Monday, December 10, 2012

"Before" and "After" Photos


Monday December 10, 2012
In the last couple of months my own OCDness has come to light. It’s no secret I like things clean and neat, which is not bad in and of its self, but with two Wild Boys my attempts at cleanliness can be futile.

I have become more efficient with my time and have started to let go of the lie that a clean and organized house means my life is complete. The day it started to change the boys were taking all my kitchen towels out from the drawer again and making a “train” across the living room. Up until that point it hadn’t dawned on me that the towels shouldn’t be foldedo every time they played with them I would refold them once they lost interest. I know. Crazy. (Yes, it's true. I could have nagged them to leave the towels alone, but in the spirit of choosing my battles wisely...) On this particular day I just thought, “No more.” Which in turn led me to realize it was also crazy to fold socks and underwear. Needless to say this has revolutionized the speed at which I can fold clothes. Now that is a talent to value!

In my defense the obsessive need to fold everything (aside from my personality) largely started when David and I lived in a 400 sqft. apartment and every inch of space counted. Now that we live in a place twice as big (I know. Livin’ large!) it’s time to let go. In the same week that I started getting serious about being more efficient with my time I also chose to finally start this blog. It must have been all the extra time I found myself with. Ha. I have since questioned the wisdom of this, but I do love to write. Another benefit of letting go of the small things; I don't get annoyed every time my husband destroys his whole drawer getting a pair of socks.

I would love to inspire other people in condensed living situations by how we utilize our space. I have never NOT been obsessively organized so unfortunately I won’t have any of those incredibly satisfying “before” and “after” photos. Well, that’s not entirely true. I do have some photos that inspire me in my wonderful attempt to slow down, let go of the small things (and sometimes the big), and to let the gift of  the every day with my boys sink down deeply into my soul. I hope the photos do your heart good.

Before

After 

Before
After
Before
After

Have I mentioned how awesome my boys are?

3 comments:

  1. AWESOME. You're an inspiration.

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  2. wow! this is a huge step lady. I'm proud, I'd like to think a bit of me rubbed off on you from miles and miles away. =)

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