Fly Lady Wannabe

I really shouldn't be sitting down to write since it's 10:30pm and I've been working hard on getting up earlier so I can have more time to myself before Karis wakes up. Then again, today was the first day without sugar for me and I just ended it with a bowl of ice cream. hmmm...anybody noticing a pattern here?

It's hard to resist posting when I accomplished something great today that the world needs to know about (my mother-in-law will be the most impressed, so really this post is for her more than anyone!). I organized my kitchen cupboards...and not only that but I labeled the food containers too! I hold lots of memories of my poor husband organizing the kitchen cabinets on a weekly basis the first few years we were married. I literally was dumbfounded thinking "what's wrong with this guy? why does he care if he can't see how many cans of spaghetti sauce we have?" The main problem has been that although I'm not a clutter person (I can't stand stuff everywhere!) I don't mind shoving it in cabinets since behind doors I don't have to look at it. It doesn't matter that things pop out of drawers when they're opened or things fall out of cabinets when they're opened because it only takes a split second to shove everything back in or throw it back on top (and shut the door, quick!). I've always been this way and thought it suited me just fine...until I hit the big 25, that is (I don't know for sure it was then I just know it was a few years ago). I began realizing how much time I wasted looking for stuff when everything was in disarray behind closed doors (Jonathan's been telling me that for the entire 7 years we've been married) and also the extra stress I feel when I can't make sense of what I see. I also haven't been a very detailed person when it comes to cleaning my house or very neat in arranging things. I will never forget the first time I saw my dear mother-in-law straighten up my dish cloth hanging up in my kitchen. Although it didn't bother me at all (this is not a bad thing) I have to admit my thoughts were along the lines of "aha, that's why he is the way he is...I still don't understand how but at least I understand why". I honestly couldn't comprehend why someone would care or even notice that a dish cloth was scrunched up on the oven door. How could someone notice that my light fixtures had a solid inch of cobwebs around them? I feel free to write all of this now because I am starting to feel free myself! Free from chaos behind closed doors, free from wasted time searching for things I really should know where they are (or things that I don't need or use...lots of clutter is out of my house completely), free from the yucky feeling a somewhat dirty house brings. What's fun is that I'm discovering how much more peaceful my home is when it's organized. It is also more inviting for others and gives me extra time to focus on other tasks that have been on the back-burner for, uh, 7 years. I am realizing that I have a long way to go and that I can't get too picky because there are definitely times when everything can't be in perfect order (like when Karis has lots of 2-year olds over to play...they aren't very respectful of my newfound freedom.) So without further ado, please check out my newly organized cabinets!!

Ok, so maybe the top of the snacks container is a bit dusty (I just got them out of storage) but anyone who knows me well will be impressed beyond words at this improvement!