Something peculiar has been happening to me recently. It all started here and it seems to be ending here, although it is probably too early to tell yet. Here is the trail:
1) My mom has a serious problem with hoarding and cluttering. I worry she will be found buried underneath stuff one day. Here is a representative picture:
2) Oscar Wilde wrote, "All women become like their mothers, that is their tragedy; no man does, that is his." I am very much afraid of this coming true.
3) I read the Well article on cluttering along with every single comment, and became increasingly frightened at the possibilities. Anyone who knows me for >1 day could describe how messy and prone to procrastinating I am. I also tend to accumulate things, although at this stage it is nowhere near the scale of my mom. And I hate cleaning.
4) Several comments in the Well article referred to a site called FlyLady. It seemed daffy but I was curious. After signing up for their group, I realized that it was run by a group of fearfully cheerful and annoyingly optimistic women who thrived on inventing cutsey names and acronyms. They appeared to cater to the Walmart housewife crowd and enjoy the use of exclamation marks.
but but but...somehow their group has gotten me scrubbing and washing and dusting and cleaning. I started doing this two weeks ago and have managed to maintain the whole process without any pain at all. I've thrown things out I didn't need, I've kept my sink shiny (they rant and rave about this all the time, very scary) and just now I windexed my toilet, sink and counter. Sadly, I am guiltily going through quite a few paper towels but I don't think I would be able to keep this up if I had to be washing rags constantly. I wiped down my microwave and discovered a long lost tupperware and two recipes.
I'm still a little confused about the whole thing and what kind of person I might be morphing into, but so far I feel pretty ok.
1) My mom has a serious problem with hoarding and cluttering. I worry she will be found buried underneath stuff one day. Here is a representative picture:
2) Oscar Wilde wrote, "All women become like their mothers, that is their tragedy; no man does, that is his." I am very much afraid of this coming true.
3) I read the Well article on cluttering along with every single comment, and became increasingly frightened at the possibilities. Anyone who knows me for >1 day could describe how messy and prone to procrastinating I am. I also tend to accumulate things, although at this stage it is nowhere near the scale of my mom. And I hate cleaning.
4) Several comments in the Well article referred to a site called FlyLady. It seemed daffy but I was curious. After signing up for their group, I realized that it was run by a group of fearfully cheerful and annoyingly optimistic women who thrived on inventing cutsey names and acronyms. They appeared to cater to the Walmart housewife crowd and enjoy the use of exclamation marks.
but but but...somehow their group has gotten me scrubbing and washing and dusting and cleaning. I started doing this two weeks ago and have managed to maintain the whole process without any pain at all. I've thrown things out I didn't need, I've kept my sink shiny (they rant and rave about this all the time, very scary) and just now I windexed my toilet, sink and counter. Sadly, I am guiltily going through quite a few paper towels but I don't think I would be able to keep this up if I had to be washing rags constantly. I wiped down my microwave and discovered a long lost tupperware and two recipes.
I'm still a little confused about the whole thing and what kind of person I might be morphing into, but so far I feel pretty ok.
dear god who are you? i dont even know you anymore.
ReplyDeleteps my sink is full of dishes
please tell me that picture is not actually from your house.
ReplyDeletesadly, it is. i have more pictures like that too. bunny took them when she was home b/c she was so appalled.
ReplyDeletei can not sleep in your house. is there a hotel nearby?
ReplyDeleteferret, we may be able to clear out a spot under the desk chair for you to huddle in during the night. you will have to hold some bags while you sleep though because there's nowhere else to put them.
ReplyDelete