Organizing Blues

What I’m Reading: Great Expectations by Charles Dickens and Silent in the Grave by Deanna Raybourn.

What I’m working on: The house. I can't write until I get it settled a bit more. I have the drill out and I'm putting things up.

Word count yesterday: Right (she says, rolling her eyes and quirking her mouth into a fleeting smirk).

I LOVE being 5 minutes from work. Even when I'm late, I'm not really late. My dogs love the new digs, too. I get up at the same time I used to, but I have time to walk the dogs for 20 minutes -- 40 if the dh doesn't go with us because then I walk each set 20 minutes a piece. (I have 4 furry kids and before you think that's crazy you have to know that if I lived in on a farm in the country, I'd have 4 more, too.)

I can run all sorts of errands and still be home before I used to get home. I love it. I also like having a smaller house. That may sound crazy, too, but more house equals more cleaning and I'm just not that into cleaning.

I do miss my huge kitchen and granite counters, but not enough to want to add my commute back to my life. And technically, this kitchen isn't the smallest one I've ever had. It's organized well, and I have shiney stainless steel appliances and white Shaker style cabinets. Of course, does any kitchen ever have enough storage?

No (said with another rolling of the eyes and a snort).

It is this point that brings me to the organizing blues. I hit IKEA (my new favorite place to shop) and purchased some trendy stainless steel shelves that help me pretend I'm in a Soho loft. I've been installing them and organzing spices and pots and pans on them. I've installed hardware in a closet, too. I've put up a wine rack on the wall, and a new towel rack awaits me. I have some nifty shelves with colorful storage boxes to assemble for the dd. And the list goes on.

Now, let me point out, that when it comes to drilling, I'm the handy one in my house. The dh just clears out (all the way to North Carolina this time -- with 114 graduating seniors from my fav high school).

These wonderful, shiney, new organization aids are great! It's installing them that's kicking my butt. Why? Well. Let's start with this is an old house and the studs are interspersed randomly. The walls are plaster. And the closets aren't exactly standard sizes.......

In my endeavors to organize, I've slashed my finger, dried out the skin of my hands until they are unrecognizable (can anyone say plaster?), and resorted to making up new curse words since I've way overused the F-bomb.

But soon the magnetic message board will be mounted on a kitchen wall, the art will be hung, and the cool, slidey, recycle/trash thingy will be installed in the cabinet under the sink.

My goal is to be done by tomorrow night, but with each project taking about an hour longer than anticipated and requiring unanticipated trips to home improvement hell (yes, that store), I'm not sure I'll make it.

I'll keep you posted. (Say a little prayer that I don't amputate something in the next 24 hours!)

Macy