things that I don't remember. I have put on my to-do lists for months to put away these things but I can't. Here's why . . . Aaron is a stuffer. Our basement is a storage type place not a unusable living space. Many times I ask him to take things to our basement for storage. I normally put in in a container that is marked. We just cleaned our basement about a year and half ago and it looked so good (so good I took photos of it!) and everything was in it's own area (kids' clothes, Christmas decorations, things to sell, etc). Since then when I have asked him to take it to the basement I pretty much think he must stand at the top of the stairs and toss it down there. I went to the basement a couple days ago to get the kids' inflatable ball pit and balls for them to play with for a few days and he had put or thrown all Addison's baby doll stroller, high chair, and pack and play on top of the ball pit along with a box or two. It's like that every time I go down there to get something, first I have to find it then I have to dig and move a ton of stuff to get to it -- it's so aggravating. Our garage is the same way. . . packed to the door with no sort of organization or way to move around in it and he just complains about it but he's the one doing it! Most of our closets, drawers, cupboards, etc are clean because I reorganized them all within the last few years. So I am unable to take the boxes of baby clothes, shoes, and toys downstairs because once I got down there it be so overwhelming that I would have to clean the basement which would take me days and days alone then I would never get the bedroom cleaned. I figure if I make him help me clean the basement again maybe it would motivate him to keep it more organized but it's doubtful. I guess we are lucky that we both aren't stuffers or someone would be seriously injured when opening any closet or we both aren't unrealistic over-achievers or nothing would get put away EVER and we couldn't walk in our home. So what are you stuffer or unrealistic over achiever?
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
Stuffers vs Unrealistic Over-Achievers
On Sunday on my never ending quest to clean up clutter in our house, I decided I would start working on our bedroom again while the kids napped. Everything in the free world ends up in our bedroom and we have stacks and piles of stuff all over the place. I have tried for several months to get my bedroom clean and uncluttered. Doesn't that sound ridiculous? It does to me and while I was working I was thinking what's the deal -- why can't I just do it? Then it suddenly occurred to me what my big obstacle is (besides the 4 kids). I believe there are 2 types of cleaners . . . the stuffers and the unrealistic over-achievers (there's probably more types but these are the two I am familiar with). The stuffers' house always looks clean but if you open a closet, cupboard, drawer, spare room, it is not the case, you could be killed by an avalanche of stuff. They clean by shoving or stuffing everything away for the appearance of clean. Well this is not me! I am an unrealistic over-achiever meaning if I am going to clean EVERYTHING must be clean and put away in the CORRECT place NOW. I am seriously incapable of putting a bunch of stuff in the closet or basement and saying I will put that away later when I have time. I would rather see the clutter than have a messy closet. So in our bedroom there are boxes of maternity clothes, kids' clothes (some to be sold, some waiting for Reese), boxes of toys (some to be sold, some waiting for Reese), and other 
things that I don't remember. I have put on my to-do lists for months to put away these things but I can't. Here's why . . . Aaron is a stuffer. Our basement is a storage type place not a unusable living space. Many times I ask him to take things to our basement for storage. I normally put in in a container that is marked. We just cleaned our basement about a year and half ago and it looked so good (so good I took photos of it!) and everything was in it's own area (kids' clothes, Christmas decorations, things to sell, etc). Since then when I have asked him to take it to the basement I pretty much think he must stand at the top of the stairs and toss it down there. I went to the basement a couple days ago to get the kids' inflatable ball pit and balls for them to play with for a few days and he had put or thrown all Addison's baby doll stroller, high chair, and pack and play on top of the ball pit along with a box or two. It's like that every time I go down there to get something, first I have to find it then I have to dig and move a ton of stuff to get to it -- it's so aggravating. Our garage is the same way. . . packed to the door with no sort of organization or way to move around in it and he just complains about it but he's the one doing it! Most of our closets, drawers, cupboards, etc are clean because I reorganized them all within the last few years. So I am unable to take the boxes of baby clothes, shoes, and toys downstairs because once I got down there it be so overwhelming that I would have to clean the basement which would take me days and days alone then I would never get the bedroom cleaned. I figure if I make him help me clean the basement again maybe it would motivate him to keep it more organized but it's doubtful. I guess we are lucky that we both aren't stuffers or someone would be seriously injured when opening any closet or we both aren't unrealistic over-achievers or nothing would get put away EVER and we couldn't walk in our home. So what are you stuffer or unrealistic over achiever?
things that I don't remember. I have put on my to-do lists for months to put away these things but I can't. Here's why . . . Aaron is a stuffer. Our basement is a storage type place not a unusable living space. Many times I ask him to take things to our basement for storage. I normally put in in a container that is marked. We just cleaned our basement about a year and half ago and it looked so good (so good I took photos of it!) and everything was in it's own area (kids' clothes, Christmas decorations, things to sell, etc). Since then when I have asked him to take it to the basement I pretty much think he must stand at the top of the stairs and toss it down there. I went to the basement a couple days ago to get the kids' inflatable ball pit and balls for them to play with for a few days and he had put or thrown all Addison's baby doll stroller, high chair, and pack and play on top of the ball pit along with a box or two. It's like that every time I go down there to get something, first I have to find it then I have to dig and move a ton of stuff to get to it -- it's so aggravating. Our garage is the same way. . . packed to the door with no sort of organization or way to move around in it and he just complains about it but he's the one doing it! Most of our closets, drawers, cupboards, etc are clean because I reorganized them all within the last few years. So I am unable to take the boxes of baby clothes, shoes, and toys downstairs because once I got down there it be so overwhelming that I would have to clean the basement which would take me days and days alone then I would never get the bedroom cleaned. I figure if I make him help me clean the basement again maybe it would motivate him to keep it more organized but it's doubtful. I guess we are lucky that we both aren't stuffers or someone would be seriously injured when opening any closet or we both aren't unrealistic over-achievers or nothing would get put away EVER and we couldn't walk in our home. So what are you stuffer or unrealistic over achiever?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
2 comments:
I am sooooo a stuffer!! Please promise if you ever come to my house, you will not open any closet/cupboard doors or go to my basement!!! I am also a stacker... I just move my stacks from place to place. I get that from my sister!!
Ok, I know I'm a stacker, but I guess I think things are picked up - even though my stacks are 5 feet tall. I guess I'm a little bit of both. I always tell myself if I stuff something away, I will clean that closet as soon as the rest of the house is clean. Well by the time the house is clean, it's time to start over again and the closets just stay closed. So I just move the stacks around from room to room. I have the bedroom problem too, I guess I put some of my stacks in there because I will put them away when I clean the bedroom, but as I said earlier I just don't always get around to that. And I have NO and I mean NO reason not to get those stacks cleaned up and put away. I admire you just for thinking of cleaning as busy as your days are, let alone tackle a project. I need to realize I don't have to save everything that comes home from school, and I have saved a LOT of the boys stuff too. I am just sure their kids will want to see what they did when they were little. But I love to go to - say a sister's house (CHRISSI'S!!!!)- clean and organize a room(s) and I kick butt and love it. It usually gets me in the mood to do my own. Because we always have such a good time. I'm just waiting for her to kick butt at my house:) teehee
Post a Comment