Cleaning out my Closet

I'm not sure why, but the song "Cleaning out my Closet" by Eminem popped into my head this afternoon and it seemed so appropriate for today's post.

I've been feeling for a while now  that life has been chaotic, out of control, that I'm trying to catch up to my life.  Then I realized it was because my physical life is chaotic.   My home office was a disaster.  I've been slowly cleaning and tidying up our house.  I was supposed to go to my niece's for "Christmas" on Saturday.  But we had snow ... again.  lots of it.  And she's about a 90 minute drive on a good day.  So we decided to send the gifts up ahead and schedule or visit for the end of March after the calves have been born.  So there we were with a day to accomplish some stuff around the house. 

Barry changed the old bathroom fan with a new, quieter, more powerful one (which we've had for about a year) and I decided to tackle my office.  I've been following a site called http://www.flylady.net/ .  OMG ... if you have issues with chaos, (her definition of CHAOS btw ... "can't have anyone over syndrome" because the house is a mess) with procrastination, with organization ... check out her sight.  I get her email every morning, which I read on the way into work.  She encourages you to only work on something for 15 minutes at a time.  Baby steps.  So I worked on the office for 15 minutes, did something else, came back for 15 minutes, did something else, then got carried away and worked in the office for about 90 minutes straight and FINALLY I am organized.  It's not 100% .  I still have to "clean out my closet" in the office.  It's a book shelf and some floating shelves.  That's next weekend.

I still have the linen closet and the front hall closet to tackle.  One thing I have been pretty good with is my master bedroom closet (it's more like a room :) ) but the others ... YIKES!  So I will tackle each of those closets for 15 minutes at a time.  I don't know whether I'll get them today or not, but I can always work on one shelf at a time during the week.  Or tackle them next weekend while Barry and sanding and prepping the bathroom for re-painting.

FLYlady talks about "shining your sink".  It's one habit for the month.  And I've been doing it.  We make sure we get the dishes done every night right after dinner.  For the most part, we sit at our dining room table like adults and have a conversation.  Our living room is tidy.  I've been making the bed every morning.  I put my clothes and lingerie and jewellery out the night before, as well as my workout clothes.  I've even been keeping up with the ironing.  I even make up a meal plan once a week.

I can't tell you what a weight it's been off my shoulders.  Last week, my workouts were sketchy, my nutrition, not great.  Had 2 meals out last week.  And despite it all, my weight stayed the same.  YAY!  I was happy just not to go back up. 

It was such a colassal job to clean up this office that I was neglecting my blog.  I didn't want to be in the office.  And to write while watching TV ... I don't do my writing justice.  So I've "cleaned out my closet"  and cupboard and filing cabinets, etc. and my office is clean, tidy, organized, and cozy.  It's also our guest room.  We have a futon in the room in the form of a couch.  Great place to curl up and read a book.  And the room is purple (my fav colour).  Lighting is good.  I replaced my desk with a deeper, shorter one.  I can see what's happening on my printer finally.

I come from a long line of procrastinating pack rats.  I didn't want to be like that.  But I because what I didn't want to be.  But no longer.  I am reformed.    It's interesting, the discipline of my workouts have slowly been creeping into my job, my home, my mind.

So a HUGE shout out to my sister for recommending FLYlady.net to me.  It's changed a lot of things.  Thanks Mo.