Let Me Clarify...

In rereading yesterday's post, I believe I may have given the indication that I am a real mess as a housekeeper. While I am not really neat, I am not like those people I see on the television shows that have so much clutter you cannot get through their houses. Most of my house is reasonably neat. My bed gets made most days, and the dishes are done daily. You don't often have to move piles of junk from the furniture in order to sit down. However, I do have a "nest" around my recliner chair with things I want to do (crossword puzzles, sketch pads, magazines to read) on the left and things to throw away, like the daily newspaper and catalogs, on the right. I throw those things in the garbage can every morning. I do keep piles of books to read or projects to do on my desks, and the kitchen table seems to be a repository for everything that comes into the house, where it stays until I get around to putting it away. Clean storage dishes sit on top of the counter because it is difficult for me to access the cabinet where they are supposed to reside. I am going to use them again soon anyway, so it's not worth the effort to nest them neatly in the cabinet. I am pretty good at overlooking the clutter in my house. I simply don't notice it most of the time. However, after a while, I suddenly see it, and it seems I can't rest until I clean it up. I'm always really proud of how things look when I clean up and put things away, and I vow to keep it that way. That lasts until the next time I get busy and don't take the time to file things or pack them up, and so the cycle begins again. One of these years soon, Terry and I will be preparing to downsize our living space, necessitating getting rid of a lot of our 37 years worth of accumulated stuff. Maybe then I will become a neater and more organized person. Nah--I don't think so. I simply don't care enough to worry about it. There are a lot more fun things to do!