The weather in March is unpredictable and it reminds me of the challenges of raising happy, healthy organized children. Every day is different and moms have to learn to be flexible and handle the ever-changing bodies and personalities of their children, year-in and year-out. As a mom, and in my career helping disorganized moms create peace and order in their homes, I learned that the less clutter there is, the more peace there is.

Think about what Mother Nature does with her planet with the changing of the seasons. She starts over every year. She de-clutters all through the winter, leaving it looking naked of life and then in the month of March, she starts to usher in spring and gives hope that the harshness of winter will soon be over. As spring peeks through the barren landscape it promises freshness and new life.      

De-cluttering is a family affair  

 

A Clean Kitchen Sink Can Bring World Peace

I received an email from a dear friend in Indiana, telling me about a woman in her state, Elinor Ostrom, who received the 2009 Nobel Prize in Economics. What caught my friend’s attention was this comment by Elinor: "The family is a governance unit. And the kitchen sink is a commons." My friend is a journalist who wrote a feature story in the Los Angeles Times about Sidetracked Home Executive: from pigpen to paradise, the first book my sister and I wrote together. She is very familiar with my work helping homemakers get organized. That’s why the comment grabbed her. She sent me the article (which I read) and it linked me to Elinor’s talk at Indiana University (which I listened to).

Those unmade beds and a sink full of dirty dishes didn’t mean I didn’t love my family or my home.

Shakespeare said, “Nothing is either good or bad, but thinking makes it so.” I happen to think Dandelions are beautiful! From the first fistful I received from my toddler who had joyously picked a bunch for me (with one-inch stems) I’ve always regarded them with love.

The most important lesson I’ve learned in my long life is that I am good and so is everyone.

I’m a reformed slob. I made the decision to get organized on June 16, 1977. I was 35. I learned a lot through that transformation. The most important of which was to understand that before I did one thing to organize my chaotic life, I was alright just the way I was. That backed-up laundry didn’t make me a bad person. Those unmade beds and a sink full of dirty dishes didn’t mean I didn’t love my family or my home. Having to re-inoculate the children because I couldn’t find their medical records when we moved to a new town didn’t mean I was a bad mother.

My challenge to change my ways came from a deep desire to have more fun and be able to do it guilt-free. I wanted to feel the freedom that a routine and habits give to mundane tasks. I wanted my household to run smoothly so my family and I could really enjoy this delicious thing called life. My motive to get organized was to have more free time to play.

The Crotchety Watch

One of my New Year’s Resolutions was to quit complaining and judging in 2014. But that was over two months ago and although I’ve cut way back, I’m not very proud of myself, especially because of what happened to me today; I had a wake-up call from CW (Crotchety Watch). It’s sort of a software program installed in my mind (upon request in prayer) on New Year’s Eve. It stands guard, monitoring my thoughts and although it doesn’t censor what comes out of my mouth, it sends a communiqué (and a small electric shock) which is supposed to train me to be aware of my thoughts and ultimately be nicer. Perhaps after today I should ask for the Deluxe Crotchety Watch which actually stops tetchy talk from leaving my lips.