How do you think a hoarder would describe their home?Do you want to learn somethng about yourself? Answer this simple question: How would you describe your home? Seriously, take a minute to think about it. Now, ask yourself another question: Could the same description accurately describe how you view your life? Could you substitute the word "life" for the word "home"? When I answered these questions, I learned a lot about myself.
This is how I described my home:
-I love most aspects of my home (life). Some areas are perfect as is, others aren't complete yet.
-There are areas that need major improvements.
-I am constantly looking for ways to make my home (life) more enjoyable for myself and my family.
-There are decisions that I made about the construction of my home (how I should lead my life) that, in retrospect, I wish I had done differently. Some of these decisions I will have to learn to live with for the time being.
-My home (life) is a work in progress.
-My home (life) is well-organized and runs pretty efficiently.
I could go on, but you get the picture. Like my home, my life has areas that I need to work on. There are parts of my life that I wish that I could change and I am working to enhance these areas by consistently re-evaluating. I am also taking steps to make whatever changes are going to advance these segments of my life. For instance, as I age, my level of fitness has become an area that I found lacking. Just like I would consult a professional interior designer or an architect to help with revisions to my home, I chose to seek the help of a personal trainer to assist me with my fitness needs. I am a firm believer in seeking out the advice of a professional rather than navigating the waters alone and possibly wasting my time.
Did you learn something about yourself when you described your home? Maybe you realized that there is a lack of organization and planning that you need to address. Could it be that there are too many unfinished projects and you don't know where to start? Perhaps your home isn't the nurturing retreat you hope for. Whether or not you like the description, it's never to late to search for the tools necessary to get things in order.
What did you learn from this exercise?
What a great analogy! My problem answering is that my home is also a reflection of the other people living here and we are very different!
ReplyDeleteThat is completely in line with the teachings of feng shui! I completely agree with your thinking, especially since I know that when my home is a mess, something is definitely not going well in my life.
ReplyDeleteWow, great analogy :) I did learn a lot about myself in thinking about how I describe my home. My home seems to be in shambles then in great condition all dependent on the time I have to clean it or keep it up. Same rings true for my life and health.
ReplyDeleteHave you seen that show "Hoarders"? Craziness.
Thank you for coming by my blog and leaving a comment. I have always had so many questions on fruit/vegetable sugars that I felt the best I could do was research. I'm glad that things are working out for you and cutting out the simple sugars. I am on my way toward that!
ReplyDeleteThis is so true!
ReplyDeleteThere are documented links between stress and clutter and stress and difficulties in weight loss. Lose the junk to lose the junk in your trunk..(hmm...i should put that on a t-shirt).
ReplyDeleteAnd when I lost almost 100 pounds before, it was with the help of both a nutritionist and a personal trainer. I treated my obesity like the condition it was that needed professional help.
Great post.
This reminded me of a little plack that my mother has hung in her kitchen that says, "My house is clean enough to be healthy and dirty enough to be happy." I don't know how actaully healthy it is- but you know, life happens and it is difficult to juggle sometimes. Striving towards your goals is always important though.
ReplyDeleteMy home is never finished and always changing. That's me to a T. Oh and some things still need to be done, just procrastinating on it. Yep, totally me.
ReplyDeleteOnce again, a thought provoking blog! If you look at our home, it's easy to tell that we live an on-the-go life-style. Laundry is waiting in the basket to be folded, the dishes are starting to pile up, it's not the cleanest-but tolerable, the bed is unmade, it's time for a general, overall cleaning. That's kind of how I regard my fitness and my health. "Oh, I'll get to it when I have time!" It's not a matter of me not having time to clean my house (or take better care of myself) but rather I need to work on time management.
ReplyDeleteOh, man, that picture you posted was scary! My home is a lot like my life -- always waiting for the "best solution" before doing anything. I don't have new lights in our kitchen yet because we can't decide on the perfect ones. So nothing happens. I think in my life I put off doing a number of things because when I do it I want it to be just right. I have letters unwritten, because they're going to be really great when I finally write them. Well, for sure I have put my life on hold due to obesity. I won't work in the yard until I am fit. I won't ride a bike till I look decent on it. I won't buy first rate clothing till I'm a waa-aa-y smaller size. I remember my high school chemistry teacher told me: "a messy notebook is the sign of a messy mind." Interesting topic!
ReplyDeleteIronically, when my six-year-old Luke left for school today, he turned to me and said, "I love our house Mommy." And I said, "Yes, we are very thankful to have such a nice house." And though there are many improvements I would like to make, I am very appreciative for the roof I have over my head, as is. Likewise, though my life isn't perfect, I am very thankful for my health, happiness, and most of all, my family.
ReplyDeleteWhat an interesting posting. Scary too, though! I think my home is under control. That is how I would describe it. Some days more than others. You know what is funny? I live in an apartment...so i wonder whether when I will buy a house will be the day that my life will get an upgrade too!!
ReplyDeleteThis was interesting, and you are right. I know when my house is messie, *I* feel messie, and more stressed. And unfinished projects... oops, ya got me there.
ReplyDeleteAnd I cracked up over Kyles comment: "Lose the junk to lose the junk in your trunk."
Loretta
=^..^=
OH wow! I never thought to pu it into this perspective. I think I specifically avoided that book, "Does This Mess Make My Butt Look Big?" based on this exercise. I deinitely need to get my home organized so I can get an organized fitness schedule down. I tend to put off working out because I need to clean/organize/etc. If things were in place in my home, they'd be in place everywhere. Thanks for this great (mental) exercise!
ReplyDeleteIf my home is in direct relationship to my life, then I am in deep trouble.
ReplyDeleteHuh. What an insightful post. I'm going to think on this. At first glance, it looks like the similarities are uncanny. Deb
ReplyDeleteP.S. Maybe I should buy a thinner house! :D
ReplyDeletei LOVE this post - i've heard this saying and i completely agree with it. though for me, it's more focused on my room since i don't have a house of my own. but here's how it goes - a cycle of my room getting progressively messier and slowly it starts to inhibit my ability to do things normally, and at some point i get so fed up and disgusted that i do a MAJOR cleaning job and do everything perfectly. it stays that way until a little while until something causes me to not pick something up right away, or not make my bed...and it slides downward from there until I finally give in and clean it up once it gets bad enough. SO MY LIFE.
ReplyDelete