Starting on Monday is my motto with everything, not just dieting. I’m the queen of procrastination. I work way better under pressure, which is why I tend to write best after midnight when I want my post up the next morning.
I’m also a bit of a slob and a pack rat. I have a cleaning lady once a week, and she just shoves my stuff wherever she can so she can clean beneath it. My bathroom counter is full. But I can’t clean that up until I make room in my drawers and under the sink. Right now my drawers get stuck when I open them, and things fall on my toes when I open the cabinet under my sink.
But when I start cleaning, I make it worse. I start emptying drawers to clean them…then I get sidetracked, and I have just made it all worse. My husband can sweep through the house and have it company presentable in 10 minutes. Me? I will start emptying cabinets so I can fit more stuff in them and just make it all worse.
Mr. Ana (who has his clothes lined up perfectly an inch apart in his closet) has given up on everything but his own drawers and closet. He can’t keep up with me. But last week he took it upon himself to dump everything under my sink into a box and had me pull out what I wanted to keep. He pulled up my gross shelf paper and got me bins too! In other words, he FORCED me to clean or he would have thrown out everything. And I NEEDED the 18 free clinique bags and 5 Brighton heart tins that were shoved under my sink (not).
So I’m hoping he continues this quest…I need the pressure, because every drawer is full. Counters are covered in piles. I have a month of mail to be sorted…but I sit at my computer all day. You walk in my house, and overall it looks neat, until you notice my “pile spots” which includes a mountain of clothes on my exercise bike, and the junk counter in the kitchen (pictured above). Sigh….perhaps I should be cleaning instead of typing this?
IveGotLotsToSay AKA Lisa says
Cleaning is never fun but there is hoarding-you’re a hoarder! I am a minimalist. It comes from being in the military and having to move every few years. When you move as often as I have (22 times), you learn quickly what you need and don’t need. I throw away frikkin everything. If I don’t wear or use something in a year-its gone and I pretty much stick to that. If I know I wont use it so why keep it. I don’t ever say
maybe some day I will because I know me. Nope, its gone. I throw away shit my husband packrats. He looks to Tshirts like we do to photos-they’re memories. In his line of work, Tshirts are offered up often. I hate it. He has like 3000 Tshirts and most he has outgrown or he hasn’t even ever worn. The worst are these bike shorts circa 1980. How can I describe them…they’re a crime scene. I have tried to throw them out and only for them to land back on the top shelf of our closet. I even buried them halfway in the trash and covered with more trash so he couldn’t see them and those psychedelic shorts made it back. Do you hear me..he picked them OUT OF THE TRASH! He has threatened to wear them and I know he cant even fit in them anymore-infuriating! I have threatened to wear a sign on the back of my shirt that says “I am not responsible for dressing him” and my fav “Honk if you can see his package”. I have also threatened no food and no sex. They are THAT BAD. I will try to remember to send a photo today. But I know what you mean. Its hard. At some point that stuff can start to take over and then you feel owned by it all. Your hubs is awesome. Hes helping in a loving way. Be lucky Im not there missy-Id go all Sargent on your ass. MOVE IT MOVE IT MOVE IT! GET THAT SHIT OUTTA HERE!
Ana says
Sometimes I think I just want to move to get rid of shit.
Nikki H says
We’ve lived in the same house for 32 years, and our kids have been gone for over 10, so yeah, we were a tad overwhelmed when we decided we were moving to be near our kids and grandkids. My husband had owned a sports card shop and when he closed it, most of the stock came home! I am an avid read and I had over 5000 books. But with a little help from our daughter, who came and ruthlessly purged, and 3 garage sales, we put our house on the market, and three weeks later, have a contract! I can’t begin to tell you how we felt after clearing out all that crap. I have retired from teaching and found I don’t need 100 multi-colored shirts, 14 pair of black pants or 12 pair of brown or 10 pair of navy. Don’t get me wrong–I kept about 800 books, and we still have a huge stash of sports cards (“I’ll sell them when we move”), but our house looked great for showing, and we have much less stuff to pack. However, one of the best things I did to get stuff done was to quit playing games on the computer. I quit Candy Crush, Bejeweled Blitz, Words with Friends and about 3 others. And talk about withdrawal! So I understand your pain.
Ana says
Yes. I’m a total hoarder. I have t-shirts from every concert I’ve ever been to! I keep all of my kid’s art, and for some stupid reason I keep my older son’s clothes for my younger son, but forget about it and buy new stuff (they are 8 years apart). I need someone to come and organize me!
Ana says
But I have to say…my house is nice, and it doesn’t look like I’m a hoarder until you see my piles.
IveGotLotsToSay AKA Lisa says
You’re a CLOSET hoarder! 😛
Ana says
I am 🙁