The truth about Lohtown...

People often comment that I am so organised... But, in the interests of honesty, I would like to share a secret with you - my life is a constant fight against chaos. Not Get Smart Kaos - although that would be much cooler - but the messy "I can't walk across the garage floor" or "I can't find my keys so we can't go to playgroup" kind of chaos (you may remember post about being Perfectly Imperfect?).

I like to use our garage as a play area in wet weather. Unfortunately, the garage also seems to be the collection point for all of the stuff that is waiting to be relocated to somewhere else. As a result, walking across the garage to the freezer can be a hazardous experience - resulting in bruised ankles, broken toys and much frustration!

One day last week, I decided to have a garage clean out. Check out the before/after pics:

Before

After

Finally got around to installing a rack on the wall for Mr Sociable's bike

The problem is, I know that in a month's time it will look just the same as before. What is it that ensures my life with little people is so messy and a little chaotic? Why is it that I can't seem to finish putting things away before I get distracted again??

I think it has something to do with this... "Mummy, can I have a drink?", "Mum! Can you please help me?", "Mum! He's touching the bins!" and this... playgroup, bible study, swimming lessons, washing, cooking, cleaning, playing with kids, rest time, grocery shopping and this... nappy changing, table-wiping, vacuuming, reading books, putting toys away, chasing the escaping toddler...

No matter how much I crave to be organised and neat, I suspect things are going to be a little disorganised for a few more years yet! Which can be hard, because I really do love order (my clothes are categorised in my wardrobe, our Christian book collection recently got alphabetised, our pantry goods are all grouped by type, our linen press is grouped and labelled, etc).

This is my favourite part of the pantry

Grouped by type - fish together, milks together, tomatoes together, etc

Labels in the linen press - these have actually been great when I've
got others (mum or Franky) to help with putting away the washing

I love to declutter, to give/throw things away, to reorganise things to make life more efficient. Hence the battle - Lohtown tends towards chaos, while I tenaciously try to implement systems and order. The good news is that one day my kids will go to school & I will again have a clean house. But, until then, I'm trying to value relationships over organisation, time spent with kids over time spent cleaning. You probably wouldn't notice the mess if you came to my house (my living area is generally pretty tidy), but, rest assured that if you went exploring behind the closed doors, you would find a little bit of chaos ;)