The Beginning...

Seriously, I must have gone and lost my frickin' mind, because I'm about to start something chaotic, something stressful, something I'm not entirely fond of to begin with.

Oh, I dream of being a clean, clutter-free, organized freak. I love the shows, the articles, the pictures of perfectly decorated, emaculate rooms, with everything in its place and order.

Well, dreams are dreams and my house is more like a nightmare in constant motion and disarray. I aspire to be organized, I do. However, life somehow finds a way to come crashing in loudly with toys, electronics, drums, dirty dishes, pots boiling over, dogs barking, cats meowing, kid whining - leaving a complete and utter disaster - a wreck of chaos and despair in its wake. All my orderly dreams vanished once again. Well, I aspire to be more than just a full-time working mother, chef, maid, seamstress, teacher, blah, blah, blah.

Nope! I need to create more hours in the day (you didn't know I had this power, did you?) to get my 2 major failures accomplished. Well, I've already failed, so that's been accomplished. What I mean to say is the 2 most important goals that I face (as many of us do), that I wish to accomplish, and make a part of my daily lifestyle and that of my child, is getting my home (as well as my LIFE!!!) clutter-free.

This is a process, I know. A slow, gruelling process; but it is my intention - my goal (1st) - to get my home in order, be able to find things, walk through the house without stepping over crap, without knocking over a stack of papers I've collected or mail or magazines, my "reading" stack, my "stuff that needs to be filed" stack, my "maybe I'll order from this catalog one day" stack. GRRR! ARGH! I have read this and that about clutter and I do believe it's caused by something deeper - I have issues. We all have issues. I know this. Waaa! Well, leaving crap everywhere and not being able to find what I'm looking for is not a healthy way to deal with any issue, so it's time to CLEAN HOUSE!

First, I'll deal with the house clutter, and then maybe the life clutter will come later. We'll see. I have 7 rooms in this smallish house and I'm starting with the main 2. My home office and the kitchen. The kitchen is where we spend the majority of our time. I cook a lot. We eat. We bake. We sample. We snack. We talk. We laugh. I check homework. She fixes homework and studies. We draw, write, do crafts, etc. We feed our midget of a pup in the kitchen. I wash dishes (sometimes. sometimes it waits).

The way I've looked at it in the past is "the dishes can wait, my kid can't." It's a true statement, sort of. I mean, my child is #1 in my life and I don't want to miss a moment. Ya blink and they are grown! It's true! So, sometimes the dishes wait, and wait, and wait, but I know...I need to keep the kitchen clean on a daily basis, and sometimes I do. Sometimes I don't.

My office will be second, since it's where I keep everything: crafts, file cabinets where I file everything of importance, where I pay and keep bills, various projects, books, magazines, homeschool materials, bible study materials, and just a little some of everything, it seems, winds up in this room. Don't even get me started - this is the most cluttered room in the house and I'm tackling it first (the kitchen is mostly clean today), because it seems when I can somehow find the time to get the other rooms clean and organized at some point during the YEAR, this one room has only been clean and organized maybe once since I've lived here and I've lived here for YEARS!

My time limit on setting the clutter free and reclaiming my home will be from tomorrow (Jan. 9, 2010 - (is it really 2010?!) through Feb 26. That gives me one entire week per room. I think this is quite doable. Don't you? I mean, 7 days per room. 7 rooms. 49 days. Working full-time, kid and animals underfoot, Girl Scout activities, homework, studying, cooking, washing clothes, etc. I think I'm being fair to give myself a week per room. What do you think? Too much? Too little? I am going to give it my best shot.

My 2nd goal along with becoming clutter-free is getting my "she's a mother and over 40" body back into a "hot mama" body. Joining a gym did not work for me. You can actually be a member of a gym and have the company you work for foot the bill. Did you know you have to take your butt to the gym and work it to get it in shape? Did you know if you don't go a certain number of times, you will be paying the fee instead of your company? Even knowing this did not help me get my rear in gear (so to speak).

Oh, I had a medical condition for a few months, blah, blah, blah. Well, not the entire time. It's like going to church. You quit going for a while and it gets easier to not go back. I do remember a time when I actually LOVED working out - every single day. Twice a day, in fact. When I was in the Air Force, and like 24, single and no children. Really seems like a lifetime ago...and then sometimes, seems like just a couple o' years. Time flies and my body is not getting any slimmer by sitting around wishing I was a size 5 again...and eating half a bag of Hershey's Kisses Meltaways!!! I wish I hated chocolate. ~sniff~ It's my strongest weakness, I'm afraid, along with my coffee.

So, I will be starting to get my "rear in gear" tomorrow along with setting the clutter free. How long should I give it?

Let's see, ladies don't normally give out their age, nor their weight. Am I a lady? Hmmmm. I see myself more a girl in a woman's body. So, I'm gonna be honest and open - 41 years old, but really young, most of the time. 173 pounds, but feel 300 - so heavy and tired and depressed with how I look and feel.

When I was a size 5 and 124 pounds, it was the best I've ever felt in my life. I looked great, felt great, had bundles of energy, but I was a bit younger and free back then.

I'm 5'11". You might think that 124 lbs is unreasonable for someone that tall, but I have a medium frame and I never looked skinny, just thin and healthy. Ok, I'll shoot for 135 and go less if I feel the need once I reach that goal. Reasonable? Say, 173 minus 135 = 38 pounds to lose. Most health professionals state losing more than 2 lbs per week isn't healthy, so I'll say 2.5 to 3 lbs per week = 12 to 16 weeks (Apr 3 - May 1). I never was good at listening to my doctor. I don't think 3 lbs per week is too unhealthy. It would be different if I had health issues, I guess, but I don't.

Am I crazy? Can I do it? I have always lacked a sense of follow-through. It's something I've always taught my daughter to practice. I don't want her to have my bad habits. She is my hero. She has that ability - that follow through-ness I lack. I want to be like her when I grow up.

So, tomorrow is the day it begins. I'm afraid. But I'm going to do it.

I really hadn't planned on my first post being so long and drawn out. I wanted to just state my plan and then begin it tomorrow. I suppose I have. As I'm sure you are well aware by now, I tend to ramble, so please bear with me.