HOW DO YOU LIVE WITHOUT SYSTEMS + ORDER?

Or·der (ôrdr) n. 1. A condition of methodical or prescribed arrangement among component parts such that proper functioning or appearance is achieved.

Call me an Overachieving Neat Freak, but I love it when my house is clean and tidy. It makes me feel complete.

Okay, that makes me sound totally shallow. But, it's true.

Somehow my head comes out of the fog, I feel like I've accomplished something during the day, and it puts me in a good mood.

And so after getting all dressed up yesterday, today was the Day of Sloth while getting the house sorted.

I decided that I'm sick of tripping over toys, and they just can't be in the hallway anymore. Most of them have now been sorted in baskets and placed on top of the boys' bedroom cupboards where no-one can reach them (until I say so, that is). The pile of papers on my kitchen bench that has been there for months has finally been cleared. And my desk: I can see the fake wood grain once again.

My husband, who likes things sort of organised and kind of ordered, also hates change. So he does get worried when I'm on a spree like this, because after a big clean up, there's usually a change in the organisation system (ie. the toys). And he may groan a bit, but grudgingly gets used to the new way We Do Things.

Mind you, just because I like being organised and systematic, doesn't mean that I have things that way all the time.

These days it's an incredibly rare phenonomen.