I Think I'll Just Get Another Root Canal, Thanks

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I suppose it's a testament to how much fun I had at Christmas that I didn't take one single picture. It was crazy busy, since I hadn't been home (Bay Area) for two years, and I had lots of catching up to do. It was great to be back home in the IE, too, as the boys have been on a continual high for most of the past couple of weeks: No school AND we get presents? Awesome!

It would have been great to capture on camera their faces (and screaming and jumping around) when when they opened their presents; I guess I was just enjoying the moment too much. Is that possible?

And now I've got the after-holiday blues. Not because I feel let down or that I have to get back to the everyday drudgery. The main source of my bout of the doldrums (peppered with stress and a double shot of anxiety) is the fact that January is approaching.

It seems like everyone is excited to gear up for the new year by getting organized and clearing out clutter. They are energized to get a fresh start. Me? I'm not energized. In fact, I'm the opposite.

All I want to do is pull the covers over my head until February. You see, the act of organizing gives me hives. I would love to have someone come do it all for me, and then maintain it for me as well. But seeing as how I don't have a personal assistant, maid, or magic genie, the awful task is left up to me. I think I'm actually getting hives just writing about it.

The biggest problem right now is that I don't know where to put stuff. I don't really have a space of my own, so all my crafting materials, office supplies, books, etc., are scattered throughout the house. Along with my own detritus, there are the boys' clothes, toys, games, you-name-it lying around, too. Don't think I don't get after them, but I can only fight so many battles in a day.

My workspace (which is typically the dining room table) usually looks like this:


You can see the computer desk in the back, but I hardly use it since the boys are on the computer a lot; anything left on the desk has the potential to get broken, misplaced, or seriously filthy.

We obviously don't eat dinner here.


Problem is, even when it's cleaned off, it's not really a place I can use as a desk, as it just looks so messy if anything's on it.

Ah, if only it were this easy:

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I suppose technically it's that easy, but I might be worse off afterward.

Pretty much anything I organize just ends up back on a table or counter or on the floor waiting to be put away. Of course, you professional organizers out there are saying, "a place for everything and everything in it's place." Yeah, okay, but when there is no "place" that is not trampled on, rifled through, or touched by BOYS on a daily basis, it's a bit easier said than done.

With that, trying to organize seems like it's not even worth the trouble, since everything would still have to be scattered around in different cupboards, under tables, and crammed in nooks. This pretty much goes for all rooms in the house. It seems like everything is out of place and it's just so...overwhelming!

(Of course, looking at the big picture, I should be grateful to have things I want to hold on to, and the necessary cupboards to house them.)

I wish I had the organization gene, but let me tell you, it does NOT run in my family. And I'm pretty sure it doesn't run in Ralph's family, either. (Let's just say I don't envy the boys' future wives....)

Yeah, I suppose I'm just using all this as an excuse to not even start organizing. It's just hard to build up any enthusiasm about it like the rest of the world right now.

Maybe I'll try again in February. Or not.