My master bedroom.
Ugh.
I have worked so hard, and come so far on that room.
But right now . . . . it looks almost like it used to. The only difference is that this time I feel justified. I know that it isn’t a mass of randomness. I know that there is a “perfectly good reason” why it looks that way. I know that it would only take a few minutes to put it all away. I know that the reason I haven’t spent those few minutes is that I want to wait until I’m sure that everything that needs to go in those (apparently chaotic but surprisingly organized) piles has been washed.
(Excuse alert!) See, when you live in a miserably hot and humid place, but travel to a dry and cool place in the summer, you have to pull your winter clothes out of storage to pack. Then, when you get back, you have to wash those winter clothes, put them back into their storage containers/suitcases/whatever, and put those containers back wherever they go. Multiply by 5 people, and you have quite a project on your hands.
Here’s my point. To the untrained eye (what I wouldn’t give to be an untrained eye in this area), my master bedroom looks like a tornado hit it. But to me, it’s not that bad, because I know the reason why it looks that way. I also know how much worse it could be.
If anyone walked into it, like the DSL repair man wanted to this morning, I would die. So ultimately, my own excuses don’t mean anything.
My options are to make a sign to hang on my bedroom door addressed “To Whom It May Concern Who Happens To Open This Door” or . . . . clean it up. Zip the suitcase, put the lids on the tubs, and move them to their real homes.
And if I’m honest, even though there’s a “reason” for the current mess, it does the same thing to me mentally that the “reason-less” mess did. I feel frustration and hopelessness every time I stub my toe or almost fall flat on my face, tripping over a suitcase, when I get up to go the bathroom in the middle of the night.
I'd die if anyone wanted to walk into my bedroom too. it was spotless for like a total of two weeks and i loved it!! but then we started renovating my craft room and everything that was in there ended up into my bedroom. I haven't dealt with it yet.
At least you know what is causing the issue and know where everything is suppose to go – it's the "where do I start?" or the "where in the heck should I put this?" that often stops me in my tracks.
Good luck with getting that bedroom all cleaned up!
I know exactly how you feel about the Master Bedroom. It's my downfall. Everything ends up in there and no matter how hard I try, I can never find a place for certain things, or I don't have the time to make a place (like for my recipes or organizing all my pictures)… I need to make time for these things 🙁
The other thing I miss so much about living in Colorado? (I lived there for 14 months.) No bugs above about 6,000 feet! It was crazy to take a road trip and not have the windshield covered in bug parts. Those were the days…
What the desperation, frustration, sadness, overwhelmed-ness, and exhaustion of having a complete, hideous disaster house has led me to say to my husband, “If I die, DON”T LET ANYONE IN THE HOUSE until you clean it first!”
I was only 1/8 joking and probably had a slight edge of hysteria in my voice when I made this dramatic plea/statement.
Slob is a funny word but there is a sad side to this problem.
You have this uncanny ability to be inside my head- even in your very-far-in-the-past posts!
This weekend, I graduated from the University of South Carolina (whoop whoop!) & my wonderful mother decided it would be great to invite my family back to MY house after the ceremony because I live so close. It was also the perfect opportunity to invite my one-day-will-be in-laws to my home for the FIRST TIME EVER. This was also the first time our families met, EVER. The pressure was unreal.
Anyway, about two days before the event, my boyfriend asked me where his shaving cream was (I had moved it to a very reasonable place when I was cleaning). I couldn’t find it anywhere. I then BURST INTO TEARS in my hallway, over a can of shaving cream.
I can make all the excuses for my house that I want, but it doesn’t change the effect it has on my mental state. I’m catching up, & working in the right direction. Thanks to you!
Haha! I have literally put up a sign on my apartment door (when we lived in my in-laws’ basement) warning anyone who might enter that it was messy, and laying out exactly why it was soooo bad. (It involved a sewage pump failure, illness, and a new baby.)
For some reason, our house is always at its messiest when one particular, perfectionist sister-in-law visits. I always have my excuses ready with her, and am amazed at how much I can clean up WHILE she visits.
Oh, I feel this one BIG TIME! I’m entertaining a couple of KIDS tomorrow evening, and my living room and kitchen are disasters. I felt SO accomplished at lunch that I organized the disaster in the living room (my recycling piles) into stuffed boxes which will go to the recycling center after work. That will help clear my kitchen counter of another pile of recycling so I can unload my dishwasher and get the dishes out of the sink. TONIGHT IS THE NIGHT!!!
BTW, I want to compliment you on how creatively and effectively you feed your family. I’m living alone for the first time in my life, and have yet to figure out how to cook for one. Thanks for your inspiration!
“To Whom It May Concern — And Whoever Happens To Open This Door Will Be Concerned …”
Reading some of these comments brought tears to my eyes. Thank you, Dana, for bringing guidance and hope to those of us who need it so desperately. I thank the Lord for giving you the vision and wisdom to share your journey with others even though it was hard. Thank you for listening to His voice and obeying His prompting in your heart and mind to follow the path He prepared for you. Who knew that your obedience would result in so many people being helped in gaining hope for a more peaceable home? The Lord knew!