Do you like make-over stories? There's something exciting about a pigpen to paradise saga. Many television reality shows are popular because we get to see a situation improve.

Many struggle with disorganization and I was one of the biggest strugglers. When every room is HOURS or DAYS away from "company ready" and I HAVE BEEN THERE, it can easily be overwhelming and in that state of mind we can freeze, bust out of the place or retreat under the covers. All those actions make things worse.

Being overwhelmed is a state of mind based on true facts and circumstances. But the good news is states of mind can be changed even when the true facts and circumstances haven't. In fact if you’re overwhelmed by a messy house, obesity, indebtedness, an inharmonious marriage, whatever, you have the power to change your mind right now and decide to not be overwhelmed. In fact that’s the best place to start, but it takes practice!

Once a long time ago I was in a bad marriage and in a perpetual state of overwhelm before I got organized. My unhappy husband was a traveling salesman and was gone a lot. Since I had no clue how to be organized, I’d play with the kids, sew, watch TV and then I’d clean all night and the next day to get the house back in shape before he’d come home. Once it was clean and company ready I’d promise myself I’d keep it that way, but as soon as he’d leave I’d go back to playing again and leaving my messes out.

                                The Penthouse Suite Changed My Life

A few years ago my son Michael and his wife Meredith were invited by the FOX network to go to the Super Bowl and Terry and I were invited to babysit the two grandchildren Jack age eight and Brooklyn age eleven. I have such fun with these two! (They're probably 2 and 5 in this photo.

The first night we were with them, when it was bedtime they both wanted me to tell them a bedtime story. Since they slept in separate rooms I sat in the hallway with the light on so they could both see me if they sat up and it was easy for them to hear me. I love to make up bedtime stories because I never know what I’m going to say myself. I guess I should say Nelly (my inner child) loves to hear my stories or maybe she’s the one who makes them up? Whatever, I love to do it.

Here's the story:

Rabbit Ears, Elephants, and Donkeys

You probably didn't know my sister and I had a dance career. Well, it was only one day long for a TV show and was never used. Read on and then I'll show it to you.

In our book, "Sidetracked Home Executives." we wrote about how we went from pigpen to paradise. After the book was out, we were asked to do a television series to air on Christian Broadcasting and sponsored by Proctor and Gamble.

The production company agreed to come to us rather than for us to move to California. So the show was produced out of Portland, OR.

Have you ever spent time on a project and then it never worked out? The television show did work out and we got to do two seasons, but the video you're about to see is a perfect example of what didn't work out. We saved the footage, even though it never aired on television. Now it's just funny and a little embarrassing. (My sister could have been a show girl with those legs, but at 5'2" my legs are not the kind that make it on stage. 

The Cruise Ship YOU

Just for a minute think of yourself as a ship. Okay, you may as well make it a cruise ship since you love romance, excitement, drama, parties and food. Let’s call this luxury liner the Cruise Ship YOU.

Oh indeed, it’s a marvelous ship! It’s a beautiful ship. It’s a strong ship. It’s like the Good Ship Lollipop but unfortunately it has been caught in a perpetual storm of chaos and clutter. It has lost its direction and has been tossed and thrown by the winds and weather in the sea of life! Whew!!

Now that you are using your imagination let’s imagine that your captain (your incredible mind) has just received information from above (a God Breeze) that there’s some place called the Organized Islands in Always Always Land. Your captain goes on the internet to check it out and reads testimonials from other happy travelers who have voyaged to the Organized Islands and love it there. One of them is Steven Sondheim. (Remember we’re using our imaginations.)

There's a place for us,
Somewhere a place for us.
Peace and quiet and open air
Waits for us
Somewhere.

There's a time for us,
Some day a time for us,
Time together with time spare,
Time to learn, time to care,
Some day!

Somewhere.
We'll find a new way of living,
We'll find a way of forgiving
Somewhere . . .

There's a place for us,
A time and place for us.
Hold my hand and we're halfway there.
Hold my hand and I'll take you there
Somehow,
Some day,
Somewhere!

Next stop: The Organized Islands!

Your captain looks at her maps and realizes the Cruise Ship YOU is going in the wrong direction and if it wants to reach the Organized Islands, she must turn it around 180 degrees!

Because this blog has nothing to do with getting and staying organized, and everything to do with having fun and relaxing, there's a habit to establish at the end for those who want that kind of information today.

Being organized has many facets and one of those is one we SHEs (Sidetracked Home Executives) are familiar with because it has to do with our creativity. Besides having fun comes naturally, although it can be squelched by overloaded work routines.

When we’re organized, we make time to have fun on a routine basis. SHEs who get organized get to play way more than SHEs who are disorganized. BOs (born organized) have a hard time playing in the first place, because there’s always work to be done.

We SHEs are creative and it’s that creativity that recharges our energy, just like a good nap does. My youngest daughter, Joanna, has found a wonderful way to relax and play with her artistic gift.

It all started with a Face Book page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1194501230583751/ and this comment on the page:  

Woodland, Washington is a cozy, rural town of approximately 5,000 in population. Next door to Woodland is Ridgefield, a small farming community with a main street straight out of a Norman Rockwell painting. The sister towns are situated on the Columbia River which teams with salmon almost year ‘round.

On September 11, 2016 these two, little towns did something very BIG! A businessman in Ridgefield and a businessman in Woodland put their heads together and with hearts of compassion, invited 16 police officers from Dallas, Texas and Baton Rouge, Louisiana, who suffered through the attacks in July, to come and fish on the river for three days (all expenses paid). The two men also reached out to the local officers in surrounding towns in Washington and Pendleton and Portland, Oregon. More than 150 police officers were able to enjoy a break from the danger they face every day and go fishing. Terry videotaped the fun.

It’s no secret that countless families are deluged by household clutter.

Flylady says; “The most common clutter hot spots are children's bedrooms, home offices, attics, and garages.” What does it take to create a clutter-free space? Here are my 10 best home organization strategies straight from my book, The Joy of Being Disorganized.

1. Stop Homelessness

One of the main reasons stuff piles up on counters, dining tables, coffee tables and floors is that it’s homeless. When an item has no "home," it gets added to an IPOD
 (Important Pile Of Decisions). The free chapter I'm giving you has great information about the IPODs in your home and how to eliminate them. That’s why it’s important to make sure everything in your home lives somewhere. “Homing” items in the room where they're used, helps ensure that they get put away when you're finished. For example, I keep a sewing kit in a drawer of an end table in my living room, because I like to mend garments in that room and not in my sewing room in the basement.

2. Stop Clutter at the Cash Register

Use that, waiting-to-buy time when you’re standing in line at the cash register, to re-think what’s in your hands or cart. Imagine it as clutter. What you buy today can turn
into clutter tomorrow. The better you are about keeping things out of your home, the less likely you’ll be to create IPODs when you get home.

3. Baby Step your Way to Clutter-free

Start with the room that’s bothering you the most. (In my almost 40-year career helping moms get organized, the kitchen is the room most picked by baby-steppers.) Marla Cilley, the Flylady
says, “Start by shining your kitchen sink.” That’s so brilliant! In order to keep your sink shiny, you have to keep it empty. In order to keep it empty, you and your family have to put dirty dishes in the dishwasher. In order to put dirty dishes in the dishwasher, it has to be empty!

These are a Few of My Favorite Things

One of the best ways to get through hard times is to change your mind. I know sometimes that can seem to be very hard to do, but really we make it as easy or as hard as we choose. My experience has taught me that you can’t think two thoughts at the same time and I have experimented with that truth for more than 45 years and I know for sure it is impossible to do. So what?

Well, the bad news is, when you think a “worry” thought and stick to it for a bit of time, your beautiful mind searches your hard drive for more thoughts to add to the initial worry thought. In a few minutes you can be sucked into a pity party of your own making. The good news is the same thing can happen with a “happy” thought.

I recorded this blog, so you can listen while you work. I suggest you take the "junk" drawer in the kitchen, dump it out on a flat surface and organize it while you listen. The message is all about praise; how to give it and take it. Enjoy!
You'll understand why this vineyard photo appears here, as soon as you listen. Now go get that drawer.

Who taught you to ride a bike?

If you enjoy refinishing furniture, you'll love this blog by my friend Judith Robinson. 

Let Your Life Speak by Judith Robinson

When the legs came off the table, I should have paid attention. As we slid the lovely Cherrywood tabletop under the bed I did not ask, “What can I learn from this?” As we wrapped those carved Queen Anne legs in felt for storage, I never gave a thought to listening to my life. I’d refused to face the facts. Square footage of our tiny, new place made less than half the space for what we had left behind. I’d insisted we bring everything, and pouted ‘till we did. (Denial? Ya’ think?)  

Every Friday, we post a video and today we shot this especially for you.

Up, up and awaaaay in my beautiful, my beautiful duuhh-rone.

We had to hire a drone for a video project and we had some time leftover so the drone operator shot video of our home and gardens.

We even got to stand on our deck and the drone came within ten feet of us! It made me think about the famous people who now have drones to contend with, not just the random Paparazzi hiding behind a bush with a telephoto lens.

I hope you enjoy the ride!