place, I save so much time NOT have to search for something.


So, I am trying figure out a middle ground where I can have the best of both worlds. I want the stress relief that organization brings, but I want to freedom to change my plans on a whim because something came up whether it be a friend needs me, a fun opportunity presents itself, or even that it is just too nice of a day to be cooped up inside.


Clutter: Enemy #1
I think one of the biggest enemies of organization and a producer of stress is clutter. I shared in an earlier post that I believe I need to declare an all out war on clutter in this house. As Flylady would say, "You can't organize clutter." It is just too much work to do so.


Clutter is the stuff that surrounds us that produces stress. It is the piles of papers on our desks, the closets over-stuffed with clothes, the toys that overflow the toy chest and spill across the floor. When is it too much? I think that varies from person to person and household to household. When you can keep control over all the stuff around you and it begins to control you, there is too much.


I believe that when I am surrounded by physical clutter, my mind becomes cluttered, too. When things around me are clean and organized, it frees me up to think bigger thoughts and be more creative.


I have shared before that I have an a pack-rat and a saver of stuff by nature. I know that there are people out there on the opposite end of the spectrum who have no qualms about pitching and getting rid of nearly anything that isn't nailed down in their house. I just totally cannot relate - they are a mystery to me. Part of me will daydream about what it would be like to live organized and clutter-free...always knowing where everything is or being able to locate it at a moment's notice. It sounds so peaceful; so freeing.


My Plan
Well, I know that I will never be one of those pitch everything kind of people, but I do realized that I have to move a bit closer to the middle of the spectrum. So, I have vowed before God and all of you that I will be making an effort to clean out and declutter some every day. Even if it is just going through one drawer or one pile of papers, I will dispose of or donate something everyday.

Accountability Time
Ok, I am going to put my self out here and share something embarrassing.
Here is my upstairs hallway:

Sad, isn't it! We have been doing some rearranging of kids' bedrooms and in the process much of the toys and laundry found their way here. The toys are in need of some serious decluttering, so I didn't want to just put them directly into their new room homes. So, I am sharing this with you to hold myself accountable. I plan to share a photo of a clean, empty hallway within a week. Through this process I plan on having a box of toys to donate and bag of trash to throw away.

So keep watching the blog...