Welcome to Mission: Organization

I'll admit it - I am hopelessly disorganized. Not everywhere, mind you. I carry a color-coded calendar everywhere I go, I love my P-Touch label maker, I have an elaborate coupon organization system, and everyone around me thinks I am the most organized person they know. I even had a company that I was temping for call my boss to add "organizational expert" to my skill list. But my house is a mess. A HUGE mess. Not everywhere - the places that people see are neat and tidy. But if you poke around my house you will be horrified.

I know that I am not alone. The sheer volume of organization books out there speaks to our national problem with stuff. There are television shows devoted to cleaning out clutter. Oprah even went on a national clutter tour last year. And the truth of the matter is that it could be a lot worse. My car is relatively neat (especially when compared to my neighbor, who has had a half-eaten large McDonalds french fries in the cup holder of her car for the past three days...it's 95 degrees out...I shudder to think what that car smells like...), I can usually find what I need without much trouble, and I am easily able to have people over to my house. But behind it all is an immense amount of clutter.

Like many others, it takes an event to realize how bad it's gotten. For me, it happened a few weeks ago. We are finally replacing the worn-out carpet and linoleum in the first floor of our townhouse. It meant that everything from our living room, dining room, kitchen, and closet had to be moved. I had to empty our china cabinet. I moved every appliance I owned from my kitchen to my basement. I carried armfuls of shoes out of the hall closet. And when I looked around, I realized I had a problem.

So here I am. Baring my mess for all the world to see. I hope you'll join me in my quest to de-clutter my house and my life. Mission: Organization starts now.