Life & House in Order

Ok, so the title isn't exactly accurate. Life in order? With a toddler and my husband? Um, not likely. But, the house, that I can handle. I think.

Our house has been in chaos every since, well, ever since we moved in. Before, actually. From the day my husband and I were engaged, our lives have been on fast forward. Within two years we: Got engaged, moved 3 times, remodeled a house, sold a condo, got married, took four major trips, ran for public office, had a baby and started a new job. Hopefully I didn't miss anything.

Now, things seem to be slowing down. Or more likely, I've adapted to the pace of a non-stop, high-stress lifestyle.

At any rate, recently I decided that I was tired of being overwhelmed with our "stuff". Stuff in piles, stuff boxed up, stuff all over the place. I'm going to organize and put our belongings in order, once and for all.

I started with the top of my desk, a two day project. After tossing past due invitations and other time sensitive but, expired, materials that had piled up, I tackled the documents that needed to be filed, shredded and put in a "future" pile (reminders to pay certain bills by certain dates, etc). I can finally see my desk. I'm not entirely happy with it as I still have some things to sort through or decide how to handle. For instance, I have a newspaper clipping about a book called"The Almond" by Nedjma --it's a book I'd like to read; do I order it now and add it to the growing pile of books I've been collecting that I haven't had time to read or do I keep the clipping for someday in the future? I should probably just order the book.

Now, sitting here at my desk, I'm tempted to tackle my husband's desk but is that really a good idea? I'm hesitant to delve into someone else's belongings. He probably doesn't even know what's there and will be more likely to sort through his things if they are orderly. Sigh. Decisions, decisions. Honestly, I don't think he'd care either way. I'll save his desk for last in case our newly ordered house compels him to clean his own desk.

My reward for a clean desktop was to take on the master closet. Anyone who knows me knows that I love fashion and putting my (ok, and Husband's, we do share it) closet in order is nothing but divine. Especially since it was mostly in order to begin with.

My list is long but if I keep at it, eventually I'll reach my goal of an orderly home with everything in its place, or close. Daily maintenance is certainly easier than putting to order more than three years of chaos, right?

Today, I'm cleaning out the closet in Daughter's room, the one we've used mostly as storage since we have kept her things in a dresser and on a clothing rack my dad made for her. Wish me luck!