A place for everything, and everything in it's place

Hooray, Hooray, HOORAY!!! I worked my bootie off today organizing and cleaning, and it felt so darn good. For two days in a row now I've actually showered and worn something other than my p.j's. Okay, let me back up, this last week has been a hard one for me. I've spent the last week struggling to even get the basics done. The basics for me are feeding, clothing, and interacting with my kids. Oh yeah, and sometimes feeding me. Anything above and beyond that is more than the basics for this mommy. Showering and changing clothes are a luxury. Don't get me wrong, I'm not digusting (okay so not really disgusting), I just wear the same flannel bottoms for a couple of days before I finally shower, put my hair in a ponytail, and put on a new pair of flannel bottoms. So, a few days ago I was snuggling with Kaitlyn when she said to me, "Mommy, you kind of stink." Nothing like blazing honesty from my 5 year old to help me realize - I'VE GOT TO START SNAPPING OUT OF THIS! So yesterday I started small. I showered, I blow dried my hair (I even wore it DOWN!), and put on some make-up. I went to lunch with some great girlfriends and CONVERSED with them for two whole hours. This morning I decided to do it again, and maybe up the momentum a little bit. I thought to myself, "Come on now Kristen, you can do it! You can shower, get ready and have a productive day." Well guess what? I DID. I worked hard & it was awesome!

Today I attacked the playroom. Now the playroom in our house is like the eternal thorn in my side. It is a mess. My kids have way too much stuff & boy am I ever paying for it. Ever since Christmas it has been the usual mess times ten. It was crowded & disorganized & driving me CRAZY! One of the hardest things for me about motherhood is dealing with this sort of stuff. I like things to be organized. I like to put things in bins or on shelves and label it all so I actually know where it is. I do not do well in chaos. This is a verifiable fact. Just ask Mike.

After my own personal pep talk, I started on the playroom. I began by putting everything into the center of the room in one big pile. I even dump out everything that is in bins or drawers so I am starting from scratch. If you've never done that, it's actually a LOT of fun. Call me crazy if you want, but it's the truth. I was tossing baby dolls, star wars figures, and stuffed animals. I swear, I created my own Mt. Everest in the middle of my house out of barbies and legos. Then I vacuumed everywhere I normally can't reach with a vacuum, wiped off all of the big plastic toys Mike hates, and rearranged them. At this point I realize I'm going to need a few more plastic bins. Four more to be exact. As I found the bins I was looking for at Smith's MarketPlace a beautiful thing happened - they were on sale!! I knew at that moment that TODAY was THE day for me to be organizing. I mean, sales on organization supplies are almost like a sign from heaven aren't they?

Now with my new shiny plastic bins all lined up and all of the big toys in place, I began sorting through the enormous pile of stuff in the middle of the playroom. Everything has a place in the playroom. The kids don't always put everything in the right place, but everything has a place. I label the bins (before my kids could read I even put pictures on them), throw junk away, make a pile for donations, and put every toy in its new little home. As the pile dwindles and everything is so neat & organized, I feel like everything is all right in the world. At least in that one room. It becomes my own little "happy place" for this one, beautiful, organized moment in time. And let me tell you, it feels good!