Losing ground

This was the week from hell at work - too many things to do, not enough time, and add to that my husband's first week home with 9-month-old Thea and her sleep aversion didn't go so well. But, the living room with its new layout and storage, survived unscathed. As did the newly reorganized desk area.

The rest of the house... not so much. As a result, as I was putting the kiddo to sleep tonight, I had a clear shot of encroaching chaos - there were clothes all over her dresser, stuff in the hall outside her door from a house guest, a basket of items confiscated from Liam's floor due to his inability to clean them up, two baskets of laundry, a pile of pants that are too big, a home-made drum that needs to leave the house, and a pile of dress-up clothes from a recent girls' night out. Not so good. I panicked just a bit. But I'm feeling much better now.

I think that's because I know I can get back on top of it, and once I do, it will only take a certain amount of effort to keep it going, to maintain. The only thing is, you have to maintain - every day, without fail - or it creeps back up and there you are again.

I'm going to Anchorage in a couple weeks and I've been thinking a lot about how to enjoy the experience without filling my car and home with things I don't need or love. There are things I want to get, but if I am careful and focus on those things I can identify now as apposed to being swept up in consumerism, I think I can do it. I'd rather spend the money on a nice meal or a better hotel than blow it on stuff I don't need.

refocusing

It's been a couple months now since I stayed at the clean and clutter-free space (see above) in Victoria and found the inspiration to move my home toward a child-enhanced version of the same space.
Tonight, however, I realized I'd gotten off track, as I suspected I would. Upstairs, my clothes were piled next to two baskets o folded, clean laundry that had not been put away. My desk was still one of the few places that had not felt the wrath of my decluttering and piles of mail - mostly junk - lay on it, along with packages that needed to be returned and other odds and ends.
I've got lots of reasons for getting off track - a cabinet construction project, week-long birthday parties for 5-year-olds, a wood-stove installation that took a bite out of my last weekend - but it doesn't really matter. The thing I have to remember is that it is possible, not to mention infinitely simpler, to live in a place with fewer possessions. Tough to get there, but worth the work.
So tomorrow's goal is that desk - I need to return that space to a workable place and get control of the bedroom's clutter issues before they take over. Other priorities include: Kitchen cabinets - how to make it so I can find containers and lids without a fight. Liam's room needs some attention, and there's a basket in Thea's room that needs to be redistributed. The cabinet needs to be finished, and painting all over the place. And cleaning, of course, always cleaning.
But I can do this - making this clean, clear space is very important, especially as the DH finishes his 9-to-5 for the season, and we all are holed up for the winter, which appears to be arriving a month and a half early.
One day at a time, right?