Just Do Four - Little Baby Steps on a Big Project

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If you don't have a problem with clutter and procrastination due to depression, post-trauma stress disorder, or ADD or ADHD, OCD, or some other learning disability or impairment, count yourself hugely fortunate. I wasn't always this bad...it wasn't always this hard to control my space and what was in it...however, events happened which pulled the trigger on the problem for me....but that's another blog entry for another day. People like me are not procrastinators and seemingly messy because we don't care...we care a lot...the inability to manage like others do often separates us from the rest of the world and has us hidden away in our little cluttered world where we are too embarrassed to invite others in...we are people who are painfully aware of our shortcomings in the arena of all things sorted, organized and clutter-free. So, if you aren't like me in this regard, you might want to skip this one...it will sound so elementary you'll think I am a four-year old picking up her toys.
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So, the bedroom hasn't been touched yet because I am procrastinating. (I blogged about an hour ago how I was a-gonna go in there and kick some clutter-ass.)



I am, as usual, overwhelmed. However, the good news is that I am not so heavy that I feel tired by the prospect. I am a confirmed believer that being overweight and living in a cluttered state is a self-perpetuating cycle and that they feed upon each other to the detriment of their host person.

Today is a good day to celebrate my 40 pound weight loss by taking clutter into hand and giving it a swift kick out the door. So here's the plan of attack. It's the way I trick myself into unloading the dishwasher when I don't really want to...I use the method I mentally refer to as...



Just Do Four

Four things, I tell myself. When the dishwasher needs to be unloaded and I don't like the prospect of doing it because I am interested in something else, I tell myself "Just put away four cups and then you can quit." But, in my ADD way of operating, once my hands get busy unloading, first thing you know, I am half-way through the whole task of unloading the dishwasher. Getting started is always my problem. Okay...now, it is the bedroom which needs attention...lots of attention...so, how can I "Just Do Four" in my bedroom?



I have a bedroom closet to attack. So, let's start there. The shoes are piled up and totally disorganized. Now, I think I'll just go pick out four pair and pull them out of the closet in order to pair them up...and if all goes right, I will have all of my shoes paired up before I realize what's going on. I'll report back in fifteen minutes if it's not working and much later if it is. Okay, it's 10:45 a.m. now...I'll check in in a bit.



11:10 a.m. - And, that worked well. I even got the vacuum out and vacuumed the closet floor. (Patting myself on the back.) The next job is to place all my seldom worn shoes into a box...the kind that comes with a case of letter-sized copy paper in it; it has a lid. Once those are in there I will put a date of March 2008 on the box, mark it on my calendar and when March 1, 2008 rolls around, whatever shoes are still in that box since September 22, 2007 will be going to permanently visit Mr. Thrift Store.



Once the box is filled, I will neatly organize my shoes on the floor of my closet. Okay. I'm back on it. (This is me...walking back to my bedroom closet project.)

----The Next Day----

My "just do four" exercise got me off to a great start. Got the floor of the closet de-cluttered. I actually got the vacuum cleaner inside the closet and put the carpet into good order. I even wiped down the baseboards of the closet while I was within reaching distance. My shoes are neatly lined up and I feel good about the progress.

After I finished the floor of the closet, I went through my hanging clothes and pulled out the items which don't fit any longer due to my weight loss. I folded them neatly and put them on the shelf overhead to get them out of my range of vision when I am getting ready for work in the mornings. Gosh, I can actually find what I need now.

I decluttered a good bit in my bedroom on my shelves and drawers after completing the closet, and then finished out the day by steamcleaning the bedroom carpet. Today is the day I will tackle the bathrooms. I am so pleased with the bedroom results that I am motivated to get started again.

De-cluttering is so good for the soul!

Company is Coming!

Holy low carb guacamole! Red alert! What strikes fear into the heart of a fat clutter bug?

That simple phrase: "Company is coming!" Oh gracious...when I was at 206 pounds that would have frazzled me out of my mind. However, having lost 40 pounds over the past ten months has given me a sense of greater control and confidence. And, I am not nearly as lazy about doing things without having to carry around the equivalent of four ten pound bags of potatos, or eight five pound bags of sugar.

At 166 pounds I can do all I need to do and still have energy to get to church in the morning, iron clothes and grocery shop for low carb food to keep me steady on more weight loss...until I reach a petite 130ish pad around my small frame.

Enough about me...now let's talk about me. Next weekend there will be guests at my house. Since I don't usually feel like doing much during the week after work I wanted to get the heavy stuff done this weekend.


I cleaned my living room and kitchen like a banshee last night. Looks nice enough...everything's all shiny. I'll just need to keep up with it and run the broom and dusting cloth Friday morning.


Oh, but Lordy, my goodness. They'll be sleeping in my bedroom...and that means they'll be using the master bathroom...and that means if I don't make a concentrated effort to put things right in there...without a doubt they will question my sanity and their safety.


If there's anything interesting to report about this day's challenge I will drag my laptop into my bedroom and during the sorting of the massive shoe pile and the demolition and overhaul of the contents of the shelves in my cave I will report in.


This could be a really painful day's activities...two bathrooms and a bedroom to go...but I can do this. Referring back to a previous entry about my usual mode of operation, last year when I was not working on my fat problem, when the going got tough on de-cluttering and housecleaning, this little dumpling was going to the kitchen for Blue Bell Ice Cream scooped generously on a pair of Vanilla Zingers.

Hmmm...before I tackle that chore, I think I need to put on my makeup and get dressed. Somehow...just like ancient warriors put on facepaint and breastplates to attack the enemy and conquer, I find that an underwire bra, Lancome Mascara and bright red lipstick always empower me and gives me an edge on the "enemy" be it clutter or avoiding fat-making behavior.

Okay...no more writing for awhile.

Just do it.