Now I see how people become Hoarders

Halloween is a big deal in our household & each year we end up putting out more decorations than the year before, and we try to get more elaborate with our Halloween party. And each year, I remember why I wish I hated holidays: the clean-up.

Let me just preface this whole thing by saying that I do not oppose housework. I prefer a clean, organized living space b/c when it's cluttered, my brain is cluttered. I hate clutter. However, I work full-time outside of the house, I have an active 9 year old & I babysit my 3 year old nephew between 25-35 hours per week. (And not just your average 3 year old...a wild, insane, never-stops-moving 3 year old. One with developmental issues & serious meltdowns. The kind of child who MUST have a routine or he completely loses it.) And I'm a wife, which requires quite a bit less energy than my other responsibilities, but is equally important since I already have 1 divorce under my belt & don't particularly want any more. I'm also constantly finding little things to do around my community or little projects for friends and/or their children. Also, at some point very, very soon I want to start working out again. (Lost 30 lbs last year...30 more lbs to go.) After all of these things, I have a REALLY difficult time keeping up w/ the household duties like dishes (no dishwasher), laundry, floors, etc.

Given all that I do on a regular basis, you can imagine my severe lack of motivation when it comes to anything extra, such as putting away the holiday decorations. So the pile of dishes from the Halloween party are still unwashed, taking up every bit of my measly counter-space. Open & rummaged-through boxes are sitting around in various rooms. My closet (which becomes the coffin cam at Halloween) looks like it went through some crazy exorcist moment where it vomited out it's entire contents on the floor of my bedroom. Not to mention, the outdoor decorations need to be put away now. I also have this grand idea in my head that as I put them all away, I want to organize it more.

Just thinking of the task at hand, I can understand how the houses on Hoarders get so bad. It becomes daunting to get it all out & put it all away so you procrastinate until it's beyond the point of no return, and next thing you know there is a film crew knocking on your front door & Matt Paxton is finding dead cats under piles of old magazines & giant plastic jack-o-lanterns. I can totally see my potential of becoming THAT house. You know, the one with multiple dead lawn mowers littering the yard & icicle lights drooping off the gutters year-round. Yep, that could be me. And somehow that seems less repulsive than actually cleaning it all up. (That's saying a lot b/c in addition to being a minimalist & a neat-freak at heart, I am also a Virgo.)

I'm just overwhelmed by it all. What I really want is a couple of days alone w/ my house, a case of gut-rotting energy drinks, and no television or internet. That may be the right combination of things to help me get it all done. Of course I know this isn't realistic, but I'm starting to think that is the only way I'll ever get a handle on my house. Or I guess I could watch a couple episodes of Hoarders. That tends to give me a good push in the right direction.