org and re-org

This having babies business really meets my need for the feeling of accomplishment that comes with endlessly organizing miscellaneous things that can never ever be fully organized and are perpetually in a state of needing reorganized. Having two baby boys means I get the nonstop opportunity to hone my mess-moving skills. Here's me in deep thought with scrunched brow, eyeing the kitchen or bedroom or laundry room or bathroom situation : "Okay, what would happen if I moved this mess over there, and move that mess over there so I can clear a space for a new mess to be made right here." Add into the situation our family's weekly expedition to Costco and mama's got a full-time job stocking, restocking,  inventorying stock, subbing back-up stock, and managing overstock mayhem. 

A large part of this org/re-org cycle is cleaning. Endless cleaning. The amount of poop, pee, spit up, drool, cementified pasty cereal sludge, smashed-into-the-carpet oatmeal and avocados, shredded chicken and fish, and liquified crackers and applesauce I deal in is astounding. You'd think with the daily demand to do piles of dishes, swab up messy floors, and wipe down disgusting surfaces I'd have become a spic n' span expert by now.  But no. My cleaning remains pathetic at best. It's really just another case of push-the-mess-somewhere-else-for-later so that I can stop my toddler from teetering on his step stool to pull a knife from the counter while my infant crawls with vigor under the table to eat some who-knows-how-old, unidentifiable crusty lump. 

Reorganizing kids' clothing drawers is an exercise in futility second only to trying to keep sand out of a baby's mouth at the beach. Both my little guys find pulling clothing out of drawers supremely entertaining, mine included. I've found extraneous pairs of my panties floating around in their pajama drawers, and everywhere else in the house for that matter. Plus, I'm always in such a mad frenzy to get clothing on to one child while the other is either screaming bloody murder or about to endanger his life somehow, that I've no time to keep sorted drawer piles in tact. They're both growing out of sizes at light speed anyway - making an eventual reorg overhaul imminent -  so what's the use in attempting drawer tidiness now?

But when it comes down to it, the truth of the matter is that I've become addicted to this reorganization cycle. I find it annoyingly satisfying. When I'm exhausted and burnt out from one mess I find myself looking around expectantly to see if there is more to do. It feels exhilarating to have it all momentarily "done" - as if that exists.  A not-so-tiny part of me thrives on the accomplishment of a reorg well done. So in this light, I guess I've never had it so good. My reorg addict is permanently in  business at least for the next 17 years or so. Good news for this junkie.