I have been having a real problem finding the motivation to get going on Christmas and I have been hard pressed to figure out why. I love Christmas and always have. But for some reason I am dragging my feet this year about just nearly everything. It has been perplexing me and for a moment yesterday I felt a little twinge of what it might be. I found the above picture* here, and it gave me an idea of what might be happening in my head.
This picture just evokes in me total peace and comfort. I love the colors, the coziness, the feeling that you can just sit down and enjoy it~all the work for the day is done. This photo is the epitome of what we, as home stagers strive to create. It isn't really real but, it is part of my made-up, fantasy world and I love it. Everything in this home is perfect, peachy and lovely and you just don't want it disturb it. This beautiful place has no leaking faucets, no need of paint, no curling, yellowed wallpaper that needs removal, no cat hair on the $100.00 throw. The landscaping is perfect, the family is perfect, and everyone is deliriously happy all the time. No one is sick or fat or annoying~Mr. & Mrs. Wonderful live here.
That is secretly what I want our house to be like, and I have never achieved it...oh yeah, maybe once in my mind I came close for about two hours. And that did not include the people, just the inanimate objects. This picture also helped me realize that I do not like my house in disarray. That always happens when decorating for Christmas, right? I furthermore do not have a great way of keeping track of the things I put away for the season and things invariably get misplaced, sometimes never being reclaimed! A lot of it has to do with a too small cottage with limited storage and a huge bunch of Christmas stuff. I need a group for people addicted to Christmas decorations.
So the inkling that I had was that there is a huge gap between my fantasy and what is real. And then the thought followed that in order to get anywhere near that fantasy that I love I have to do a major boatload of work~and that is the thought that is holding me back. It is just me~ being lazy!
I have come to realize that what I use to be able to get done in a few weeks now takes me a few months! Part it is getting older but the bigger part is too many choices about when I will do something. When the kids were little I did it when I could...want to or not. But now I have a whole day and I can do it when I want to. Hmmm, I know it sound like a dream to a lot of you but really it requires a lot of self-discipline! Like right now I am supposed to be cleaning out the bathroom closet according to my scheduled 'to do' list for the day. Clearly, that is not happening.
How do you do it? For me it is matter of making a plan and sticking to it. Instead of staring down the trunk of the elephant and finding it so overwhelming, I need to take it one bite at a time. I have got to stop procrastinating and just jump in. First, I am going to get the deep cleaning and organizing done. I have to move a bunch of things out of the guest room just so Jim can get into the crawl space to get the stuff. I printed out a calendar just for that. Then I want to organize the gifts and get that finished up. Then plan the family party, the Christmas letter, the fun activities, the trip to Utah, etc.
If you are a woman you know there is so much more. We all have a big Christmas elephant in the room right now. The trick is to enjoy it and pace yourself. OK, so I blew it on the bathroom closet today but I am going to get going on it first thing in the morning~no matter what! I am not going to let Mac draw me away from my list tomorrow~no not me!
Oh wait, Jim is off tomorrow and I am working on my client's furniture purchase and design plan. OK, then Wednesday for sure!! And so you see how it goes around here....
flickrsugar plums dancing in my head!
5 comments:
Tell me where you're going shopping for furniture, I would so love to go with you.
Clayton Furniture they give me a deep discount for my clients there. Cort Furniture, and just all the other big stores and specialty shops around until we find it. Would LOVE to have you with me~you have such awesome taste! What are your tricks for getting to and through the season?
Beautiful and comfy. Your home is probably so lovely, you don't want to "ruin" it with Christmas decor. For the last 3 years or more, I have been a Christmas slug. Brandon had to put up and decorate the tree with the kids last year cause I didn't have the energy. I think some years it's OK to let go and say not so much this year---to Christmas. Don't be hard on yourself. Go with the feelings. Don't push yourself if you don't want too, you have higher priorities.
Where is that living room? I want to go there!! I'll bring my teapot and cups and we can have some wonderful tea and talk.
"Christmas decorations? You mean those eight boxes and four plastic tubs full of decorations and ornaments that have been sitting in my hallway for two weeks. The one's that keep tripping my husband every morning and the one's that have I bashed my big toe on for the past four days? What about them? They look great where they are. I'll get to it this weekend". (the above conversation took place with myself this morning after I smashed my left toe on one of the plastic containers that hold several thousand ornaments-well maybe not that many but close enough!
Bonnie, I realized two years ago that I can't be a flylady anymore either. I just don't have the energy. Although I hate having a yucky bathroom, I'd rather be on the couch reading my Love Comes Softly books. I would need a two day weekend to devote to cleaning but I don't and so the list of to do's keeps piling up and she just won't do them because she's pooped! And that's that! Ha ha ha ha!
Bye the way luv, how are you feeling today? Better I hope.
Hugs,
Deanna
Sometimes, just sometimes, it is good to be a man. All we have to do is hang the outside lights. On the inside of the house we just do as told. It is a lot easier following directions then deciding on the direction.
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