Organizing the House

I like to try and fool people that I am a naturally clean person. I do my best to appear clean and well groomed, and when we have company over I spend lots of time making sure the house looks perfect and effortless. But believe it or not, I am naturally a wonderful mess maker. The stories my mom tells about me hiding dishes and stashing wrappers and old papers are true. Although I like organization (and the fun stuff like my label maker that come with being organized) that is not my natural disposition. I have to think about hanging the towel back up, or closing the drawer or putting the book back exactly where I got it from. I have found that when I am not working full time I do just fine. I have the time I need (and energy) to keep things very clean. The first year we were married Nate worked 60hrs a week and that summer I worked about 10. Needless to say our house was spotless (seriously, there were always vaccuum lines on the carpet - even in the living room). But lately between work and seminary and life I haven't been doing as well as I did back then.

I'm not saying I'm a total slob, but I rather that I have mess maker tendancies with not enough space. My pantry was a perfect example. We didn't have enough shelves/space for everything, so after a while I got tired of it not fitting and just loaded things on top of each other. This resulted in a Brother & Sister Bear style closed where you have to slam the door quickly so nothing falls over before you shut it (Berenstein Bears Anyone? ). Anyway, I have finally been sick of it enough to do something about it (the it being my house). I decided to start with the Laundry Room and Pantry and I'm happy to report that after the purchase of some organizational shelving and cabinents they now look like this.

Yes, I recognize this is silly entry, but it was actually pretty fulfilling to do, so I figured I'd share it with you all. Feel free to laugh at my ridiculousness.

**Please note that I do clean my bathrooms, mop my floors, and vaccuum on a VERY regular Basis. And my dishes get done everyday and my fridge is generally VERY clean. The spaces discussed in this entry are more of the drawers, closets, and cabinents where things can be hidden and shoved….***