I Resisted

I just finished all my chores for the night and took a shower. Afterward, I opened the medicine cabinet, pulled out the moisturizer, pumped a squirt (or "squirp" if I use Ladan's more entertaining vocabulary), applied it to my face, put the bottle back in the cabinet, and closed the door. This is a normal process, right? Well, in the split second during which I was closing the medicine cabinet door, I realized that the moisturizer label was not facing forward or to the right (the two appropriate directions in this particular cabinet). And I turned and walked out of the room anyway, resisting the temptation to open the cabinet up and turn it around again!

For all of you who knew me in college and beyond, you'll also be interested to note that, while I do still hang my clothes in categories, I no longer hang them in color order within their categories. Lest you have thoughts that I'm beginning to slack off in this area, I'll remind you that I have the clothing of three additional people to categorize. Color coding is just not necessary. There are definitely some things that just have to go out the door when you have kids... at least for me anyway. Tonight I'll just be thankful that the moisturizer is not outside the door of my medicine cabinet... even if it is backwards right now. And I think I'll even be able to rest easy knowing that all is NOT in perfect order in my house!

FYI--Those of you who have been in my home know that my house is never actually in PERFECT order, and there are plenty of times when it's completely out of order... except the cabinets, drawers, closets, etc. which are usually actually pretty well put together. You know, all the places that no one else sees. Make fun of me if you want to, but let me tell you that it sure makes life easier when I'm looking for something. Better yet, if I have to ask Chet to get something from my closet or drawers, I can tell him exactly where to look.

If these reasons don't convince you of the value of orderly storage spaces, let me share a quick anecdote. I had a neighbor take care of my fish when I went away for a week in college. When I returned, I knew that she had borrowed or at least snooped through some of the more private clothing items in my drawers. How did I know? Because the stacks were all mixed up when I got back. Needless to say, she didn't have access to my apartment after that. To this day, my unmentionables are all folded neatly and categorized in my drawer.

While my clothing has consistently been in good order, I have been more or less consistent at keeping up with daily tasks around the house. Overall consistency was one of the goals I set out for this year, so I sat down and came up with a new system a couple of weeks ago. After eight years of marriage and four years of parenthood, I think I have a pretty good thing going. I am enjoying my new chore list and have been keeping up with things outside the closets, drawers, and cabinets much better. In the near future, I'll attempt to post an entry showing you the details of my new plan for staying on track.

In the meantime, I suggest you go organize your underwear drawer. You've got to start somewhere, and apparently, it's the first thing an intruder goes for!