Mission Organization: Day 4 (?)

Ummm...ok. I definitely haven't been online as much this week (but still some), so that's good. But, I haven't even started on the office area. I'm not sure why I feel the need to confess that, but there you go. :-) So, it's still first on my list after getting the rest of the house in reasonable order (which is taking a little longer than I thought!). And, I watched 30 Rock tonight and caught up on FB and blogs. There. I said it.

Mission Organization: Day 1

I am the quintessential perfectionist procrastinator. I have such lofty ideas of things I'd like to do and how I'd like to do them, that I rarely ever start or finish them. I don't think I've been really organized in reality since about maybe 3rd or 4th grade when I drew a calendar on my big blackboard easel and mapped out my outfits for each day, down to the bow for my hair.

I have this wierd, constant yearning for organization, but rarely achieve it. I always feel like life would be much less stressful and much more relaxed if things were the "way I want them." I know that sounds crazy, and I'm definitely not as crazy as I may sound right now. I realize that this should not be my ultimate goal in life, and I do know there are other, more important things, like spending time with my family. :-)

Anyway, I was watching "30 Rock" a few weeks ago and the opening scene was Liz Lemon (Tina Fey) walking down the street with huge "Compartment Store" (aka Container Store) bags in hand. I wish I could find the clip, but here's the dialoge (to Kenneth :-)):

“I went to the new flagship Compartment Store on 5th Avenue and I’m going to get my life in order. There’s a stacking thing to separate your junk mail from your humidifier catalogs, a thing you stick on your laptop that hold your keys, a round plastic deal that holds your shoes with a pocket for a photograph of what shoes are in there. I’m going to become wonderful. It’s a new beginning, like a phoenix rising…”

I had to laugh, because I feel this way...a lot. :-) Anyway, I've vowed to take this week off of facebook and blogs in order to get some things done around here. I'm going to just take things in bite-sized pieces and start plugging away. I'm really trying to convert myself to the "something is better than nothing" ideology, rather than deciding I can't do anything until I can do it just perfectly.

So, wish me luck! Tonight my goal is to straighten the house and get it to some sort of baseline, :-) and then start on the "office" area of our kitchen. I feel like part of the reason I can't keep things organized is that I don't have good core systems in place for the office, closets, etc. If I can get this in order, I can avoid cramming the thing that should go there in other places. :-)

So, I'm going to start here (see below...yikes) and move on from there. As you can see, it will be quite a task! I'm partially blogging here to keep myself accountable, and partially so I can look back at befores and afters and pat myself on the back. Kind of like adding something to your to do list just so you can cross it off and feel accomplished. :-)

The Tulips

Something I love about Chicago is the way the city does a great job with landscaping and flowers all year round. My favorites are the tulips down Michigan Ave. in the spring. My mom, sister and I stayed downtown last night for a little "girl time" and I got a few pics of the tulips on our way out. I see them almost everyday going to and from work, but don't often get a chance to take pics.

Photo of the Day

I may start doing a favorite photo of the day, since I'm still snapping away with my new camera. :-) Dan and the boys got me roses for my birthday. So sweet.

I would like this to be my foyer, please.

Is wallpaper making a big comeback or what? I'm really getting tempted. I love this foyer...the pic is from Thibaut via Little Green Notebook (I've been loving this blog; thanks, Joyce!).

Breakfast Nooks

I'm not sure if it would ever be possible in our kitchen, but it would be a dream of mine to have a breakfast nook. I just think they are pretty and cozy - love the ones below (images via flickr).

Fun Finds

The boys and I were in Rockford last night and decided to visit my grandma for breakfast. Her signature breakfast is homemade biscuits and chocolate gravy. She's made this as long as I can remember. We all call it "chocolate-n-biscuits." Anyway, there was an added bonus of her having a garage sale today(actually my uncle helping). I come from a long line of thrifters. I'm not sure if that's a word, so in case it's not, what I mean to say is it is in our genes to shop at garage sales / thrift shops / estate sales, etc. for great buys. And then a lot of it somehow ends up at my grandma's..it becomes the centralized "bargain bin" for our family (which is large...my mom is one of nine). :-) As I was perusing, I found some great stuff. And, of course, when I tried to pay, my money was rejected! Gotta love grandmas. So, I became the proud owner of the below treasures for free. This is my favorite kind of shopping. If I had the time and energy, I would really enjoy buying and selling second hand things. In fact, there's not much in my house that I purchased when it was new! The danger, though, is collecting a bunch of stuff you don't really need. Technically, all of the below falls into that category, but I just couldn't resist. It's in my blood. :-)