Secrets of a Tidy Person
I can tell you a secret or two (or five, because I love lists) that will probably make you feel better about your life. How? They'll make you realize that tidy people (cue: me) aren't perfect or perfectionists or even boring, after all. We don't live like robots and shuffle around our homes with coiffed hair and frilly aprons. For the most part.
My point is that you can still live life on the edge and be you, all while maintaining a tidy lifestyle and making sure that all of your belongings have a home. You can slip up from time to time or even have consistent habits that work for you but may be considered "untidy" by others. You can allow your clothing to lightly graze the floor of your bedroom as long as a mound doesn't build up.
I'll divulge my own secrets right now. Not because it doesn't make me panic but because I think it's important to share. Deep breath. Here goes:
1) I wear socks twice. Mmmhmmm. After a full day of wearing a pair of socks, I leave them on my bedroom floor overnight (it's wild) and wear them the next day. I do this religiously, mostly because I don't have a washing machine of my own and don't want to own the number of socks that will hold me over in between washes. I also don't think it's a big deal. Sue me.
2) I have a bag of dirty rags sitting on the floor of my coat closet. Since I don't use paper towels for cleaning, I have a load of rags in my life. I use them, they get dirty, and I don't squeeze them out/wash them in the sink because that's not fun. So after I use them and consider them dirty, I lay them over the "dirty rag tote" to dry and then put them inside once they're ready. Once the bag is filled up, I wash all of the rags in their own cycle and throw in the tote too. No regrets.
3) I held on to confetti poppers for three years before finally admitting that I'd never use them. Certain items can be tough to throw away and although I do this with clients every day of my life, even I get bogged down from time to time. Insert the confetti poppers that I must have bought for a specific reason a bunch of years ago but then never used. Every time I would clean out that drawer, I would hold them, promise myself to use them at the next celebration, and then fail. I finally threw them away before I moved a month ago. It was liberating but took longer than I' proud to admit.
4) I've got lots of art supplies that I use infrequently. Hobby-goods can be touuuuugh and I've got personal proof. I used to sew/craft/paint a lot but have been doing so less often as time goes by. That being said, I'm not ready to totally let go of all of the supplies. As a solution, they're organized, all together, and I know exactly where to find them when I (rarely) need them. But let's be real, I'm no minimalist.
5) My eating habits aren't tidy. I truly struggle to eat consistent, balanced meals and it's the way that I relate to my clients who struggle with consistent tidiness. We all have our strengths and I'm lucky to score a 100 in the Tidy Category. But when it comes to nutrition, I falter. I resort to pizza more than once a week and can't control myself when there's candy in the room (but I rarely buy it!). It would be too hard to be perfect, anyway.
I wish I could tell you that sometimes I don't make my bed but that's a lie. I also never leave clothing on the floor despite trying really hard to be a rebel from time to time. Usually when I'm tipsy.
So is life.