Portrait of a Terrible Housekeeper

Warning: This ideabook may contain graphic content not suitable for some (Naturally Organized) audiences. Reader discretion is advised.

If you've read the ideabook about my friend Billy, you may have guessed he is Not Naturally Organized. Billy struggles with taking care of things in his home as much as he does with everything outside it. It's hard to describe exactly how disorganized Billy is, but I'll tell you this: Once, during a particularly chaotic move, he packed up a box of dirty dishes. Do I need to say anything else?

Billy and I talked about decluttering and organizing for years back when I was trying and trying to get my home in order, until I had an epiphany and began to get my act together. I've noticed that when a person is really ready to change, he or she stops talking about it and gets busy doing what needs to be done.

So you can understand why I was a tiny bit dubious when Billy called me up the other day and announced he had finally figured out a way to keep his living room perpetually clean.

"How?" I asked.

"Well," he said, "I noticed the mess in my living room is mainly three categories: mail, Diet Coke cans and plates. I've decided I need to nip things in the bud."

I certainly agreed. "What are you thinking?"

"For the mail I just need to sort through the junk right at the front door, so I'm going to put a bin for recycling in my front closet — that way it doesn't even make it into the house."

"That's a great idea!" I said.

"And I'm going to put another recycling bin right next to it for the cans."


"Oh," I said, and paused. Billy's house is not large. The living room opens into the dining room, and just around the corner is his kitchen, with a small hall leading to the back door. This seemed the logical, not to mention hygienic, spot for actual recyclables, but I didn't say anything.

If I've learned anything about decluttering and creating order, it's that you have to start where you are and establish small routines to build a foundation.

Conventional wisdom is that the first step in solving a problem is recognizing you have one, but so many of us who are Not Naturally Organized realize we have a problem and then get hung up trying to achieve the perfect solution. When we inevitably fail, we give up and settle for squalor or some approximation of it.

Twenty steps to Billy's kitchen was too far for him to walk to pick up his cans — as anyone who has stopped by his home unannounced could attest — so why should I try to force it on him? Three smalls steps to the front entry was going to be a giant leap for Billy.

"And for my plates..." Billy hadn't noticed my silence and was forging ahead with his three-pronged attack.

(Here I need to reassert that if you are Naturally Organized and have ignored the previous warning, you may want to sit down before you continue.)


"What's your plan?" I asked.

"I'm going to get a Rubbermaid tub and store it under the sofa."

"Really?"

"Yup." Billy was pleased as punch. "And just so you know, Chuck always licks the plates, so it's not like they have anything on them." His tone was reassuring. Chuck is Billy's dog, rescued from the Humane Society as a puppy.

There have been a handful of times in my life where I have been at a complete loss for words, and this was one of them. I didn't know what to say. On the one hand, this was one of the silliest things I had ever heard, and on the other, there was no place to go but up.

Billy came over the next day, and I had him share his plan with my husband, Paul. I knew we needed to get a civilian — i.e., Naturally Organized person's — perspective.

"What's your plan for getting the tub to the kitchen?" Paul asked. Yes! I knew I could count on him to come through with the logical question.

"Right before a lesson [Billy is a musician and teaches out of his home], I'll take it out to the kitchen." He was decided. Paul looked at me, but I didn't say a word.

Yes, there are some obvious potential flaws to this scheme. I think many of you are wondering, as we were, if Billy will actually empty the tub into the dishwasher. Some of you may suspect he's going to be buying a few more Rubbermaids.

But you know what, who cares? It may be a ridiculous plan, but I'm hoping it works. And if it doesn't, it's just feedback that he needs to try something else. As with any other part of life, with cleaning and decluttering you just need to keep asking, What's the next step? and then be willing to take it.

More: Three magic words for a clean home

URL: Portrait of a Terrible Housekeeper http://www.decor-ideas.org/cases-view-id-21865.html