And now let's tidy up!

Young mess-makers at work

This week's happiness challenge is going to be a tough one for me… toss and organize. 

Anyone who knows me knows my great skill in life is piling up shoes by the door into my own private Shoehenge. They also know that I hoard magazines and have an intense horror of folded-up underwear. But even I can see that this is a problem. I know, because nothing makes me happier than walking into a freshly made-up hotel room: crisply made bed, just-vacuumed carpet, neat closet, tidy bathroom with the towels folded just so. A clean hotel room makes me feel calm and relaxed, and clutter, as much as I am quick to generate it, just makes me....unhappy.

So my objective for this week is to toss (get rid of all the old junk that's getting in the way of me gliding gracefully through life, such as the twenty half-bottles of lotion I juggle to get to my toothbrush) and organize (Shoehenge). For a life-long mess-o-phile, this is going to be really difficult for me, but I'm determined to make it happen, so that there will be nothing standing between me and an awesome, happy life. I know I'm not going to stick with a big organize-a-palooza so I need to take baby steps: I'm going to touch a piece of mail once (deal with it immediately rather than let it pile up); I'm  going to hang up my clothes in my closet each night, and I'm going to focus on putting my shoes away when I'm done wearing them. I'm also going to do a quick neatness storm before I sit down for the evening: by setting my phone timer for 5 minutes I'll be able to quickly hang up coats, store purses and glasses, and have a neat room to sit down and relax in. I know I'll sleep better after a tidy victory each night, thereby helping me accomplish the challenge set for week one. Happy times!