Address the Mess!

Today I did something that seemed relatively minor, took no time at all, and yet it radically transformed my closet!

I have a fairly large, walk in closet. In the middle of the closet is an island table with shoe shelves underneath it.

I have not seen the top of that table in over a year. It is always stacked high with laundry that has not been put away or hung up. Every time I enter my closet I have a feeling of overwhelm and chaos!

Yet, interestingly enough, it's never been high on my priority list to clean it up. I've just 'lived with it' and thought I'd get around to straightening it out some other time.

Today was the day! I just started putting things away and before I knew it I was looking at a spanking clean table top! I found articles of clothing I forgot I had! I also located some items that had been misplaced since last summer. It felt so good to find those things and get them put where they were supposed to be!

It is actually a little disorienting to walk in there now. It looks like a completely different place!

I find it interesting that for as long and as much as this has 'bothered' me, I never felt super motivated or driven to take care of it. I just got comfortable with the chaos and the disorganization. It felt normal to me, even though I didn't like it.

I think this is a fairly common experience in life. We get comfortable in 'the mess' and establish a new normal. We 'tolerate' the discomfort and often allow it to grow and magnify. This is how little problems turn into big problems. In a way, we stop seeing a problem and that allows it to grow unchecked.

The closet experience reminded me of this phenomenon. I intend to do some life scouring now and look for other 'messes' that I have become 'comfortable' with. It is pretty incredible that a closet can be such a teacher.

I keep walking in there, turning on the light, and smiling to myself. It feels good to address the mess!

Got any 'messes' that need attention in your life? It might take less energy than you think to whip it into shape and clean it up!