The Joyful Housewife

Two promises I make today:

This picture will be explained by the end of the post.

Promise One:  I will blog more often. (As in 1-7 times a week.)

I cannot count the number of times I have taken photos for this blog with the intention of posting about either my husband’s cooking or my messy house. But I’m a HUGE procrastinator which means that I rarely finish what I start. I’m also a perfectionist, so the things I DO get done take about seven times longer than they should (it took me a minute to finish that sentence because I was deciding whether it took me a hundred times longer, ten times longer, or just two or three times longer – then I chose seven because I like that number). Which for blogging means that I take about fifty photos (again, is it twenty, thirty, a hundred photos…?) for every one I post, but I think every post NEEDS a photo so I either don’t post or I take forever choosing the photos for it.

So.

I have a new blogging vow.

I will not let photos – or my perfectionism – get in the way of blogging. Sometimes I will write picture-less posts and sometimes, like right now, I will compose one-handed posts on my iPhone, while Sebastian squirms and nurses in my lap. (Also, I will post shitty photos once in a while. What the hey – because it’s better than never posting at all.)

Promise two:  I will finally, methodically, face the clutter in my house.

This is where the focusing comes in. I’ve said before that I’m what is called a Messy.  I have a major chronic disorganization problem. But I cannot keep living this way.

The whole point of this blog was to figure it out before a baby came along! MASSIVE FAIL!

I have a couple of books by experts on hoarding and they say to start with one tiny area at a time. If your couch is covered in crap, just clean one couch cushion at a time. Deal with and sort each item and don’t let anything get put back in that spot.

So that is my goal. I’m going to focus on one tiny area at a time – really focus and really figure out what the problem is, why the clutter has built up, and what to do about each item.

I’m going to start the top of my dresser. It has looked like this pretty much since we moved in last August. I am simply the queen of ignoring clutter and letting it build up. I figure posting about the process will give me the accountability I need to finish something that I start.

Maybe?

I’ll let you know how the weekend goes.

Clutter on my dresser - Never to return???

Messies and Cleanies:
Sandra Felton, author and creator of Messies Anonymous, believes that although you can be born one or the other, you don’t have to stay that way. She herself is a born Messie who has learned to act like a Cleanie.

Unlike Messies, Cleanies have mental schedules they themselves are not aware of. Their minds are like computers going down their list of things to do.

The power that activates the computer is in the eyes. Again and again they say, “When I see…” or “If it looks dirty, I…”

Their goals are visual and they become uncomfortable if something is out of place. Cleanies are not afraid to use shortcuts because they are confident in their own cleaning ability and don’t feel it necessary to prove anything by doing things the hard way.

They tend to get up with a bang and get going with purpose. They frequently have a time goal in mind and work fast to meet it. You might think they are uptight people. They don’t seem to be. In fact, they often are gracious, warm, and creative. They can afford to be because they have enough time to do whatever they want to do!

So, Cleanies have innate characteristics that differ from me, and possibly you:

• They are sensitive to subtle visual cues that tell them when something needs cleaning.

• They just do it. When something needs cleaning, they do it almost without thinking. They certainly don’t waste time thinking about how to do it.

• They don’t care about perfection. I like the observation that they have nothing to prove. If you are a born Messie, like me, you may often feel like you need to clean something perfectly because you have so much guilt and shame about being messy that you think there is a right or perfect way to clean something.

• They have more time in their lives to do whatever they want to do – they are not weighed down by shoulds because they have already done them!

Sandra Felton on Cleanies:

One thing my Cleanie friends have in commmon is that they don’t understand. They don’t understand at all. I can always tell true Cleanies by the way they react when they hear that I teach a class on housekeeping.

They look blank, very blank.

“Oh, it is a class on cooking.”

“No, housekeeping.”

“Oh, I see, a class on interior decorating.”

“No, actually it’s housekeeping.”

“Oh.”

Silence. How can you continue discussing the inconceivable? Why would anybody need a class on housekeeping?

One blank-faced woman told me soberly that if I did have a class on housekeeping nobody would come. Since I had been having well-attended classes, I asked her why she thought nobody would come.

“Obviously, if people have messy houses it is because they want them that way. And, if they want them that way, why would they attend the class? So nobody will come.”

If Cleanies only knew how we struggle! But housekeeping comes so naturally to them that they don’t understand at all.

Let me know I’m not alone here! Are you a Messy, too?

(***Note: When this was originally posted, I had two kind commenters. Unfortunately, all comments have been lost.)

Well, here it is! My very own Joyful Jessie avatar.

Notice that my golden (dirty) blonde hair is swept back in a clip because I have dishes to do and it gets in my way. Normally I’d be wearing an apron because the water from my kitchen faucet always drenches the front of  me. I demonstrate my style by wearing stripes and the only tall boots I have ever owned, that are getting old – and I’m not quite sure if they are even in style anymore. I’d be wearing a knit scarf, but I never finish my knitting projects, so I’m wearing one I got as a hand-me-up from my little sister. I’m trying to look busy, but I’m not very organized. How does this datebook/planner work? What’s a list?

Psst! That is not actually my kitchen that I’m standing in. You can tell because,

1. There are fresh flowers in a vase,
2. The counters and floor are clean,
3. Where are the dirty dishes?!
4. I’ve never cooked a turkey before – and probably never will!

And now, the results of an interesting poll that I’d been wanting to post – until I lost the book it was in for a couple of weeks.

From The New Messies Manual, by Sandra Feltion:

How often do Americans change the sheets on their beds?

• Once a week – 52%

• Twice a week – 31%

• Once a month – 12%

• Less than once a month – 2%

I read this question to my husband to see what he’d guess, because he is the trivia king. I don’t want to tell you his guess, or our actual answer, because it’s like bearing a dirty little secret. Let’s just say we are not in the majority.

How often do you change your sheets?

[polldaddy poll="5112184"]

Here I am, tired on a busy morning. I have tons of school work and cleaning to accomplish before we go off skiing for the weekend. (This is our third year in Colorado, and only the first year we have skied, because we’re usually just barely getting through the week, without adding a lot of driving and exercise to the mix.)

But when I get myself to make coffee, put on some music, and this adorable apron that my talented little sister made me for a wedding, gift doing dishes without a dishwasher becomes a lot more tolerable. Almost fun! (Okay, that’s a lie!)

I love my pink dish gloves and various aprons. Aprons are especially important for me because we’ve lost the little round thingy that goes on the end of the faucet to direct the flow of water, so I always end up completely soaked in the front after doing dishes by hand. (I’ve also managed to break about 15 glasses this year. Housework is not my strong suit!!!!!! Hence, my extreme need for motivational attire.)

(***Note: When this was originally posted, it received 6 comments. Sadly, all comments have been lost.)