Need: Encouragement

by | Apr 26, 2008 | Organization | 8 comments

Earlier today I got to “meet” Jamie on the phone! She is even sweeter in person than she is online, and I was so glad to finally get to talk to her! She called to see if I had any crafts planned for the upcoming feast days next week.

Next week!! My thoughts are still on this week! 🙂

You see, regardless of how it appears, I am really not that organized. I am constantly trying to become more organized, and in fact, blogging really has helped me in this area. Reading posts by other bloggers, as well as organizing my own thoughts on the screen, has really helped! Not to mention, the endless resources available online… It all gives me hope that living an organized life is possible, and I am working hard towards that goal. However, I usually don’t start thinking about “what’s next” until we have finished our current projects, or at the earliest, the Saturday/Sunday before hand. So, I really wasn’t much help to Jamie. Sorry Jamie!!! The only thing I have planned so far for next week, was to hopefully make some Marian May Baskets to deliver on May Day, before I take off for the conference. That’s it.

Even that sounds like a lot as I continue dealing with my closet. Jamie said I might get more sympathy, if I posted pictures of my closet…

It’s just SO EMBARRASSING! :S

But, since I could really use some sympathy encouragement… I’m going to just post them, and hope that it doesn’t repulse you, make you dislike me, make you think too poorly of me!

…deep breath… here goes…

OK. Here is a photo of my closet back when I first began right after Easter:

OK. OK. It doesn’t look too bad in those pictures. But, try to picture the little carpet you can see filled in with even more stuff. I had to move a few boxes out of the door way to be able to take these pictures. Getting to my clothing had become a HUGE challenge. I got to where I was only wearing the same few outfits over and over.

In case you still don’t think it looks that bad, here is a closer look at SOME of the shelves back in March:

Paperwork. Clutter. Books. Videos. DVDS. Photos. Gifts Bags. Unfinished Projects. Gifts. Chocolates. Candles. Valentine Cards bought on clearance. You name it, it’s probably there.

And THEN… For some reason, when I try to clean, everything ALWAYS gets messier… WHY IS THIS?!?! Does this happen to you?? Last Saturday as I was trying to clean… I decide to move everything on the floor out, and then I took everything off the shelves to clean them.

YIKES!!

Then when I hurt my toe… I tossed the rest of the stuff that you see on the floor in the closet to the left of the above pile. I wasn’t kidding when I said I had a mountain in front of my closet door.

Also, do you remember me mentioning that I was getting new furniture for my school room? Well… In order to move the new furniture in, I had to move out tons of stuff. I am still waiting for some of the bookshelves and so, in the meantime, my hallway has been lined with stuff. And we have a long hallway!

Last Saturday I was so tired of looking at it–and since we won’t be getting the bookshelves till May 9th–I decided to move the stuff to my room, and sort through it along with all my closet stuff.

My hubby was sweet and said, “Well… At least one mess is better than two!” Thanks hubby!

It’s frustrating though, especially since I had our room so clean for Easter!

The good thing is that I am being forced to deal with all of it. All of it. I have tossed over 10 bags of stuff and have taken 4 boxes to St. Vincent’s already. It is taking much longer than I hoped, but I am making progress…

So there you have it… Now, I better get back to work!

See you soon! Hopefully! 🙂

8 Comments

  1. Jamie Jo

    Thanks Jessica! You have my sympathy!! You DO have a big mess! I must confess, I love to organize and clean things. When I was a little girl, I used to clean my mom’s cupboards and closets and did it until I moved out!

    I DO see really nice shelves in your closet, that’s great! My closet actually is starting to look (a little) like yours (not as bad though–haha) with spring clothes and winter clothes…MN can’t decide what season it is!

    It was great to talk to you, you are just as sweet as I thought you’d be. I’m glad I worked up enough nerve to finally call! You DID help a ton, you are far too humble!

    Reply
  2. Jamie Jo

    I just noticed your post is titled “Need: Encouragement” I didn’t really encourage you!!

    You can do it!!! Try first organizing just the clothes in one pile, the books/papers in another, try that with all like items, then attack each pile one thing at a time, then attack those shelves and go to town!!!! I know you can do it!! Keep up the great work!

    Does that help? 🙂

    Reply
  3. Trina

    Neat to see blogging friends connecting!

    I think we all have areas of our homes and lives that are like this even if it is just the stove or the attic or something. (did I just mention my two bugaboo areas? oops, I wasn’t supposed to give it away!) It is just part of the constant struggle to detach ourselves from things, to stay on top of our duties, to fight laziness, etc. etc.

    Blogging has helped me too in many ways.

    Reply
  4. Christine

    Well, in between getting ready for the conference and my other volunteer obligation, my children have put in a special request to celebrate St. Catherine of Siena’s Feast Day on April 29. I cannot disappoint them, as our eldest is named after both this wonderful saint and St. Catherine Laboure. I am going to try and post some ideas beforehand and if any of them involve food, I might change my mind about your invitation.

    I can’t wait to meet you! Good luck with your mess! It looks more orderly than mine.

    Reply
  5. Mary

    Omgsh that happens to me everytime i clean everything..until its completly cleaned its like a much bigger mess than i started out with!
    Haha i love how i was the one who put all that junk in your hall way 😉 I wish i coulda helped you get it taken care of it all~ good job though your hallway is so beautiful when you can actually see it!. 😉
    Your house is going to look great!
    I bet you anything it look a BAJILLION times better then ours right now. (dont worry im taking pictures so you’ll get a chance to see the CATOSROPHY!) Dad works on-stop everyday for three days now just taring out the kitchen…its so crazy, Thank goodness for the moterhome! Well ttyl! love ya Jess-ICA!

    Reply
  6. Anonymous

    Oh Jessica!! Thanks for being so brave and posting this!! Now I don’t feel so foolish for posting all my dirty laundry a few weeks ago! LOL

    You see, this does a lot of people good I think. It is nice to see that we all struggle with so many obligations. If you put in so much time with your kids, baking, crafting…and so, It is soooo normal to get clutter and get behind on decluttering! Do not feel bad!! If your house was perfectly spotless all the time, I would wonder who was spending time with the kids while the constant cleaning is done? 😉 Material things will come and go, messes will be made and straightened in good time, but the love and time you spend on your kids speaks volumes about your priorities! You show us that the kids and hubby are number one!! You have such a wonderful blog I think it is very responsible of you to show all of your readers that the unwanted part of real life happens too 😉 All of us want to post about every thing that is great to share, it takes guts to post about our weaknesses and struggles.

    When you meet our Lord in Paradise, do you think he will say….Great Mom, but did you see her closet that time! LOL
    No, he will say…she is trying so hard to do it all. But instead of aspiring to obtain a magazine cover picture perfect organized closet, she grew great souls for me that served me well and loved me so, because she took the time to teach them my word.
    Good job my good and faithful servant! God doesn’t care how your closet looks 😉

    If you could only see my garage!!! you would pitty me….lol

    For encouragement, I say watch a few shows on HGTV, Ilike mission organization. If you don’t have cable ( I think maybe you don’t) then google it and I think they have some cool stuff on the web site.) That helps me anyway
    Sorry this is so long…I should have emailed it!

    Reply
  7. Jessica Gordon

    Thank you so much everyone for the encouragement!!

    Thanks for all the great tips Jamie!! I’m good at making piles… It’s just putting them away that is my challenge 😉

    Christine — I can’t wait to hear your ideas for the Feast of St. Catherine!! I think we will be keeping it fairly simple, and have an Italian dinner in her honor. But then, depending on what you share, I may change my mind!

    Trina — that is so true!! Why is it so hard though! 🙂

    Mary — yes.. my hallway is your fault… 😉 Before you came over, it was all organized on the old desks… Then in a whirlwind it was all moved to the hallway!! Yikes!! Seriously though, thank you for your help! It would have taken me hours to move it all out of the way. And it forced me to sort through it all, so that was great!

    Michele — THANK YOU!I did feel totally embarrassed posting those pictures. Eeekk!

    Thank you for the encouragement!!! We don’t have cable, so I will do a search online for those shows, and see what I can find! The internet is amazing!

    God Bless!

    Reply
  8. Margaret

    Very inspiring post!

    Bravo.

    Reply

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Father in heaven, grant me the grace to appreciate the dignity which you have conferred on me. Let me realize that not even the Angels have been blessed with such a privilege—to share in your creative miracle and bring new Saints to heaven. Make me a good mother to all my children after the example of Mary, the Mother of your Son. Through the intercession of Jesus and Mary I ask your continued blessings on my family. Let us all be dedicated to your service on earth and attain the eternal happiness of your kingdom in heaven. Amen.


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Hi! I'm Jessica, a Roman Catholic wife and home educating mother to our nine children. I was home educated myself, along with my eleven younger siblings. I have a special devotion to St. Therese, through whom I have been given much help and many blessings--the beautiful "Shower of Roses" that she has sent my way! Here I will record a few of the blessings I treasure. Please remember that what you see here is just a little glimpse at our lives, so please say a prayer for us, as we continue to strive for holiness.

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