Neat Freak

When did this happen??!?! My mom will gladly testify to this; when I was growing up I was a slob, a P..I..G even. I remember saving everything, every scrap of paper, every broken toy, you name it I saved it. I was a pack rat of the highest order. I am sure there were times that you could not open the door to my bedroom because it was so full of stuff.

I can remember my mom saying to me, "Kelly clean your room or I will come in there and do it for you!" She would come in and clean it (because I could not part with any of my garbage myself) and I would cry my eyes out. My idea of cleaning was shoving everything in the closet and hoping mom would not notice.

She noticed. She would go in and clean it herself. Garbage bags of stuff would come out of my room. The crazy thing was, I always liked it after she cleaned it. My room always felt better after mom cleaned it. Today I shudder at the thought of all that mess. When did this change?

I have no idea. I do know that now clutter seems to drive me a bit a batty. I hate to open a drawer and not find what I am looking for because their is too much crap in the way. My closet is so organized that my clothes are hung up by color and my shirts are folded and stacked from tank tops to short sleeves to long sleeve all in their own nice little piles. The kids have plastic bins in their drawers to keep the underwear from getting to friendly with the socks.

If I come home from work and my bed is not made, I put everything down and go make the bed, this is partly because I am a freak and partly because the bed makes a great work surface to fold laundry on. The pendulum has swung all the way over to the other extreme. I feel a bit agitated when the kids toys are spread all over the house. I have crazy rules for the kids like the "three toy rule" each kid is allowed three toys out at a time and then something needs to be put away (where it belongs!) before another toy can come out to play.

I spent the afternoon yesterday cleaning out kitchen cupboards and rearranging canned goods instead of blogging. (By the way I have 6 cans of chick peas! Weird) I am on a summer mission to clean out my house and get rid of everything we don't use. No pack rats here.

How is it that I went from one extreme to another in a matter of five years?

I don't think I have gone off the deep end yet. I don't clean other people's houses when I go to visit. I don't mind if I go to a friends home and it is cluttered or messy. I don't run around at cocktail parties and put coasters under everyone's drinks. I don't own any white gloves. I am just a lover of bins and organization. Give it time and I will be a nice small white padded bin of my own and it will be clean!