On (dis)Organization

I have decided that all my problems in life (the weight, the weight, the weight and the weight) basically come from my lack of organization. Obviously, organization in all areas of your life will show up in many ways. You will have a cleaner, more restful living room. Your clothes will be color-coordinated, ironed, all buttons present and hanging in your closet. Your bathroom will have fluffy towels, sparkling faucets and ample conditioner. You will NEVER run out of toilet paper or orange juice. And of course, you will be thin.

It all makes perfect sense. I had decided to jot down all the calories I was consuming. In my wanna-be organized state, I had copied (a feat in itself as the copier is perpetually buried under papers, bills, and for some reason...candy wrappers?)a "food journal". It was going to be EASY to simply "check" my fruits, veggies, proteins, carbs and fats off as I ate them. (there was no space for Milky Way bars, but I put them in the veggie category of course. Cocoa beans are a PLANT).

Anyway, that worked pretty well for about 1 and 1/2 days. Then I lost the neat little food diary. I shrugged my shoulders and picked up a little notebook. That was a good plan for days 3 through 5. By the time I lost THAT and was jotting down "three pieces of bread with peanut butter" on a scrap of paper, I was sort of out of the mood for dieting. That and the fact that writing the food down just depressed me and got me thinking about homemade chocolate layer cake with fudge frosting (if ONLY I could find that recipe!).

SO, today I was trying to find about six square inches on my bedroom triple dresser in which to put my coffee cup down. I took a look around the bedroom and frankly, was pretty disgusted. It's full of (as a realtor would say) "possibilities". I have a half-finished project of painting and hanging art. I have a file cabinet and BIG plans to shred all the paperwork and bills that are older than 12 mos, and then file the rest, but meanwhile, getting to the file cabinet is more of a pain than paying the bills. I do really have a printer copier...somewhere. DH has a neat and tidy desk. Of course, HIS way of keeping it neat and tidy is to put EVERYTHING on my dresser. Sometimes I put it all back on his desk. It's a nice little non-verbal game we play....

Anyway, I happened to have an empty Rubbermaid tub. Rubbermaid tubs are my FAVORITE THING IN THE WORLD. You put stuff in them, you put them in the garage, and you are finished. Instant organization and "won't it be fun for the children to look through when we are dead"? (I'm only thinking about them, as usual). I decided to start by emptying the drawer by my bed. I found: a pair of sunglasses from 1980, twenty-thousand "I love you Mom" cards hand-drawn by three adorable kids, a stack of business cards, old discount cards (expired, of course), a coupon for ice-cream (I put that one in my purse), a very old wallet, photos of everyone (including me at my dream weight 20 years ago) in various states of disrepair, recipes for fantastic biscuits AND no-fat brownies (ick) and the broken, burned head of a statue that my dad brought back from the Phillipines (there is another blog there someday). Oh, and I found the motherlode of broken pens and old, hairy pony-tail holders. And a watch. And a cellphone. In pieces.

I sorted it all out (kept the cards, threw away everything else except THE HEAD), and wow. It felt great. I can open and shut the drawer now. One down and (really, truly), fifteen more to go. I decided to take a break and blog. Can you blame me?

My goal is to clear off my desk of all but the computer and printer. File the papers. Shelve the books. DUST! Right now, as I sit here, I have in front of me: a stuffed Chihuahua (need you ask?) a painted ceramic cat from a child (the kids' art work is suffocating me, but it's all so necessary), lotion (?), keys, stack of bills and junk mail, checkbooks (I really need to actually get that new register and stop just writing what I spend in the margin of the full one...sorry, DH), cup of dried-out pens, markers, and pencil leads, another watch (what is up with all the watches?), and a tape measure. (I think that had something to do with the diet, but I couldn't face it).

BY this afternoon, I will have: computer, printer, and full Rubbermaid tub next to me on the floor.

You gotta love the tubs!

Oh? And the diet? Don't you think I'll lose about five pounds just lugging that tub to the garage? See, it's all good.