Mary Paitsel

What an opportunity to dig through our clutter together and bring our homes into order! Over thirty years ago I was a young mom with three small children at home and a big mess on a daily basis. I have a lot of unpleasant memories from those days many of which include mold and mildew. I remember grocery bags full of papers and other stuff hidden in closets and rooms, always getting an extension for my taxes, laundry baskets full of unmatched socks and clothes that needed to be ironed or mended, opening the door only wide enough to talk to the person there and rarely inviting them in. After more than one humiliating experiences I decided to get organized. I began to read everything I could find about home organization and time management, crashed and burned many times but bit by bit began to see progress.We did not get where we are in one day-a little bit each day consistently will make a difference. What I know I learned by raw experience and you have no need to be embarrassed by your mess because mine probably matched or exceeded it.
Our homes are not museums, magazine layouts or furniture showcases. Our homes are the canvas for our family’s lives. Our purpose goes beyond cleaning toilets, dusting, and laundry. My purpose for this blog is to help us find solutions to the challenges that prevent us from keeping our homes lovely and functional. Doing this puts legs to loving our spouse and children or whoever makes up our household at this stage of life, including ourselves.

There are things I want you to do each day:
 Get dressed and take care of yourself by moisturizing your skin, brushing your teeth, and putting on real shoes.
 Consider how you dress. When we look pulled together we feel pulled together. People treat us with more respect when we wear clothes that are not holey, stained or wrinkled.Simple clothes like a pair of slacks with a top and a jacket can be inexpensive. If you are wearing clothes that are not fit for Goodwill, take a good look at your closet and start wearing clothes that look and fit better. Often we have better clothes but are saving them.
 Pick up after yourself. When the children were small, every day at least once or twice we would have a “5 minute pick up” I would set the timer and we would see how much we could get done in that amount of time.
 Challenge yourself to treat others with love and patience.

Hugs,

Mary