Holiday Disorganization At Its Finest

Every holiday season, I lament that I am in possession of the Stuff Disorder gene. Thankfully, I married the Hubs, Mr. Disaster Recovery, and he passed the Supreme Organization gene on to my daughter.

Around the holidays, I depend on my hubby like a blind woman on her guide dog. I thank God for him all the time, but over the holidays — I’m just gonna say it — he saves my bacon every year.

Holiday time shines a strobe light on this not-so-secret shame of mine: I can’t keep my STUFF organized.

For example, when he we unpacked the Christmas stuff from the garage, I found scads of things I’d forgotten about:

• Cards I meant to send last year.
• Presents (including calendars) that were for 2012/2013 not this year.
• 27 boxes of Christmas cards
• 11 stockings (there’s THREE of us)
• 19 rolls of wrapping paper
• 7 things of tissue paper (the jumbo kind)
• 2 jumbo packs of Scotch tape
• And NO blinky lights for outside (because we missed that after-holiday sale last year).

Hello??? There is something supremely wrong with this picture. All my family and friends could come to my house to wrap their stuff. I’ve got enough supplies for the entire block.

I’ve had to face my yearly truth:

I’d be crushed by my mess if I hadn’t married the King of Organization.

Confession #1: I’ve stopped trying to get my cards out at Thanksgiving or Christmas. Nowadays, we just order New Year’s Cards. (In really bad years, they’re called Valentines… One really terrible year, I had St. Patrick’s day “hellos.”)

Confession #2: Most of the time I buy the cards and presents on time, forget where I put them, and have to get them again. One year, for my Baby Girl’s birthday party, my husband asked if I would consider just wrapping and labelling everyone’s (old) presents and putting them on a table by the door so they could TAKE THEM HOME.

Confession #3: I have started mailing gifts through the Fall, or even the moment I buy them. I label the package with an “open date.” That means if these gifts miss the proper occassion, at least it wasn’t because I was a slack-a$$.

On the upside, I am making most of my gifts this year. I decided I would paint, create and knit my way through this season. At least my gifts have that personal touch of love, even when they’re not timely.

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Soooooo….did you inherit the Stuff Disorder gene or the Supreme Organization gene? Are you shuddering right now or nodding your head in agreement? Do the holidays shine their twinkly lights on your greatest strengths or your greatest weaknesses? Enquiring minds always want to know these things here at More Cowbell!

Jenny