Saturday, December 28, 2013

Organization Wars

We are going into our tenth year in this house and that’s longer than I have ever lived anywhere so there is quite a buildup.  We just did deep cleaning right before we went to Vegas last year and I threw out two giant 39 gallon trash bags full of clothes along with several boxes of other assorted stuff from purses to shoes to kitchen stuff, you-name-it.  Now it all needs to be done again, and I am still procrastinating.  Instead of starting on a closet, here I am, writing to you guys.

Another major problem is the amount of paper that comes into this house.  I can’t manage to stay ahead of it.  Every day a ton more comes in the mail and my shredder cannot keep up.  Anyone else have this problem?  It overheats and shuts down and still the paper keeps multiplying.  Some of the crap has our names and address all over it on 5 different places making it impossible to just rip off the name and address and throw it out.  I HATE junk mail!

I have discovered that the first step to organization is to have a notebook with dated pages to put all notes and lists in and to carry it around.  Now there are no more scraps of paper with pertinent information that can no longer be found in the time of need.  It took me long enough to figure it out, but now I always know where my notes and lists and other important info will be.

Hubby is the worst for losing stuff.  He is deliberately unorganized and when I harp at him about it, he purposely throws things all over the place just to show me he can do whatever he wants.  He has deliberately lost things many times just to get in my face.  He definitely has a major attitude about not being told what to do, but then so do I. 


I over analyze most situations and plan for contingencies and try to come up with root cause solutions for problems, but it irritates him that I do that, because he does not want to be inconvenienced, to put things away or to try to prevent things from being lost or wrecked or wasted.  He makes me homicidal with his deliberate irresponsibility. 

He complains that he wants to get organized but when I give him suggestions on how to get started, he does exactly the opposite.  He owns a ridiculously expensive Snap-on Tool box, in addition to four other, very nice roll-away tool boxes.  Yet he will use tools to do a job and then throw them in a bucket and leave them in the garage somewhere for weeks or months, instead of putting them away where they belong.  

Then when they are needed for the next job, he doesn't know where they are.  You don’t know how many times I have asked him to fix something in the house or on the car and he replies that he doesn't know where the particular tool is that’s needed but then he doesn't modify his behavior, he just keeps doing the same thing over and over.  [Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. ~Einstein]


He starts projects in the house and then takes forever to finish them, (just like my dad used to do.)  I have three places where the drywall has been removed to fix or install something and was never replaced and finished, along with a half finished flooring project and multiple automobiles in various stages of disrepair.  He is the procrastination king.


I gave him two drawers to put his wallet and keys and phone and whatever else is in his pockets, so he can find his things at a moments notice.  I put up a hat rack for his hats and there are hangers in the laundry room for coats and baskets for dirty clothes upstairs and downstairs but do ya think he will use them?  Negative.  Clothes and shoes and coats all over the house and it takes an average of 15 or 20 minutes to get ready to go somewhere because he loses his keys and phone at least 3 times a day.

I did not know he was like that before we actually got together.  He portrayed himself as more responsible and organized than that and I really didn't know the truth until we were living together.  I don’t know how to fix him because he is very resistant and stubborn.  Can't live with him, but surely can't live without him either.


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