Clean Up Time

Well ladies, 2011 was pretty good to me because the crushing fatigue that has plagued me for years has lifted.  One of the thyroid questionnaires asks you to name a percentage of how much you feel like a normal person.  My original answer was 40%.  I'd say now I'm about 85%.  I don't have crushing fatigue but, I don't have any get-up-and-go and my libido is in the toilet.  In addition to the fatigue, I do give into laziness when I'm overwhelmed.

 It's time to come clean.  Besides our living room, kitchen and bathroom, our home is a disaster.  The bedrooms aren't horrible but, they aren't good either.  My closet is a shambles.  AJs room is bursting at the seams.  Guitar mans closet is despicable.  The linen closet, oh my.  Our basement is unbearable.  We have a laundry room, playroom, office and storage room down there.  They are dirty and disorganized.  I am super embarrassed when anyone has to go down there.  I have so many gifts to put away but, there really isn't any place to put them.

The other thing I really struggle with is being on time.  I have all my life.  I come from a family of late people.  The lateness stems from trying to do to much and not being able to prioritize or stop what I'm doing.

So...my word for 2012 is

Rhythm


Rhythm to me means:

intention
calm
preparedness
living in the moment
moving forward
being positive
planning
good timing
awareness of time
respect of time
learning from mistakes, not dwelling on them


To start, I'm targeting areas to organize and clean.  I'll do the following until I get through the house:

Flylady's 27 fling boogie each day
1 hour on the weekend
1 day per month (4-6 hours)

The areas I'll work on are:

garage
Christmas decorations
nursery- we call it that even though it's an office :(
linen closet and vanity
guitar man's closet
laundry room
playland
storage room
Guitar Man's office

I'm just going to organize and clean.  I'll worry about decorating over the summer.  This will probably take all year with Guitar Man's office and the storage room taking the lion's share of the time.  I'd like to take before and after pics to document my progress.  I come from a very clean family and I love things to be neat and clean so this is a burden for me and a source of embarrassment.  But I don't want to feel overwhelmed about this or it won't get done.  My goal is to look at each area in a very detached manner so I'm able to work in a rhythm.

As I was reading this over, it looks like Guitar Man doesn't do his fair share and believe me, he does.  He does all the bills, the grocery shopping and the yard.  He also does crisis management when when things get out of control which is why our main living spaces are organized and clean so we can live comfortably and have guests over.  He also fills our home with play, laughter and music.  We are going to work together on this, but I'm the manager and he's the assistant ;)

Now I have to figure out the time thing... any suggestions?

Dear Jesus, you want me to live an ordered life.  You've healed my body to a point where I can now take care of the material gifts you have given me.  Please help me remain calm and focused on you while I'm finding my rhythm.  Thank Dear Jesus for giving me my health and my home.  I love you.