Self Improvement : I’m Coming Clean

Posted by lisallen on July 29, 2010 under Personal Development Blog, Self Improvement Ideas | 4 Comments to Read

I like to keep up with the times, but this year the house ‘springclean’ has been delayed into a house ‘summerclean’.  Why?  I need to clear the clutter first.

I’ve never been known for my tidiness – in fact quite the opposite.  I adopted the untidy habit when I was a teenager because, perversely, it gave me a feeling of power when there was little else I was in control of.  (I was certainly not in control of myself!).  It worked for a while (great for getting the parents riled!) and then it became ingrained beyond the point of usefulness. I used to tell myself that it wasn’t important to be tidy; people with tidy houses were boring.  Why would you spend time tidying up when you could be out having a great time?  Don’t worry, all you friends who had tidy houses – I was just jealous of your self-discipline and had to justify my bad habits by knocking your good habits!

Roll on the years and I acquired a husband, followed by four children.  Perfect – now I could blame the husband!  Then the excuse for the untidy habit became ‘it’s more important to spend time with the children than clear things away ’.   Never mind the fact that there were occasions when I could barely find the children, never mind the car keys.  At this point in my life my mother wanted to buy me a fork-lift truck in order to deal quickly and efficiently with the tidying up.

OK, so I exaggerate – poetic licence and all that.  However, I have wasted a disproportionate amount of my life looking for things when I could have been a little more self-disciplined and put/thrown/given/ things away when I’d finished with them.

So, what’s the moral of this little story?

• Time is precious
• Successful people do not waste time looking for children or car keys
• Successful people get rid of clutter because………

According to my mother (she of fork-lift truck fame) the state of your house reflects the state of your mind.  Hmmm, there’s a thought.  Let’s hope your house isn’t dirty…….!

So, what’s the action plan?

• put/throw/give/ things away when I’ve finished with them
• Get some filing systems in place
• Buy a fork-lift…………

If this strikes a chord with you and you want to come clean too, leave me a post and let me know how you’re doing – we can encourage each other.  It’ll be great to know I’m not alone