ORGANIZATION {YESTERYEARS}
[FROM 1998 TO 2015]

My mother taught me well when it came to keeping a clean and orderly home. Mom made sure that everything had a place, every item had a purpose, and every room was well maintained and decorated. Apparently I inherited that quality to a certain degree. I'm quite passionate about organization and home decor. I am at my best when I feel that I control my house, not when my house controls me. What do I mean by that? I'll tell you.... When I find that I can't wait to leave my house or hate to come back to it I know that there's a problem. It's not my family I'm having an issue with, it's my house. If all I find is one unfinished project after another, or piles of papers that need to be sorted, or loads of laundry in various stages of completion, or dust and grime to be cleaned, or toys and various other items to be put away; I'm not too thrilled about being home in that chaos.


Before I go further I want to clarify what I mean by control of my house. I'm not talking about control of my family or visitors, but of the structure and contents of items in the house. Trying to control people is not something I would recommend. The results are almost always counterproductive and damaging to all involved.


With that said I realize most of you do not live alone and have a bit of help in creating this chaos I speak of. Most of us would like to blame it all on "them" and give up on the mess thinking that what we do to clean it all up will only be undone by someone else. I disagree. Children learn through example, and a spouse typically likes to see their partner happy. No one likes being nagged at, and most would feel guilty if they sat back and did nothing to contribute to the upkeep of the house. Where am I going with all this? Well, after hours and hours of reading books and searching the internet about organization, I've finally found a system that really works. Flylady.net really has been an inspiration to me. I had many of her philosophies long before I ever found her, but she has a no-nonsense way of keeping me on track with not only my house, but with my family that I share it with.


Before you visit her site realize that she won't take pity on you, but she'll give you the tools to get yourself and your house in order (for free). Routines are vital, which is something I was taught and have used my entire life. They really do work, no matter how simple they may be. I encourage you to be honest with yourself and love yourself enough to realize that getting rid of the chaos in your home starts with you. Placing blame on others or whining about it doesn't make it go away. This isn't about life being fair, but about loving yourself enough to transform a chaotic house into a peaceful home. Eventually your family will see the transformation in you, and the home, and will want to be a part of it too. Trust me, visit flylady.net and learn what it means to FLY.