The quest for inner peace.

Okay, so I don’t know that it’s really a quest for inner peace, but the other day on Face Book I made a comment about some women I know with children who were able to keep their houses looking showroom presentable.  I have to admit, I am so jealous!  I just can’t seem to do this, even though I love the look.  Housekeepers were even discussed.

It seems that every time I de-clutter an area, or clean something up, someone comes along behind me and deposits an item or remakes the mess.

Last week, this was getting on my last nerve and knowing that the state of my house reflects the state of my internal self and vice versa, I decided to do something about it.

You know, be proactive and that kind of thing.  Can’t really complain if you’re not willing to do something to fix it, right?

So I bought this book on Amazon:

I found out about it through the author’s website, OrganizedHome.com.  I had printed off some wonderful home helper sheets from the site the other day, and thought “hmmm.  Maybe this is worth investigating further.”

The book came today.  Just flipping through it, I came upon a brief quiz which I took immediately.

It turns out that I am what the author calls a “Moderate Mopper”…meaning that my house is clean enough to be healthy, but dirty enough to be a home.  I was ambivalent about this outcome.  Why, you ask?

Because I am a perfectionist in many ways, or I aspire to be.  In college, I cried when I got an A minus on a paper.  I mean buckets.  I want an ‘A’ or nothing.  It’s the same with my house. I’ve always wanted to be what the author calls a “Clean Extreme”.  God forbid I should ever be a “Dirt Dodger”.  Could you imagine?! (said with a gasp of horror).

The house however, leaves me exasperated.  I don’t really cry over it, I just plug along, doing what I do every day and it’s always been “good enough”.

That is until I have someone over to visit or whatever that has a ‘showplace’ home.

At that point, I start to feel inadequate, like I don’t do enough.  I’ve decided this has got to be irrational on my part, because I work my butt off and my kids are happy.  But irrational as it is, it can really get to me sometimes which lead to my Face Book comment, and then to getting this book.

So I’m going to read this tonight when I go to bed, and take notes.  I’m hoping I learn something I can implement to bring me to a healthy balance between “Clean Extreme” and “Moderate Mopper”.  I’ve decided I don’t want to be a complete “Clean Extreme”–because if I could actually pull that off, it would mean I would be living alone, and when it’s all said and done, I would probably miss my kids.  And their messes.  And their attitudes.  But those things are another post.

Stay Tuned,

Stacey