The Order of Things
I knew there was some bit of information I was missing. Something about the way I was functioning in my home wasn’t jiving with the way I wanted it to. So when Peter Walsh first told me that horizontal surfaces weren’t storage containers, I was stopped in my tracks.
You mean, I am supposed to put things away?!!??
He could be on to something.
But what if I need them anytime soon? What if I forget about some cool thing that I have and don’t use it? What if I miss a deadline? Or worse yet, an opportunity?
Then the Flylady came along and told me that to get things under control in my home, I needed to start by cleaning my kitchen sink. WOW. Apparently, that is not just a days-long container for dirty dishes or a weeks-long container for clean dishes waiting to dry.
This is where I am supposed to start, huh?
And you are supposed to buff it up and dry it out after every time you use it?
But what really cinched the deal for me was when Nate Berkus told me that the best remodel I could do is a thorough house cleaning.
Now that was mind blowing. So I don’t really need to blow out this wall and add a porch and do a wall of built-ins? I just need to wash the windows and dust and vacuum and clean the baseboards and make it all sparkly clean to be truly satisfied in my home?
You might imagine, I haven’t always made my bed.
There’s a reason we crave order. And there’s a reason so many people talk about it and teach it; ordering our thoughts, ordering our homes, ordering our lives.
In The Beginning…
Creation myths typically have to do with opposing forces. While there are lots of stories, one set of these opposing forces is order and disorder. Since there is usually a beast involved, guess which one the beast is? And while the gods could create order, they were always subject to the “beast of disorder”.
This sounds familiar. I am most definitely subject to the beast of disorder.
In Genesis 2:19, do you know what was among the first instructions given to our friend Adam in the Garden Of Eden? Naming things, classifying things, sorting things. Kind of like the first things a scientist would do to make things orderly and logical and have a place to start from. God was getting them organized and set up for learning and work and housekeeping and daily life.
There is a really good reason we crave order in our minds, lives and homes: It is essential for peace and clarity. It’s the place to start from. Order results in letting what is meaningful and important bubble to the surface. It’s a starting point for taking any action.
How To Bake Cookies
A therapist once told me how to bake cookies. There’s therapy for everything. She was, of course using it metaphorically, but I was so mesmerized by her instructions; that you actually read the recipe first, and get out all your ingredients and measure things, that I have no idea now what she was really trying to tell me.
I was 36. I had made a LOT of cookies in my life. But this was new to me. Directions? Prep and Planning? I thought Mise en place was really cool, but not something you actually did. I tend to cook more impulsively. More “I really want some cookies. Like now. I’ll set the oven and throw everything in the bowl. And yes, I might have to run to the store in the middle of it all. But that’s how it works, right?” And cleaning up after yourself? Forget it. At least until tomorrow.
Starting from a place of order, and doing the right things in the right order, relates to everything. Surrounding yourself with chaos and mess spills over to your mind. We know this. It reminds us of all the things still on our to do list and pulls us away from what we are to do today. It’s an in-your-face reminder of failure: to finish, to accomplish, to succeed.
So, get yourself set up for daily life so you are not distracted by it. Make sure your sink is clean, put things away, get the laundry done. Because only then will you see your next thing. Order frees up our minds for both next logical steps and creative thought.
It’s much easier to look around your house and think “if only we had the right style of chairs in that corner, then this room would be complete”. No, if the windows were washed, and everything was picked up and dusted and vacuumed, you might be really surprised at how complete this room is already.
It takes new habits and practice. And it can be learned.
Put your outdoor work in order
Proverbs 24:27
and get your fields ready;
after that, build your house.
While this verse on one level speaks to the importance of making your contribution to the world before building your dream house, I believe it also pertains to getting yourself set up in your home, maintaining and caring for it, and getting your routine down before your trips to the furniture store and decorating showrooms. Both chaos and debt result from messing up the order here.
Start from the beginning. Put things away, clean up and then make what you have sparkle. Then, you’ll have a much better idea of what to do next.
