Productivity... I've missed you.

     Things are happening in the Martin household, people! I am sitting and typing while my husband puts together a DVD cabinet that actually... Get this, matches our living room decor! What?! My living room has become our sanctuary in the last couple of months. It has been a long drawn out process getting things organized. We have a huge swivel love seat and sectional couch, toss pillows (!), an accent rug, and we got rid of a ridiculously bulky entertainment center and replaced it with a pull-down projector screen and projector. This project has really opened up the downstairs and made it so welcoming.

     I will post a picture when I feel that it is truly perfect (lol). Pictures and decorative mirrors hanging on the walls, ottomans, matching towels in the guest bathroom. If you knew me, you'd be gasping at everything in that sentence. We lived in an apartment for 3 (THREE) years and never fully unpacked. I bought a gorgeous 3'x5' decorative mirror, that literally stood in a corner and never got mounted.

     

     Things really get done when my husband and I get motivated together. Our upstairs has been a disaster area for an embarrassing amount of time, and I am so excited to be getting organized. We're donating quite a bit to Good Will, and posting some things on Craigslist. I fully intend to bring you all along with me on this journey with me. I will post pictures of all of the closets as I go, and I promise to show you each room after it is finished.

     I know that this won't seem like a huge deal to a lot of you, but let me give you some back-story. I don't talk about this much, because it has been highly embarrassing for me for the majority of my life so far; my mother is a hoarder. If you have ever seen the show Hoarders, then you have had a tiny glimpse into what my childhood was like. I believe this has a huge part to play in my lack of organization. My mom doesn't throw things away and everything is all over the place. I never learned how to file things, balance my checkbook properly, or really how to keep things neat. My room was usually the cleanest in the house, but believe me it was only such after piling things in corners and closets because I wasn't sure what to do with them.

     I have been trying so hard as an adult not to let those things dictate how I live in my own life. I married a passive person who also lacks organizational skills, so this has been really hard for both of us to deal with in the short time we've been married.

     My house getting organized is such a huge step for me as far as handling things in an adult manner. Put things where they belong, don't make piles. It sounds simple, but it has been everything but. I am on the road to being a semi-organized person and I could not be happier about this. Messes totally overwhelm me, and then I get overcome with depression. Unfortunately, this is the exact way in which my husband feels about messes. We have a lot to learn together...

     There will always be a small part of me affected by my upbringing... If there is a surface, it fills up. I think that is the sort of mess I can manage. This month is so exciting for me. I love throwing things away, and I love having a place for everything even more. I feel like September will be a very healing and liberating month.

     I promise to keep you updated as I go along, and post pictures of my progress. I hope you all are having a wonderful Summer to Fall transition.