Hi, so glad I found this forum when I was google searching organizing my home and life. I'm a 33 year old single mom and I work full time running a wellness center. I'm so disorganized. I grew up with a boarderline hoarder mother and father and while I'm not as bad as they are, I'm pretty darn messy and disorganized. On top of that I have so much responsibility ouside the home that my home life is a wreck. I'm usually out of the house 14-16 hours a day and rarely get days off (weekends our center is closed but I spend that time keeping my head above water with paperwork).

Again, I'm so glad I found this site. I've been lurking for a few days before posting my intro, just...absorbing the info. This morning while on a teleconference I made a spread sheet listing all the rooms in my house and assigning them zones and color coding it. When I get home I have four lines per room/space to list what I want to do in that area. I hope to get through some of my list this weekend as I'm banning myself from the office so I can focus on home. I have a contractor coming on Monday morning to inspect the home for energy efficiency and weatherization so it has to get in order quick! Not 100% perfect, but not humiliatingly out of control like it is today.

Hawtmess, welcome! You have come to the right place and we are glad to have you. You did great to make the master list! Hope you get lots accomplished, but do remember baby steps and rewarding yourself. Don't forget that things took time to get the way they are now, so, it will take time to get things under control.

Do feel free to post on any of the on-going threads. We are happy to cheer you on. Looking forward to reading your posts.

Once again, welcome.

Welcome Hawtmess we are all somewhere on the same journey to being organized, so you will find plenty of motivation and lots of encouragement here. Good luck and see you over on the threads

Welcome to the forum and GON, Hawtmess.

Way to go on making your list.

Another useful suggestion might be to take before and after pictures as extra motivation.

Hi Hawtmess:
WELCOME TO GON! I'm so happy to meet you.

I just want to give you a big warm cozy WELCOME.

Thank you all for such a warm welcome! I feel so at home here reading and posting. I really have made a lot of progress these last few days organizing and cleaning up...and best of all, getting rid of stuff I don't need or value.

Glad to see that you are making progress. Getting rid of unwanted stuff really frees you up, doesn't it? Good job, newbie.

Hi Hawtmess, WoooHooo [GONers cheer] for jumping right in and creating a spreadsheet, 'zoning' rooms and absorbing the philosophy that if you don't use it, don't love it, doesn't serve your needs, you don't feel good wearing it...it's best gone.

We don't seek perfection, we realize we have responsibilities and we need it done. Please, don't worry about the contractor who will assess only the energy efficiency of the dwelling. We understand it can be uncomfortable to have a stranger see our home with the 'lived-in' factor.

My favorite thread is Branches' where we focus on a specific room for a week rotating through the house. The 1st few times it can be difficult but I promise it gets easier as the Branches repeat.

Welcome, we look forward to your comments and happy to offer suggestions that might make it easier to reach your goals.

Thanks Blessmymess and Cyd! I love all the stuff I'm getting out of all these threads.

WOOOO HOOOO Hawtmess. You are amazing. Cyd is right. Don't worry about the contractor. You are doing a great job.