The questions to answer - Friday, February 13, 2004, 11:51 a.m.
Ok, they are asking me to complete the set of questions:

My childhood home was very...
Still is. I still live in my childhood home. It's well worn, there's 4 kids that have gone through it. And 3 boys. So you know, what wild adventures develop.

The rooms are stuffed to capacity. There's things under the couches and beds. Stuff that we don't necessarily need, but we have this packrat mentality that stems from my parents and how they grew up, that is, the culture with nothing due to war, and so in effect, waste is frowned upon.

Chores are done on a near daily basis. So it's not a messy house, things are getting done. There's just too many items that get in the way and cause messes.

I must manage to change these ideas and lifestyle habits, that I have openly accepted and used to my disdain.

How many environments have you lived in? Describe them.
Just one. The one described above. The living situations. Well, apartment before, but I was too young to know. Nobody in my house is a neat freak. I am in a single family house with tons of kids. I am influenced by my brothers and their lack of chore helping.

The last time I tried to get organized...
Every single day! I hate that. I am always trying to clean from the bottom up, and it is never successful. It sucks, I feel like a failure in the organization department. Clutter does overwhelm and stress me out.

Nobody supported it. I guess they thought I was off again cleaning in my own cleaning Zen world.

I was not able to maintain it. I did not develop a strategy. More products were coming in than items going out. I like to hold on to things. Sentiments, I suppose.

Maintaining an organized environment is hard/easy for me because...
I don't relate to my environment willingly. I hate it. It's not a fun atmosphere. I love the look of clean lines and things. But I have deeply creative roots. I like to keep things, design things, look at things. I hang on to things for inspiration. Desperation. I need to figure out what I love. And drop the rest like a bombshell.

What prevents me from living in a calm world is the fact that I always am at back to square one with this whole issue of cleaning. I need to develop some good habits, seeing as I might be moving in to my own places in the near future and will totally, definitely need to modify my own behaviors and quirks and weirdness. Somebody who lives with me can be a clean freak, and I can adopt their habits and strategies.

Over agonize. Highly dramatic about this. It's not hard, I just gotta get with the picture and start donating stuffs.

Mission 1: Uncover the Root of Chaos - Friday, February 13, 2004, 11:46 a.m.
Ok, so Ivillage tells me that I need to start this journal. I will "pick three actions and repeat them for 21 consecutive days" and stick by them and create structure. Habits take 21 days to form. Ok, thanks.

1. Hang my key in its designated spot every time I come home (this one is huge).
2. Keep my computer desk clear of clutter. Junk goes in trash. The rest to file.
3. Make my bed each morning so I can come home to find a luxurious mattress, ready and willing.

Worked Out - Friday, February 13, 2004, 11:40 a.m.
Ok, I have a new web site. So this one will morph into my cleaning journal. I do not wish to make a new journal. This is a bad habit that I do have. I want to take things from start to completion now. Lately, when I have finished off a bottle of lotion and things of that nature, I feel so refreshed and energized, and I feel crazy good about using it to the last drop. I don't know why I have that feeling.

I just do.

Anyway, the next thing to tackle in my life is the chaos of the clutter. I am bad. Clutter hound. I do not wish to do this all the time, so it's time to back-back-back out of that mindset. Ok, so I'm a participant in Ivillage's Declutter challenge. We will see how it goes and how good I can be.