You are alright just the way you are right now.

I am a reformed slob. I made the decision to be organized more than 40 years ago. I was 35. I learned a lot through that transformation. The most important of which was to understand that before I did anything to organize my chaotic life, I was alright just the way I was. That backed-up laundry didn’t make me a bad person. That unmade bed 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 reason to change my ways came from a deep desire to have more fun; to be able to play guilt-free. To feel the freedom of taking care of the routine and mundane tasks that make a household run smoothly, so my family and I could really enjoy this delicious thing called life. 

I think being organized or disorganized is ultimately a choice, but I also think we each have a natural inclination to be one or the other. My mom was born organized. My dad was the donor of my disorganized gene.

I had three children and two received my penchant for mess and one was washing the floor at 18 months old. Once I asked her if she wanted a doll house for Christmas and she replied, “Oh Mom, it would just be one more thing to keep clean.” You know where you fall on the scale of order: one is a Martha Stewart without a staff and ten is the person who can’t dust or vacuum because she doesn’t have clear surfaces.

 A little organization goes a long way.

We are so much alike and we have so much in common. We want to love and be loved, we have great concern for the well being of our families and finding peace of mind is important to us. We want peace and joy to follow us all the days of our lives and getting down in the dumps when we have so much to be thankful for can make us feel even worse.

Peace of mind and joy are spiritual qualities and it takes practice to have them follow us through the twists and turns and ups and downs of life. It’s good to know the doorway to peace and joy is gratitude. God wired us with the ability to be grateful and when we’re feeling gratitude, we are joyful and we instantly feel better.

What I realized is thinking I don’t like change is a lot of hooey! I do too like change! I love clean sheets, fresh towels, and the change in seasons. I like the time when day turns to night, night turns to day, each different day of the week, the growth in goodness of my children and grandchildren, new stuff like cars, shoes, books and such. I love a change of scenery, a vacation, and even “the change of life” had its very good qualities.

Did you know we can actually be a mom to ourselves? I know it sounds sort of crazy, but it’s true.

I received an email from one of my subscribers and it illustrates my concept very well.

Remember in The Sound of Music when the Von Trapp children were terrified by the thunder storm? Maria sang My Favorite Things to them and it took their fear  away. Below I have printed out the absolutely brilliant lyrics for My Favorite Things (written by Oscar Hammerstein II) (pronounced HAM-err-styne), followed by my own lyrics to the same tune (written by Richard Rogers). I guarantee that if you were feeling bad when you started reading my essay, you will feel better when you finish reading Oscar’s words. As you read each line think for a few seconds about what it means to you. My lyrics don’t come near to the poetic brilliance of Mr. Hammerstein’s, but they do make ME feel good! Maybe you can write your own words or at least make a list of your favorite things and carry it with you to read every time you start to feel sad or bad or worried or mad or. . .oh well, you know what I mean.

During your day, find as many ways as you can to get things done so that you can stop work at 6:00 pm. Consider it quitting time. Of course your little Snuggle Bunnies will need your love and attention after six, but I’m talking about the household workload.

If you tend to be frazzled in the evening, you’ll love my 4 tips for making guilt-free couch time a reality. 

4 Steps to Win

Are you always arguing with your mate over a messy house?
Do you think clutter control would help? Would you stop arguing if this problem were solved?

If you answered yes to these questions, I might be able to help! I must warn you I’m not a marriage counselor and I am on my second marriage, but I have learned some successful spatting skills in the 41 years I’ve been married and you just might find them helpful.

My ideas will work for many fights, but to illustrate my strategies, I decided to pick a fight that’s common among couples; clutter control conflicts. (Wow that’s a tongue twister: couple’s common clutter control conflicts. I dare you to try and say it five times without screwing up.) The underlying cause of this conflict is stuff. It’s the, my-stuff vs your-stuff which is the most common cause of a bout about clutter. One sees his stuff as his stuff and the other guy’s stuff as clutter and it works the other way around. It’s a blame game and couples have been playing it since Adam and Eve argued about whose leaf was whose that got tossed on the ground.

The other common clutter clashes ignite when stuff gets lost, stuff gets left out, stuff gets thrown out, stuff gets wrecked, stuff gets dirty and stuff gets stuffed just to get it out of the way.

When I get worried, one of the best things I can do is sing. I belong to a fabulous chorus and once a week on rehearsal nights I sing for five hours straight. I’ve noticed that if anything was bothering me before I start singing, by the time I get back home I have no worries! I think much of our worry is habit and it’s good to find ways to curb unnecessary worry and know all is well. 

Aside from doing something you love to do, I learned a valuable lesson when worry crops up. A few years ago on a beautiful Sunday morning, I decided to visit a new church near Portland, Oregon. I got the address and Terry, my husband, went out to the car and programmed it into our new GPS for me. Back then I didn’t quite trust the thing. (Once it got me going in circles and I’d have circled for hours if I hadn’t recognized the same barn, for the third time.) 

One of my all-time favorite low-carb cooking recipes is what I call “Cauliflower-oni and Cheese." Who needs that carb-loaded, slimy macaroni when you can cook up a yummy, steamy head of cauliflower and leave your pickiest eater drooling for more? In this fun, how-to cooking video, I share with you the secrets of happy cows from Ireland, and the joys of a forty year old pot. (The kind on the stove.) This is sumptuous, guilt-free dining, and you'll want to make plenty for the crowds that will be begging for seconds and thirds and the recipe.

Organize Clutter? No Way!

Well, I guess there is always a way. You could go to one of those organizer stores and get shelves, storage containers, a label gun, jars, little drawers and a hundred other cutesy products that ring your wanna-be-organized chimes, but guess what! If you really took on a project to organize your clutter, you’d end up with a home that resembles your local Goodwill store.

Get the Picture

Just imagine your home peaceful and free of clutter as I take you on a make-believe tour of your home, room-by-room.