Everything in Its Place

I am such a Virgo. I love organizing things, making to-do lists and crossing items off when completed. It gives me this Zen sort of peace to put everything in its place and accomplish tasks.

I firmly believe that my physical spaces (home and office) reflect my mind. If all is tidy and organized, then I feel sharp, efficient and energized. When my desk and house are messy, when deadlines slip through the cracks or when I can't find what I'm looking for, I feel overwhelmed, frustrated and fuzzy.

Today I am riding a high from cleaning out my email inbox.

(Try not to leap out of your chair.)

Seriously, I have used the morning to follow up on messages that have been sitting unattended for weeks, and I have this crisp, refreshed feeling like I've just been out for a walk on an early spring afternoon.

Also, cleaning the clutter out of our house and packing items for sale/moving has me in a kind of obsessive-compulsive wonderland. All those neatly packed boxes, with belongings organized by room and labeled carefully, make me happy in a very twisted kind of way. But thinking about where and how our things will fit into the new house has me dreaming of shopping...for STORAGE.

When my husband and I were discussing the possibility of buying new furniture for the new house (if we have the money), I said that beyond a new bed and a dining room set, we really should buy some storage pieces. And he looked at me like I had said we should just buy some flaggerty-whirdoodles.

I had to elaborate: "Yknow, a storage system for [our daughter]'s toys, like with bins or baskets in shelving. Maybe some closet systems. An entertainment center with drawers and cubbies. A really great filing cabinet. That sort of thing."

Still, I got a blank, pained expression.

Clearly, he is not a Virgo. And I'm in charge of the household files.