Friday, June 15, 2007

My New Toy


I am taking the opportunity of moving to get organized. I don't mean organized as in knowing where the emergency roll of toilet paper is hidden. I mean ORAGANIZED. To the point where I finally can use the pantry feature on my MasterCook program and putting the CD's in alphabetized categories. Things I have been dying to do for years. I'm probably the only person in the world that gets excited about things like this, but I grew up in a house where things were constantly getting lost because nothing had a home and I witnessed the turmoil, frustration and even fights this caused. Even now when I'm not truly organized but just know where things are (or should be) is a major stress reliever. I don't have to tear the house apart to find the lint roller or last years taxes. When I lived in my apartment I knew exactly where everything I owned was... on the floor, somewhere. I was tripping and losing and ended up wearing wrinkled clothes that had to be given to sniff test to see if they were clean or dirty. It was causing more work and frustration than it would if I would just pick up after myself. I've learned that if I clean the stove or microwave when its still warm from cooking the gunk comes off without any scrubbing and takes mere seconds. When I wait until the next day (or two) its gross and takes elbow grease. You see, I'm not a neat freak... I'm lazy! The road of less resistance is the one I like to travel. Admitedly, when I'm tired I do not want to pick up toys or put away laundry, both of which I still have issues with, but I know that if I just suck it up and do it now it will make my life better. My goal is to get to the point where it is so ingrained in me that I don't have to think about it.
Pictured above is the Brother PT-80 personal label maker, my new best friend. I envision file drawers labeled with categories, storage containers labeled with "Flour" and "Cereal" in the kitchen, shelves labeled with "Cleaning Supplies", "Guest Towels" and "Gryffin's Linens". I can see boxes in the basement labeled with not just "Xmas" scrawled in messy black marker but "Xmas wreath, garland and lights" in a nice typewritten label. I daydream about a nice glass studio where each tool has a home and my sheets of glass are sorted by color, my chemicals are in a cabinet away from curious fingers and my pattern books on a nice shelf.
I look at it this way, I've got to put all this crap in a new place anyway so I might as well put away in a logical manner and order. Huh, logical- Mike will get a kick out of that. I don't do anything logically- at least not a logic most people can understand or associate with.
A place for everything and everything in its place. If it doesn't have a place then obviously, I don't need it.
Now, where did I put my car keys?

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