Misadventure #1 of at least one million

Have you ever been so overwhelmed by a project, that instead of facing it, you run away like a little girl and hide?  That has been me for the past two weeks.  Ever since I decided I would tackle the toy closet project, I've somehow managed to find other things to do and as of today, my toy closet stands empty.  It looms over me and it is mocking me every time I step on a toy or hurdle a lego city to get to the sofa.  The idea of it has gotten so big in my head, that if you ask me to describe the dimensions of my closet, I'd swear to you that each shelf is 80 feet long and 6 feet deep and that the closet itself must be at least three stories high.  I had the energy and motivation to take every toy out of the closet, but I just can't seem to find the gumption to reorganize it and put it back in.  Alas, misadventure number one in my quest to finish the projects that I start. 

As I began clearing the shelves, I also started browsing pinterest for clever storage ideas and cute closet organizers.  Then, I began browsing cute little girl rooms, which turned into browsing for cute kitchen ideas which turned into....you get the point.  Pinterest became my proverbial covers from which I took refuge of the closet monster.  These are two of the ideas I liked, though, so it wasn't a complete waste of time.

Looking at things that have been organized makes me feel motivated again, and the good news is that we have company coming next weekend.  Why is that good news?  Well, now there is a deadline and I will have to get the toys back in the closet or else my company will have to learn to hurdle as well.  Left to their own devices, my children would happily turn the lego city into an entire solar system of legos complete with space stations and alien invasions.  I might lose the sofa altogether.  Company can be a strong motivator towards getting projects finished.

Motherhood can be so unbalanced, but it can also be the choices we make that can create that unbalance.  Last week, I chose to run from my project, but this week, I think the closet monster has met it's match. 

Working hard to reach status quo

I stepped on no less than 16 toys walking from my family room to the kitchen today.   Looking over the toy trail, I am amazed by the amount of chaos(most of it in shades of pink) three small children can create. I admire their curiosity, their tenacity and their genuine desire to learn but, oh, the mess! Stifling the desire to run around screaming like a banshee,  I had to take a deep breath.  What's really important here?  Don't get me wrong, I LOVE a clean house, but how can the kids fully enjoy themselves if they worry about being neat? 

I once read that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.  Every night my husband and I put the kids to bed, come downstairs and pick up the mess that was created by my family all day.  It doesn't get better than clean, though.  How is it that we work so hard only to end up just achieving status quo?  Some nights, I feel insane to keep trying.

But then I looked into our toy closet and realized that there was no way the kids could put any thing away.  Nothing had a home any more.  I don't know about you, but normally I would just close the curtains on the toy closet, sit down and have a glass of wine.  If you can't see it, it doesn't actually exist, right?  Not this time.  In the spirit of my New Year's resolution, I am reprioritizing my to do list and setting out to reorganize our toy closet.  I'll post the finished product picture next week.  Wish me luck!