Getting Back Control

Recently I've really been struggling to get my life "under control". I know that's a very abstract idea, but coming home to chaos and looking at my daunting to-do list and "forgot" list at work is incredibly overwhelming. My whole life I've been very forgetful and I manage my time and resources very poorly. About a year ago, I bought the kindle version of "Say Goodbye to Survial Mode" simply because of the title. I'm so tired of surviving, of just being alive, and not feeling like I actually do anything pertanent to my dreams and goals. Fast forward one year, and I still haven't read the whole book. Which is rediculous. I want to improve my quality of life, but I feel so overwhelmed, depressed, and helpless, I don't have the time and desire to do anything about it. Now, don't get me wrong, I've done plenty of good things over the past year that makes me feel better about the way I live life; I have a credit card; our bank account hasn't been over drafted in over 4 years (that was a huge struggle when my husband and I first got married; we kept track of our expenses very poorly) I listen to the bible daily (through a podcast!!!, I'm planning a future post about that!) and I at least keep up with the dishes. But, one of my goals is to keep my house presentable. And not like tv show homes presentable. Here, let me just show you what things look like around here now:

This is the book shelf in my hallway. My hallway is about 6 feet wide, and also doubles as an office and dining room (can you say #smallhouseprobs?! Lol) and this is what most of the hall looks like. There are scrapbooking things, seeing things, computer cords, books, scripts, photos, paint, projects left unfinished, office supplies, and lesson planning paperwork, and that's just on the shelves!! There are currently 3 totes on the floor that are full of things to be put away. I recently read a great article on a quick tidy up trick: all you do is put all the things that don't belong in said room into a basket to be put away later; my rooms were definitely cleaned faster, however, the "put away later" still hasn't happened. I also have *all the paper work in the whole house in a laundry basket in the pile....somewhere...  (That was another suggestion to get your paper work under control, and they suggested to go through the paper every Sunday evening; that Sunday hasn't come yet and it's been probably 3 months.) HOWEVER; I do know where all my paperwork is lol, I just have to dig through the basket when I desperately need something.

You see what I mean? I just need things more under control. We need less stuff actually, but decluttering is a whole different story haha. I've considered hiring professional help, but I don't think they will accept coloring pages as payment, and that's the only thing I seem to have an abundance of. 

So what am I doing to make my goals a reality? That's an excellent question. Well that's all folks!

Just kidding. I wouldn't leave such an awful cliffhanger like that. I just signed up for Audible.com, and with my first free month, I got 1 audio book completely free; can you guess what I got? Ironically, the same book I already have in kindle version: "Say Goodbye to Survial Mode". Why in the world would I get the same book I already have? I think you know; I don't seem to have the time to sit down and actually read it!! BUT, I do commute 45 minutes to and from work every day. (Sleeping child in car too lol) So I have plenty of "listening time". And you know what? I've had the book for 4 days and I'm already in chapter 3! It's less than 7 hours of listening time, so I should have it done by next week!! I imagine it will take slightly longer, because there are so many nuggets and tips of information, as well as challenges to do for your own life. So far, I've learned that I really need to find out what my goals are. I've been concentrating so much on surviving, that I haven't had time for dreams and aspirations. It's time to find the time, to get things under control, and start living the way I want to instead of the way I feel like I have to.

Stay tuned for future posts about my progress, and for any other posts that pop into my brain;) TaTa for now!

Much Love, Michelle