Organzing Overload.

I begin my day as usual, with a glorious cup of coffee... all is well in the Spooner household. My son screams, and yet I remain calm and controlled. My daughter cries in defiance... and still my mind is at peace. And then I look around me, not at my whining kids, but rather at the state of my small abode, and I am instantly discouraged. I know I have written posts regarding "house maintenance" before, but it seems to be a constant battle that I can never seem to win. I work on one room of the house until it is perfectly organized, and somehow there is ALWAYS another area that is in complete shambles. Jonathan can't find his keyes because the front entrance is a mess, I can't find my cell phone because there is no safe place (away from little fingers that is) to hide it. And so it is, that no matter how hard I work, there is always more. And I must admit I am tiring of this seemingly unattainable goal. Is it possible????? I know it is. I go to my sister-in-laws house and everything is in perfect order, a place for it all, and their house is smaller than mine! How do they do it? I went shopping the other day and bought bins and baskets, hoping to reorganize our lives, and despite my efforts, there is just not enough space for everything. The sad truth is that the clothes that don't fit and the things we don't use, get bagged up and tossed in the basement. Accomplishing one thing and one thing alone... tidying my everyday space and leaving a disaster in my guest area. Perhaps the problem is not a matter of organization, but rather too many things. I could probably discard half of our belongings with no notice to us. Most of my clothes will never fit me again anyways, after two kids, I think the "size O" skirts and extra small shirts are out of the question. And yet still I am hard pressed to release my hold on these small rays of hope, that one day I may have my old body back. No, the reality is that I am a bit of a packrat, and now I am paying for this minor character flaw. I desire to be a person of cleanliness and organization and yet I relentlessy revert to my habitual behaviour. Where does my jacket go, or the diaper bag, or my shoes????? Wherever they manage to fall as I drop them on my way in the door. Sigh. One day, I hope to write a note about my ability to acheive this goal, but until then, I will concede to vent upon all my faithful listeners.