Messy Girl

Though it's of no great surprise to those who know me well, I have come to the conclusion that I am a highly messy individual. Not dirty, but messy.  I don't know what it is, but for some reason, I don't seem to be able to put things back where they belong. As a child, this got me into a lot of trouble, and I was constantly cleaning my room, or picking things up that I had left around. My mother is the exact opposite of this behavior and thinks that everything should always be in its proper place. I have come to the realization though that I truly believe there is something innately part of me that prohibits me from putting things away.

Shoes worn and left in the living room, where I took them off when coming home

The above shot is a picture of my sandals that I always take off when I come home. Where are they sitting? In the living room, on the floor, pretty much in a major walk way so that people (e.g. Sam) trip on them when coming through the space. Then, I look in front of where I'm sitting and I see yet another bunch of things that aren't where they belong.

Art/Music books sitting around

This is the storage chest that we use for a coffee table in the living room. What do we find on it? Let's see: I have a painting book, a music book, music CDs, a watercolor painting book, book marking tabs, and several pieces of paper. Why are they sitting here? Because this is where I last used these items, and apparently, I am incapable of putting them somewhere out of sight. It's not just books and shoes that I leave out either. I also leave dishes in the sink (that I could just as easily put in the dishwasher), and clothes on the dresser that I could very simply put away by opening a drawer. And, let's not even get started on the supposed 'art room,' which is a ghastly mess of paint tubes, paper, rolls of canvas, pencils, liquid containers, palettes, and other various items that I need at one point or another.

The real kicker for me took place when I realized that I had several pairs of eyeglasses sitting on the ledge in our kitchen.

My own eyeglass store!

Yup. Those are my glasses, and sadly, not even all of them, sitting atop the device that separates our kitchen from our living room. Is this a storage place? No. Is it where G.E. stores her glasses? Apparently. I also seem to think this is a jewelry catcher, and the counter top that is vaguely seen in the background? Yes, I also think that is storage for purses, bags, and other paraphernalia. I don't think I am even aware of how many times a day I just take something off and put it wherever I am.

How G.E. sees the world w/out glasses

If a psychologist was analyzing the situation, perhaps s/he would say that it's because my mother was a neat freak as I was growing up, and therefore, I am rebelling against what I was told to do all of my adolescence. I honestly don't think that is the case though. While I can obviously see that there are things sitting out and about, or open for the taking, I think that I am often highly absorbed in my thoughts and I simply don't even realize the mess that is forming around me.

Chablis, nosing through the storage chest

Then, one day I suddenly 'wake up' and see that there is a huge mess all around me. I begin a mass clean up production and begin to put everything back in its place. Once all is clean and put away, the process starts over again. Even Sam gets involved, such as this past long weekend when he decided that he needed to do a deep cleaning and was going to move all the furniture and vacuum/sweep/mop/etc.

Large, reclining chair (great for napping!)

When moving the large chair in the picture above, he discovered my DSLR camera cord that I have been missing for about a year and a half now. While I had assumed that Levi, the always hungry Golden Retriever had ate the cord, and thus provoked the purchase of a new one, it was actually somehow wedged into a crevasse of the chair.

Who couldn't love this guy?

Poor Levi. I had to apologize to him for yelling at him so long ago (though I don't think he recalled the incident). I felt horrible, but was actually pleased that he had not consumed the wires and rubber casing. All of this because I cannot seem to put things away.

So, what have I learned from all of this? I am a very messy girl, who needs to be more aware of the things she's leaving sitting around. I make no promises, but hopefully I can slowly become more conscious of my surroundings and realize that it's often only one more step to just put something away.