A Place For Everything...
I learned many simple and powerful lessons from my mother, of blessed memory. Pearl was a wise woman whose father died when she was eight. She watched her much older siblings and learned life’s lessons. I hope throughout these entries to share some of those lessons with you. Some gentle quotes from my mother that I heard growing up (and beyond) will give you some background and a sense of how she worked:
“Well, if you put things where they belong in the first place, you’d know where to find them”.
“Marilyn, your closet is a mess. Go hang up your clothes. Put your long sleeved shirts together, short sleeves together…” and so forth.
“Make a list of what you need to do and where things are.”
Naturally, growing up these were bothersome chores that I had to do and tolerate.
Then, when I went off to college, my roommate, a lovely young woman, had gotten to the room first and set herself up, but was not there when we arrived. My mother said, “She’s probably a nice girl but she’s a slob.” I asked how she knew that and she simply pointed and stated “Her drawers are sticking out of the dresser.” Hmm, good point…and she was sooooo right. My roomie and I got along quite well, but she was less than neat.
Fast forward many years to 2005 when my mother was in the hospital for weeks. She was very adamant about where things went on her hospital tray, and would get distressed, even irritated when something was not where she placed it. What was the big deal? It hit me like a thunderbolt, and I understood: My mother’s cancer took total control of her life, but she could control her space.”
Not everything is so severe, thank God.
Sometimes we just have to cook dinner, or pack a bag but we are in a harried and hurried state. Not easily finding an item, be it a shoe or a spice, only compounds the mess. Did you ever need a specific ingredient without finding it in that pantry of yours? You go out buy another, (and even maybe an extra just in case you are in this situation again) only to straighten things out, as it were, and find that you had 2 more hidden in the back of your pantry? Wasted time, wasted energy, wasted nerves.
But what if you were cooking, looking for that file, that photo, or whatever, and had the item you needed in its proper place and all you had to do was reach for it. That would be one less thing to frazzle you. Personally, if I am frazzled or anxious, I organize: my papers, my drawers, (even though they are already really organized), my kitchen, whatever. It calms me down enormously. It’s fun and I love it, thank you, Mom.
That’s what I offer you, management of your space, in whatever room that may be, so at least one aspect of your life is calmer. Whatever you need, I can help you control your space so you can deal with the rest of your life more easily.
