This site was originally started in March of 2013 to meet a 31 day challenge posted by Laura of "I'm an Organizing Junkie". However, I decided to keep it going as a place to document my progress overcoming my chronic disorganization issues.
I love to organize. I can spend hours organizing the organization system, rather than, actually organizing what needs to be organized.
All my life I have been a pack-rat I married a pack-rat, and gave birth to a pack-rat. We were also raised to hold on to things "just in case". We were told not to waste anything and not to throw anything out that could come in handy.
Currently I live in a two bedroom apartment. But, we moved from a four story house that was already stuffed to the rafters, with not only our stuff, but all the stuff we inherited from my in-laws when they passed away.
Several years ago I found FlyLady and a huge paradigm shift occurred in my way of thinking. It has been an uphill struggle but I am no longer a pack-rat. It has taken a bit longer to get my husband and son on-board My husband still has trouble letting go of things. He is very sentimental and it seems everything has precious memories for him. He has asked that I not get rid of any of his things (fair enough) and when I am getting rid of my things to do it when he is not home.
One thing I have been doing is getting rid of duplicate items as I come across them. I keep the better one, or the one with sentimental value, and release the other(s) into the world (recycling groups, charities, family or friends that can use it). Did I really need 15 hot glue guns? No. (Don't ask).
It has taken a while for me to modify the FlyLady system to fit our lifestyle. FlyLady understands those of us who are highly creative and easily sidetracked. Her system makes sense to us and she has helped hundreds of thousands of us. She is a life saver. When I follow the system things get done, the place is cleaner and better organized, and clutter goes out the door. Of course, that is when, and only when, I follow the system. When I don't my home and life revert to CHAOS, although it never goes back to the state it was before FlyLady.
Feel free to join me on my quest to move from CHAOS to peace. I will be sharing my journey with you.
To paraphrase FlyLady: "Progress not perfection - 15 minutes at a time."
*Several dear friends did not like that word Slob in as my identifier so the name has been changed to better represent who I am.
