Author Marilyn Foster

Does this picture look like how you feel when it comes to keeping order in your home?  It sure did for me 8 years ago.  Then again it felt this way all my life even when Mom would say, “Go pick up your room!”  I wouldn’t know where to start!

That’s what many of you experience.  The following is my list of why I have had a hard time at keeping house all the time.

I have a beta testing group that I asked this question for them to write their answers with their non dominant hand.  I found it interesting.  Many had similar answers.

The Number One Reason was:    Tired!    That is what I have experienced my entire life.  It wasn’t until when I turned 30 I was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia.  Then in my late 40’s I was diagnosed with Severe Sleep Apnea.  In my 50’s I found out I had a Vitamin D deficiency where now I have to take one prescription strength vitamin D twice a week.

My next reason was:       Lose Track Of Time     That is simple enough to make sense if I am tired all the time.  I also happen to be ADD.  This would always make me later.  The thing is lack of sleep can make you lose track of time.

Then       Perfectionism     found its way in.  I was so tired all the time that it seemed like I had to work twice as hard to make things look nice.  And it probably did because I was tired all of the time.  This is when the feeling of ‘never being able to catch up’ comes into play.  Of course you will feel this because you are tired.

My next one was:       Why?  Nobody Comes Over Anyway!     Most learned I kept odd hours as I would stay up all day and night thinking this was the way to catch up.  I could catch up with everyone while they were sleeping.  Well, that backfired.  It just made me get really wound up until I would just crash and burn.  Was I getting anywhere with cleaning my house?  NO!

Here comes my next reason:       Overwhelmed Easy    Could that be because I was tired and had difficulty controlling my emotions?  What happens with an over tired child?  Don’t they get overwhelmed and feel out of control?

Following this comes:       Things Take Longer   Of course they are because who can think straight when you are tired?

Finally the one thing that I was told early in life is:    Told I Am Too Slow   I wonder why?  Could it be that I was tired?

We need our rest!  We are not going to be able to accomplish much at all without it.  Yes there are skills we can learn at making it easier to declutter our homes and keep them company ready.  The question is, will any of this sink into our minds if we are already tired?

What I didn’t write down was     Diet      This plays right into the tiredness.  We choose foods that think will wake us up but in fact backfire.  Did you know eating an apple in the morning will wake you up faster than that first cup of coffee?  I didn’t know it either until I tried it.

The lesson here is, would you be as hard on your tired child as you are on yourself?  Really, it is that inner child inside of you that is screaming to tell you that she is tired but you aren’t listening.  Instead you go out and buy more gadgets to help you get organized,  running around town shopping for something to wear because all you clothes are dirty!

That is why I feel deep in my heart, the most important routine of your day is your ‘Before Bedtime Routine’.  It took me a long, long time to realize it.  When I make sure to start dinner early so I can get the kitchen cleaned up and even learned to clean as I go so I can make sure that my sink is shined, I can lay out my clothes for the next day and place everything I will need for the coming day on my Launch Pad, I have a much better chance at getting a chance to relax and wind down before I go to bed because my basics to keep my life going have been put into play.  Sure, there is more to it.  The thing is when I have better rest and am not tired, the de-cluttering and all the other projects that we will always have seem to get done easier because we are rested and better decisions are made on a whole.  No more impulse buying, no more eating on the go, no more senseless disagreements with family. 

I hope you learned something from what I have had to say.  Yes I still struggle with getting to bed at a decent hour but you know what?  I am going to continue to practice this habit to ‘Dance Till You FLY!

DTYF mw
Marilyn