I accidentally came up with a great way to use a bad habit for a good outcome!

You know how we SHEs (Sidetracked Home Executives) are guilty of not hanging our clothes up (if we haven’t established the habit to hang them up) but rather throw them on a chair in the bedroom, too exhausted to have an evening routine?

Just so you know, I’ve established the habit of not putting clothes in the chair in our bedroom. I hang them up or put them in the dirty clothes hamper, but I’ve never forgotten, that once upon a time, that bedroom chair was always unrecognizable as a chair and looked more like a budget table at Goodwill.

Warning: This idea will only have energy if you’re a SHE and have established the habit of putting your clothes away at night! Also, BOs (Born Organized) would NOT find this idea sane.

So last week I was going through my winter clothes in our closet before I bring my spring clothes out and I pulled a couple pair of jeans that are shot, a sweatshirt and a scarf I haven’t swirled around my neck in more than a year and headed for the garage where I keep a garbage bag for Goodwill. That’s when it struck me to throw the garments in the chair!

First, interestingly, it was fun to actually go against a sacred habit I've established. It made Nelly (my inner child) feel naughty on purpose. I couldn’t get that action and the subsequent feeling out of my mind and every time I went into the bedroom I wanted to add something to the chair to make the small pile bigger and get that rebellious feeling again.

I’ve always known by playing with my kids and grandkids that they love to pretend being naughty. For example, I had a game for the little ones (ages three to six) where I put three bath towels on the living room floor and designated one to be dog poop, one peanut butter, and one sand. I’d say, “You can go in the sand (pointing to the sand towel), but DO NOT GO IN THE DOG POOP OR THE PEANUT BUTTER.” Of course they’d roll on all the towels and I’d pretend to be mad, to their total delight. When grandchildren would come over for a day with me, they’d always request the “towel” game.

Second, after that first day, I left the clothes in the chair challenging myself to add more! Soon I was scrounging the shelves for more, rechecking what was hanging up and rethinking enough to turn that chair into a memorable scene from my messy past. I even got Terry to add stuff to the chair.

Here's a picture of the chair! (Maggie in the foreground.)

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Note: If the chair in your bedroom looks like mine, you might want to get the Slob Sister's De-junking video, before you get start getting out your spring clothes.

Today and tomorrow, I'm giving the SHE e-book for free when you order the video and 3x5 card file.