Today is my second blogiversary!!!
Meaning . . . two years ago today I wrote the first post on A Slob Comes Clean. No one knew I was writing it. Not even my husband.
I had just come up with the blogging-for-accountability-and-focus idea and had to get going.
Like when you’re standing on a high-dive and know that if you think too long, you’ll never jump.
It’s fun to think I’ve been blogging for two years, but it’s also humbling.
I’m pretty sure that two years ago I thought this day would never really come. Either I would be boo-ed off of the internet out of horror over the deep dark slob secrets I revealed, or more likely . . . I’d be done.
Y’know. Done being a slob. With a perfectly organized and decluttered and never-chaotic home.
It would make sense. If I really buckled down and did what I was supposed to do and changed, what would be left to write about?
I’ve learned a lot over the past two years. Mainly, that being a slob isn’t something I do, it’s who I am.
I know. It sounds awful, and I think that it would be fine for someone to pick a word other than “slob.” But I’ve chosen slob. And by allowing myself to accept that being a slob is just a part of my (otherwise totally fabulous) personality, I’ve made real changes. I stopped comparing myself to others and trying to live up to ambiguous standards of what I assumed everyone else’s homes looked like behind closed doors on a Monday morning.
Part of this has been from exploring my own excuses and habits and finding solutions that actually work for me.
But a big part has been you. My readers.
On a weekly basis, I get emails or comments expressing the relief that someone feels when she finally learns that she is not alone. I LOVE these emails. They do for me the thing that the writer is saying I did for her.
They make me feel understood.
Someone understands my problem.
Someone understands my frustration.
Someone understands that I don’t “just like living that way . . . . I guess.”
Someone understands that it’s possible to not realize how bad it is until the moment the doorbell rings.
Someone understands that it’s possible to hate the mess but be able to function within it.
Someone understands me.
So . . . . thank you.
--NonyAre you reading backwards? Did you know you can get the blog in e-book form so you can read offline? Here’s Year Three!
I absolutely love your blog! I am just like you in many aspects and when I came across your blog, I was hooked and found myself going through posts instead of the dreaded housework! 🙂 Happy Anniversary!
Thank you so much, Jennifer!
Happy, Happy Blogiversary! We should have an impromptu “purge” day in honor of you! 😉
Love it! Thanks for the FB link!
I love your blog, too. It inspired me to post on my blog about my slobism, and actually helped me clean a little today. A LITTLE. And only what people can see, no decluttering or anything. Keep up the great work, happy anniversary!!
Starting with “what people see” is good! I fall back on that all the time!
Congratulations on your blogiversary!!! Yes, I totally ‘get you’… ’cause you ‘get me’! I’ve only been following you since the beginning of this year…but I’ve looked forward to every single post. Thank you!
Are you going to celebrate?
Hmmm . . . . now I”m trying to think of a way to celebrate . . .
Happy Blogiversary!!!!!!! I came into your journey a few months before your one year, and I still love reading your posts! It really is nice to know that there’s someone out there like me.
Congrats again on your two year blogiversary! You should look back at your original posts and see how far you’ve come. 🙂
-Julie
Thanks for being here for such a long time. And yes, it’s fun to look back . . . except when I see that something I decluttered once is again a mess!
I’ve thoroughly enjoyed your blog. I’ve been fighting against clutter and messiness in my house for the last 11 years–I admit to not really trying so hard before getting married because I didn’t really care so much until I had someone I wanted to impress with what a wonderful housewife I could be. I don’t think I need to go into how well that went, considering my success rate has been along the lines of maybe once a year the laundry might be caught up. Reading through your blog has helped me understand more about myself and how I function and how my house can get into epic levels of messiness. I certainly feel better about myself having read your blog, and I’ve even managed to keep up with some of the mess a little better.
Thank you so much, Sarah!
Thanks for the past two years. And yes, I get you. I am a slob. (I’m also an awesome person, but, yeah, still a slob)
I’m pretty sure that “awesome person” and “slob” are somehow related personality traits!
Congratulations, Nony! I’m so glad I found your blog this spring. I second everyone who says they now feel “understood” by reading your posts. I read everything from the beginning over the course of a couple of weeks, and was so inspired to tackle my home as well (again). I’m happy to see how far you have come, but (selfishly) glad that you are not DONE. 😉 Looking forward to following along in the future.
Don’t worry about that, Chocoholic . . . I’ll never be done.
“Someone understands that it’s possible to not realize how bad it is until the moment the doorbell rings.” Ain’t that the truth, sister!! I often go through several days of patting myself on the back because I organized a closet, filled two boxes of stuff for the thrift store, scoured the kitchen sink, and matched up a bunch of lonely socks. Then there’s a knock at the door and I realize the floor is crumb covered, there’s a pile of laundry on the arm of the couch, Polly Pocket has set up a 5 block city in the hall, and that box of winter clothes I’ve been meaning to take out to the garage since May is still in the corner, now covered in dust. Where did all THAT come from???
I feel your Polly Pocket Pain, Sharon!
All Polly Pockets have received an eviction notice at our house – they are boxed up and ready to pass down to my best friend’s two daughters. Good news for me! The kids… well, they’ll get over it. 😛 I just hope my best friend doesn’t disown me…
I have secretly been throwing away Polly Pocket apparel for years! Her shoe collection might be gone for good! I can hardly wait for the end of the Polly Pocket years of my two girls!
Oh Nony, you have so blessed me with your blog! I’m still not anywhere near perfect, but I’m more thoughtful about my home and YOU have inspired that! Thank you for being so transparent and helping us to know we are not the only ones stashing and stuffing! Lots Of Love!! Chrissy
Thank you, Chrissy! Being more thoughtful, that’s what it’s all about, right?
Happy Blogiversary! I just discovered your blog about a month ago and read your journey from the beginning. For the last few weeks I’ve been doing my own list of non-negotiable tasks and working on developing the weekly task habit. Thanks so much for making a difference in my life!
Oh thank you, Judy! For reading!
First of all – Happy Blogiversary!!! What a milestone!! I have been thoroughly inspired by your blog and your honesty. There is none among us that is perfect save for One. But it is so hard to admit our imperfections, let alone tackle them head on. Way to go!! And thank you for your inspiration to reclaim our homes and to face things with honesty!! Best of luck, too, on your new blog endeavor.
Thank you so much, Susan!
Happy blogiversary! I found your blog several months ago and it has really helped me try to get my messy house under control.It was so messy my older sister was threatening to call one of those messy home shows on me.The living room stays reasonably clean now but my kitchen is still a mess.I hate doing dishes so the sink and counters are always loaded with dirty dishes.Maybe Santa will bring me a new dishwasher and I can finally get caught up.Thank you for letting us know that we are not alone in our messy homes.
A clean living room is a big deal! Doesn’t it feel good?
Yes it does!
Happy BlogAversary! Congrats! And I, for one, and am so glad you took that first step two years ago!
I definitely had no idea where that first step would lead!
Thank you for your blog, it has helped me sooooo much, not just in actually cleaning/decluttering, but your blog has given me hope and helped me feel “normal” because I didn’t know there were other slobs out there! Happy Blogiversary!
Thank YOU, Kayte!
Thank YOU, Nony!!! Your blog is great, and congratulations on your two-year-a-versary. 🙂
Thanks, Melissa!
Congrats~ I’m about to start on day 1. School starts next week. I’ve started a list of daily mini-chores for my 3rd grade son and I’ll try really hard to run the dishwasher every day. Our washer is down, so laundry has gotten out of control! I need to get cleaned up enough to get a repair man in. I did get the laundry and nasty water siphoned out of it yesterday.
I completely understand about the need to get cleaned up to have a repair man come!
I am pretty sure I have adult ADD, so just stumbled on your website looking for help, and this is really awesome! Congratulations on your 2 year anniversary, that also is awesome! (We have a carpet cleaning company called Awesome Carpets,. so EVERYTHING is awesome here, lol!) I completely feel you on being a slob…my grandma used to tell me no one would want to marry me because I was a slob, and thankfully, she was wrong, but my husband HATES my slobbishness, and even I have grown QUITE tired of it… it’s hard when you can’t organize your BRAIN, much less your surroundings! I can’t just look at a space and see how it could be, or needs to be organized. I can, thankfully, throw things out, and I can remember to replace things…eventually, lol… actually, eventually isn’t THAT long for me, my memory does work decently enough, though it is VERY hard to WANT to buy socks (for instance) for a bunch of girls who wear them ONCE and then trash, lose, or otherwise ruin their socks. Motivation, especially on a day like today, when I got very little sleep, and my kindergartener was ALL KINDS of trouble to get to school this morning… is just gone. I don’t have it. Then of course, couldn’t find my mother’s new address that she just gave me LAST WEEK, because the piece of paper I wrote it on is just “magically” gone, so had to call her to get it again, thankfully she’s retired and home most of the time. It’s all very frustrating, and I just want to thank you, because it is very nice to see I am not alone. I am a member of some networking groups, and there are other people there with ADD, but it doesn’t seem to get in their way… I hate that feeling that somehow I am “less than” though I do try not to look at it like that. LOL, I always write a novel…when a sentence or two would do, I MUST write a chapter. Just, thank you for this blog.
Happy Anniversary again. What a relief to find that awesome person and slob go hand-in-hand. Guess I’m more awesome than I thought. 😉
Thanks for writing this blog. I found you about a week ago and have been reading backwards. I haven’t read many newer posts yet, because I know where you are coming from. And want to be encouraged by your journey from the very beginning. If my husband wasn’t one of those ‘born organized I don’t know why you can’t just keep it clean’ people, our house would look a lot worse than it does.
I started reading/following this blog a few weeks ago. I started at the beginning, so I am not quite caught up to present day yet. Reading this gives me something akin to hope and a place to start. I have “fits” of cleaning and organization. Each time I just KNOW that “this time is the time it is going to work”. It never is. I have a husband and a three year old at home and I want so much to make things better for them but I also work full time, go to school full time, and volunteer as a Girl Scout troop leader. I have a lot going on. I have tried to implement your strategy, daily tasks to make habits and then go from there. I am struggling, but hopefully I can get it right soon and start seeing some kind of progress. Thank you for giving me that!
Oh how well I know the “fits” of cleaning! Welcome, and just keep doing those dishes and you’ll see progress!