Operation Messy House

Before I got married, I was a tidy and organized person- just ask my mother if you don't believe me. Then I married my husband Phillip. My gorgeous, junk-hoarding, disorganized husband. Well, he claims he did have a system: put everything in a bunch of piles, that way he knew where to look (rummage through the piles) whenever he needed something. When we got engaged, we started setting up house in his parent's upstairs, where he had already lived for several years. It was the most unkempt living space I had ever seen. I even took pictures, because I knew no one would ever grasp how awful it was! I tried my best to organize the hodgepodge piles, but it is an insurmountable task to go through another person's things when they swear revenge if you throw anything away. After fighting with the clutter for awhile, depression set in and I finally gave up. Over the past 5 years I have given organizing a valiant effort, but it was like running on a treadmill: working, working, working, but never getting anywhere. One day a couple months ago, I was crying a river about the appalling state of my house. Then, it happened. The thing I almost always have to do to talk myself into doing something hard, whether it be learning to drive stick shift, or make a topsy-turvy cake, or clean up my house. I got mad. I screamed "THAT'S IT!!!" to no one in particular, then stomped to my computer where I Google-d "organizing your home". One of the first few results caught my eye: FlyLady.net. I think the name jogged a memory of one of my mom's friends talking about it years ago. I started reading, and I cried some more, I signed up for her emails, and cried some more. I started doing her "BabySteps", and I have to say, FlyLady changed my life. One big epiphany for me was her line: "You can't organize clutter." In other words, if you try to organize junk, you will keep running on that treadmill. You have to get rid of the things you don't use. I love FlyLady's concept of "blessing" someone else with the things you don't need. My house is still far from perfect, but I declutter 15 minutes every day, and I try to stick to a schedule. Slowly but surely, I am digging out from under the mess, and it gets better every day. I recommend FlyLady to everyone- it will work for anyone, if you only take those BabySteps, and do what she tells you!