Resolution #2 We Have No Enemies

Work on keeping the house tidier, cleaner and more organized.

This is one corner of my (small) dining room. It's just a sample. Yes, that's an exercise ball at eye-level,and the wreath I hang on the door in September,among other things. I've never been tidy, unfortunately. In elementary school I had the desk that spilled into the aisle. In high school I actually broke my locker door off it's hinges because of the amount of stuff I was trying to keep crammed in there. I can walk over something left in the middle of the floor for weeks and not really have it register that it's there. Add to this that the main floor of our house (not counting the semi-finished basement) is about 1,200 sq. feet, and we are a family of four packrats, hobbyists and chronic project-starters, and well, things can be a little jumbled.

Vicki at Turkeyfeathers had a quote in her blog post today from the great Phyllis Diller that cracked me up: "If your house is really a mess and a stranger comes to the door, greet them with, 'who could have done this? We have no enemies.'" My goal is to be able to open the door to anyone, without having to make excuses. That's my goal--that and not having my husband grumble at me because he stubbed his toe on something or started an avalanche.

There is a story that circulates at the hospital--before "our time" (which is the last 5 years)there was an oncologist who was called home from an overnight ski trip by the local police, who insisted that their house had been broken into and ransacked. "Are you sure?" the oncologist apparently asked,"it was pretty messy when we left it." But the police insisted that their neighbors had reported an open door, the place had been trashed, and that a crime had definitely taken place. So the family packed up and came home early. And their house hadn't been ransacked. It was just like they left it. That hasn't happened at our house. Yet. But preventive measures must be taken. (Sigh. I'd much rather take a nap, or blog, or read a book, or knit, or crochet, or emboider, or paint, or take a drive, or go shopping, or pot something,or play with the kids or the puppies. . . )