Possible secret?

I came in to work on Friday and worked out in the fitness center. There are lockers provided in the locker room, but nobody is allowed to leave their clothing or other stuff in there - you are supposed to use the locker for only the time you're working out.

This really is a pain, but I think it led me to come up with a potentially good hypothesis on Friday at lunchtime.

I was putting away all my stuff and making sure that the locker room was the way it was when I got there. I turned off the fan and diligently put all my stuff into my bag and got ready to leave. And then a weird thought entered my mind - maybe the secret to being organized and staying organized is to think of your own house as somebody else's house. I was cleaning up the locker room and putting everything back the way I found it because it's not my space.

I would never treat someone else's house the way I treat my own. I leave crap out all over the kitchen counters, thinking that "tomorrow, I'll actually put the stuff away". I leave things out after I use them (like wrapping paper, for instance) because I just can't be bothered to put it away immediately and I'll get around to it sometime.

And then, when we have people over, or when we get into a "cleaning mode", I get so frustrated and angry that the house is the way it is, that I fly into a complete rage at whoever happens to be standing closest. (which is usually my husband)

I get mad because the nanny can't be bothered to actually put things away instead of stuffing everything into a box for us to eventually put away. I get mad because there are piles of papers all over the house that the husband and I both create because we still don't have a filing system.

And I feel like all of this stuff around the house is piled up because "people" in the house are not being respectful of "us" and our desire to have a clean house. Finally, I'm realizing that I'm one of those people who is not being respectful of myself. If I were to just treat my own things as someone else's, maybe I would be able to force some sense of order. ???

Well, I took a step towards being respectful of myself this weekend. I cleaned out all the crap that was under my bathroom sink and left only the things that I use regularly and I cleared out the spot for my "toiletries caddy" again. I usually leave it out on my counter all week - only putting it away on cleaning day so that the cleaning lady can clean off my bathroom counter. Today, however, is not a cleaning day and I put it away! Let's see how long this lasts...