I don't deal well with clutter. Clutter is my enemy. When I look around
and see piles, overflowing drawers, dust, loads of laundry...basically
disorder in any and all forms, well, to be frank, I freak out. I don't need total
perfection, but I do need order. I can have a pile somewhere if I know
what that pile is for and when it will be going away.
I took the last week of December off from work and went on a post-Christmas cleaning and organizing spree. I cleaned out the toy closet, the basement, tidied up my food storage, put all the outgrown clothes away, took 3 loads to DI and a load to the dump and perhaps best of all - I cleaned out my pantry. I've been putting off that job for at least 2 years so it was bad, bad, BAD!
Embarrassingly bad.
Let's look at some pictures, shall we?
Here are some examples of what I can't live with:
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| Pantry before |
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| Oh my gosh, I'm having a panic attack just looking at this. How did I let it get this bad? |
Here's the way I need to live in order to be nice to those around me:
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| Pantry After |
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| Let's not discuss how many trips to Target this job took me. |
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| Or how many days (3), but look at this... |
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| Pantry Nirvana |
I must say, though my post-Christmas clean out made for long, dusty days, having a house of order has dramatically improved my outlook on life.
As 2011 rolled over into 2012, I've noticed a sweet peace in the house. This may or may not be related to my New Year's Resolution to make my bed and my recent pantry Nirvana, but those things haven't hurt the good feelings in the house. It feels like someone has wrapped the house in bubble wrap and we are hiding away in here. It's like our life has taken a deep breath and it's a lovely, peaceful time.
I've been cooking a lot and people have been gratefully eating said cooking. There is a lot of game playing, scripture reading, and snuggling.
I was in the kitchen the other night, working on dinner. The kitchen was warm with things bubbling away on the stove and warming in a hot oven. The house was all picked up and the washing machine hummed quietly in the background. Then one by one everyone started to trickle into the kitchen. When I turned around Chad and the girls were sitting at the table - Chad looking at something on his iPad, Brynn coloring and Grace reading a book. Each person doing their own thing, but doing it together. A palpable rosy warmth felt like it hung in the air around them. I'm grateful for these lovely quiet moments.
None of my trials have gone away. They are still here, standing at the back door, winking at me as they tap on the glass, but I can't seem to feel their effects when I'm here, tucked away with my little fam. So I won't be coming out for a while. There is a sweet peace in the house right now and I'm going to soak in it until my fingers get pruny.
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