How Messy Happens

When I was younger, say, college age, I was compulsively neat and I obsessively scheduled my time in order to have sufficient time to attend and study for all my classes. There was little time for frivolous behavior, although Wildlife Society parties could be considered "networking" so they were okay. And parties when my siblings and I shared a rental house were certainly acceptable and fun, as long as I still got my homework done.

I seem to have lost the ability to be neat or stay on a schedule anymore. Perhaps it is the lack of traditional 8 to 5 employment; I always suspected I would not do so well with self-employment at home. But I'm not even what you'd call self-employed since my "work" doesn't result in a paycheck; it results in a lower cost of living and better quality of life. Shopping for bargains, scavenging for wild foods, checking out thrift stores and yard sales, mending and repairing instead of buying anew, and preserving food can be a full-time job.

Still, though, I used to occasionally be able to keep the house straightened up and relatively clean, albeit relying on the pressure of overnight company every few months for a thorough house-cleaning. Now that seems to be beyond my grasp. I spent a hectic morning this past week cleaning up the visible parts of the house for the dog training appointment but you'd never know it to see it now. Clutter has taken over all the flat surfaces already.

I really hate living in a messy house but once it gets messy, it seems overwhelming to deal with it. My house really isn't all that bad, since I can - under pressure - get it straightened up and cleaned in a day, but I can certainly see how it is possible for a living space to degrade to unbelievable levels of clutter and messiness. The kitchen is one area that stays in pretty good shape, mostly because I'm a bit paranoid about food-borne illnesses. If I'm preserving food, I have to start with a clean and clutter-free kitchen. If I'm preparing a complicated meal, I start with a clean and uncluttered kitchen. Thank heavens my sweetie will wash up after me!

My office has gotten really bad again. For some reason, in every house we've lived in, the office quickly becomes my least favorite room in the house. I intend to clean it up and, in fact, often enter the room with the intention of working on the mess. However, once I see the mess, I realize that half an hour of working on it, or even an hour, will make little dent. Without the promise of visible progress quickly, I get discouraged and don't even bother.

This has also led to cluttered email boxes again. This past week was filled with outside commitments and not feeling great, resulting in a backlog of blog comments that should be acknowledged and responded to. Again, though, I come and look at the computer and am overwhelmed with how far behind I have allowed myself to get. Instead of just diving in, I sit here whining about how much work there is to do. Once upon a time, I learned the lesson that tasks can often be finished with far less effort than is used to avoid starting them. Guess I've forgotten that one.

I suppose I should do something. There is clean laundry to put away - has been for 3 days now. There are dishes to wash - has been for 3 hours. There are piles of papers to sort through on my desk - has been for 3 months. There are posts to write - have been on the list for 3 weeks now. I should get started on one of these, but I think I'll go read today's paper instead. Doing the crossword puzzles should burn up at least half an hour or so.

Feel free to leave a comment. Just don't hold your breath waiting for me to respond!