Continuing On My Quest

It's been a while since I posted, but I'm glad to say that the fireplace bench is staying almost as nice as in the "after" photograph!

So here are photos, before and after, from my work in the kitchen:

Before

After

Before

After

Before

After

Principles 1 and 2

OK, so now I am beginning to follow the principles outlined.  I have embraced Principle 1 ~ Believe It Can Get Better ~ both internally and by starting this blog.

Principle 2 is where I need to begin in earnest ~ Be Courageous: Confront The Demons.  I have always been ashamed of my inability to create and keep a beautiful house.  So today I took courage and confronted this shame.  What I decided to do was to take photographs of all of the bad areas in my house as they are today.  This was so hard!  To see these areas through the camera lens made them look even worse to me!

But I am encouraging myself to keep going.....I have decided that I am going to post a photo of an area, work on it and then repost a photograph of the area as it is after the work.  As I do this, I am also going to post rules or habits that I need to follow in order to keep the area clean and clutter-free.

So here is the first area ~ The Fireplace Bench (I'm starting with something that is manageable for me):

Before

After I completed the cleanup and reorganization of The Fireplace Bench, I thought of these new habits and rules:

After

1.  Keep only enough magazines as can fit into the magazine holder.

2.  Paper and fire starters in the rectangular basket only.  Fire bucket next to it.

3.  Create and maintain a place for clothes to be ironed.

4.  The entire fireplace bench is to remain clear of items other than wood.

5.  Clean up every night to clear bench.

A New Way To Look At Things

For years I have wanted to create and maintain a home I could be really happy with. One that is clean, organized and inviting.  Yet, I have failed over and over due to a deep seated aversion to housekeeping and bad habits, which resulted in a constantly messy house.  Despite these many failures, I was inspired to try again after I read an article with the following thought:

Our lives can be underpinned with "a very simple but transforming belief: namely, that mess is not mess; it is the seed-bed of success. When you feel you are in a mess you are actually entering your own unique training centre that can be the place through which you are trained for your success. Mess is not mess."  ~Rick Thorne

He goes on to say that we can "transform mess into success: it is about seeing that however bad we think our life situation is if lived through in a focussed and hopeful way, it is possible to transform the bleakest of experiences."

Wow, I thought.  This might be for me.  In order to begin this recovery, these seven steps are recommended:

The Seven Principles

Principle 1. Believe It Can Get Better; daydreaming your future

Principle 2. Be Courageous: confront the demons

Principle 3. Get Some Structure

Principle 4. Set Some Goals

Principle 5. Create Moments of Safety

Principle 6. Create Moments of Fun

Principle 7. Acknowledge Yourself & Your Successes

I believe that these seven principles can help me pull my house from mess to success.