I’ve heard it before. I’ve preached it to friends. I know the drill — one must have an organized home to have an organized life. In other words, keep life in control by cleaning your house.
It’s true. Sad, but true.
When my house is a mess, so it seems is my life. Last night, for instance, I was baking some of The Pioneer Woman’s bread. “The bread,” as she calls it. It was in the oven, on broil, to get the brown, tasty parts. I opened the oven to check on it and the smoke alarm went off. That made the dog pee on the floor and then the children started crying.
“Turn the smoke alarm off!” I yelled to my husband.
“Get the dog out of here!” he yelled back to me.
“Grab some paper towels.”
“What should I do with the dog?”
“Bathroom.”
“Can’t you shut that noise off?”
“No, I’m cleaning up the pee.”
Meanwhile, kids are still crying. It’s a mess.
What does my most recent household catastrophe have to do with having a clean house? After the event was over and peace restored, my husband and I thought that if we would have had dinner on the table on time, it would have prevented the madness that ensued. Part of the problem was that I was rushing the bread, kept opening the oven to “check on it” because we had already sat down at the table and started eating the main course. Dinner was late. An earlier series of events caused the dinner to be late.
“The Fairy Jobmother” was on “Good Morning America” this morning touting her new show about how she helps people regain confidence so they can find employment. One of the portions of the segment talked about getting control of your home. If you are in control of your clutter, then you feel more confident and realize you can gain control of a job, Jobmother said.
I can’t agree enough. A while back I read a story on Yahoo that talked about some employers peeking inside interviewee’s cars. Yes, cars! To see if they are messy. That seems to cross the line, but if we can’t keep ourselves in order how on earth are we going to keep a job in order?
I also read an article from the “Harvard Business Review,” where the author wrote about a senior lecturer (one of two jobs) and how he keeps his life in order. One of the parts that really hit home was that he puts his shoes on while sitting in the same spot everyday. Kind of like Mister Rogers. I can see how that level of organization helps. I absolutely want to institute that in my house. Do you know the amount of hours that will save me looking for a shoe every morning? Brilliant!
Getting organized at home is about feeling good about yourself so you can let go of the stress and realize your true potential.
Related:
- “The Fairy Jobmother,” clip from GMA.
- “Harvard Business Review” article, “Will It Be Cheerios or Life Cereal This Morning?“
Photo credit: Rissmu
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ABOUT ALICIA: Alicia is the founder of Balancing Motherhood.com. Last year, she managed to stay sane while completing an MBA, working full-time, blogging, and still baking amazing birthday cakes — all while raising a young family at home.
Stacey says
I hear ya girlfriend! It is so true. I’m constantly trying to get my daughter to clear her room — for some ungodly reason, she refuses to use a hamper now! So walking into her room you’re assaulted with a swarmy sea of clothes all over the floor. And….understandably she’s a mess mentally. You know what — I think your article inspired me to send her, brother and Dad out of town for a weekend and I’m gonna whirl her room into beauty-ness!
As for your entry catcher area….what about that entry wall coming into the house – I can’t remember how long that is, but what if you got 4 matching baskets and hung them from that wall? That would be everyone’s “Drop it when you come in” area — the kids’ shoes, and then you & hubbie’s “stuff”. I could make you a long thin board for the top, with hooks, distress it and put everyone’s names on my metal badges…I’m offering….going once….going twice…
Jean Lewis says
I was lol while reading your post, but I know what you mean. You are so right. It is a constant battle.