I am living proof that “life happens.” Many of you may know that back in December, 2007 my husband had a major accident and our lives changed in a heartbeat. Don’t think that it can’t happen to you!
And, when life happens, you have to make a choice. If I am anything at all, I am transparent. I have had to figure out how to handle obstacles, make decisions about what is the most important every day and also how to not burn myself out in the process.
Back in 2008, when my husband was unable to work, had multiple weekly doctor appointments (in Charlottesville), and was fighting with himself to stay positive about his recovery, I had to take charge of absolutely everything. Let me say, no matter how much you “believe” your spouse doesn’t do, the reality of it all will hit home when he really can’t do anything to help.
So, yes, I developed my own messy room. In case you didn’t know, I also became a grandmother in 2008 and we became the primary caregiver because our daughter deployed to Iraq with the Army.
When life gave me a challenge, I stepped up to the plate and took charge. But I knew that something would slip through the cracks. I didn’t have any family around, and…believe it or not, my church did not offer to help.
My messy room…was just one room. I decided to concentrate on the two things that were the most important. I had made up the nursery for our little girl. And set up a system for the nurses to have everything that they needed when the made the home visits for my husband. They needed to be able to have all of their supplies handy. So, of course, I had it all organized. (After all, that is what I do, right?)
Reality is that I was only one person and I could not do it all. I knew that I needed to sleep in order to be functional. My husband and the baby both needed me to be conscious and alert. So there were things that I decided did not always need my immediate attention. Laundry that needed to be folded ended up on the guest bed, extra medical supplies ended up in there too – because I needed to know where to find them when I needed them. And whenever I was really, really tired, I would use the guest room to store items.
After a while, that room got too out of control and I had to do something. So, I set aside enough time to get it all cleared out and organized. What I didn’t do, however, is beat myself up over the fact that the room had gotten messy. I knew that I was doing what I needed to do and that the mess was really legitimate! I just didn’t have the time (or energy) to take care of everything every day.
Have you experienced this type of situation? I see it a lot with homeowners. Most of the time, their Messy Room is the result of a life change, a life situation or a major event that took their attention away from their daily schedule or routine.
Know that you are not alone and help is available. To encourage you, check out our Messy Room Makeover video here and feel encouraged to make a change today.
If your home needs to be organized – give us a call at 540-220-5912 and mention “Messy Room Makeover” for a 25% discount on our organizing services!
Last week’s column: Weather or Not – It Happens!
