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THE CLUTTER CONUNDRUM

For the past few weeks, leading up through this week, school report deadlines loomed over both my kids’ heads. Plus this week piled tournaments for my daughter’s softball team, my son’s mid-week baseball game, and I’m waiting anxiously to hear anything about whether or not my temporary position might convert to a permanent job! While carefully weighing, prioritizing and scheduling each valuable minute, my piles of paper grew into vast mountain ranges.

Work Grand Central Station:
2 school projects, camp paperwork, scout paperwork, etc…

Ask me for anything and I’ll find it for you in surprisingly little time… except tonight. We wasted our evening, designated for writing ¼ of a final draft, searching for my daughter’s project packet from her teacher. In my mind I kept telling myself I’d go “ape shit” (I don’t even know what that means?!) if we didn’t find it. While I didn’t say it out loud, my face must have communicated something similar because my kids kept looking.

It drove me crazy because I know exactly the last spot where I sat when I saw it. We turned over everything, every drawer, pile, backpack and even the recyclable bin trying to find this packet. Finally after my 3rd time through this house, I pulled the plug on the operation and pointed while uttering a few guttural ape sounds to send my child to bed. I then collapsed in the chair where I’d seen it last, and immediately turned around to the built-in shelves to find the packet in the “safe-keeping” spot – just inches past the table!

Anytime I put something somewhere for safety’s sake it gets LOST! I just told someone last Friday about how I used to keep my Social Security card in my wallet when I last temped for work. Someone lectured me on identity theft and scared me enough to put it away for “safe-keeping.” When I got a permanent job, I then had to order a replacement because I couldn’t find it!

I may not utilize the best system, or any system at all some days, which can drive me crazy! I know how to be organized. At work I’ve created systems and operations manuals, but at home, we have less time to do more. What about you?

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2 Comments

  1. Oh yes, I’m so with you. The amount of times I have something just lying around, and I know exactly where it is, but something keeps telling me that I should put it somewhere safe so that I can find it, but then I can’t! When I actually need it, I go back to the lying around place, knowing that it should be there, and then remember that I put it somewhere safe but can’t remember where. I always find it though the next time I’m looking for something different.

    By the way, “ape shit” is quite literal and refers to apes having a tendency to throw their poop around when they’re annoyed.

    1. LOL! Ok, I wasn’t quite that bad off… but close! 🙂 Pokemon cards would have been thrown around like Chinese throwing stars first. Thanks for wandering by!

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