Organized Chaos

While I consistently get extra points for organization during my annual performance reviews at work and I'm often the designated "organizer" of things, I'm actually a super cluttered person. The overwhelming response people have when they first see my room is, “I thought you’d be really neat and clean.” They’re disconcerted and shocked that I’m not neat. It takes a while for folks to reconcile these contradictions and conclude that my chaos is somehow organized, but nonetheless chaotic.

My obsessively clean downstairs neighbor thinks my room is a "fire hazard" because of all the wrapping, craft and other papers I keep around. Since our household on the whole is like a pesky rash that won't go away, my room is the bane of his existence. Seeing how my room is a fire hazard and all and out of respect for his concerns that my room will spontaneously combust, I've decided not to take up smoking.

My roommates loyally defend my ways declaring that I'm a dirty person given there's no mold in my room and my coworkers wouldn't call me disorganized since I can almost always find everything. (Give me ten boxes documents and I’ll happily organize them.) Unfortunately, my preferred method of "organization" (piles of papers & things) lends to occasional paper avalanches at work when the paper piles on my desk and floor veer out of control. I figure as long as my boss doesn't complain and somehow still recognizes the ways I'm organized despite all the ways my workspace is chaotic, I'm OK...for now at least. Then again, I think Greg is also used to Nina whose organized chaos rivals mine. I'm always quick to defend Nina (and myself from association) from scoffers reminding them that Nina has never lost anything important.

My room has always been a source of aggravation for plasticmom who is uber organized and very neat. MGDub fights the urge to reorganize my room and rearrange my furniture. My roommate, Nayiri, gave me a gift certificate for 10 hours for room organizing for my 24th birthday and I wasn't even offended, only grateful. Alas, there is hope for my slovenly ways...I discovered flylady.com after reading an article in the Boston Globe. Sign up for flylady, become a flybaby and flylady will e-mail you daily reminders on what to clean, how to clean and how to organize. Inspired by her "27 Fling Boogie" method for decluttering, I threw out 27 things and gave away 27 things last night at breakneck speed. I'm considering signing up...if anything else it would make plasticmom proud or least give her hope to see I’m making some sort of effort.

Today, I, plasticann, am going to make an effort…I will at least gather the multitude of used coffee cups and water glasses and bring them down to the kitchen for cleaning…maybe I’ll even go as far as cleaning off the top of my desk, but definitely the coffee cups.