Sometimes, when I am cognizant of the fact that I cannot change my addict, that I cannot make him want to be clean and sober, I just have to say the Serenity Prayer and find somewhere else to focus my attention.  Usually, if I focus on a constructive activity, rather than a simple escape (like a movie or a novel, which also have their benefits), I reap the benefits beyond leaving behind my troubles for the moment.  Cleaning my house, which is not something generally put much energy into, always makes me feel so much better about myself and a situation I cannot change. 

I took a seminar on organizing and I would like to share my notes with you...just tid bits that might bring some peace...unfortunately, I did not write down the name of the ladies that gave the seminar...but this is a quote from them:

"The antidote for anxiety is action."

Getting Started - Start with Small Steps and work Forward at Your Own Pace

• Clear yourself an appropriate place to work (e.g., clear the dining room table to use in sorting papers).
• Find a Clutter Buddy, someone who is willing to spend a few hours going through stuff and helping you make decisions about what to keep, what to sell, and what to give away or throw away.  But don't wait for a clutter buddy to get started.
  
• Offer to be someone else's clutter buddy.  There is nothing like helping others to make us forget our own troubles.

• If you don't use it, and you don't need it, and you don't love it...get rid of it.
• PURGE!  Remove three things a day from your house:
• Give it away (to a friend, to charity)
• Throw it away in the garbage
• Sell it; have a yard sale or list it on EBay

• Sorting and gathering...sort like with like
• Put things where you need them, make the easily accessible
• Obtain appropriate containers
• Label your containers 
• Make sure every item has a place to live.  If it doesn't, get rid of it.
• Eliminate the trash

• Schedule a 10 minute cleaning time every day (e.g., just before you take your shower or right before bedtime).
• Schedule small projects, early in the day--Put them on your calendar (e.g., the mud room, the linen closet, one box of papers set aside for sorting, etc.).
• Visualize your ideal space, draw a picture of it, write about it, start a Style Book:
• Get a paper sorter from the stationary isle or a binder (Target has great colored ones).
  
• Identify dividers for various topics.  These are mine: Bedroom, Bathroom, Kitchen, Dining room, Gardens, Patios, Children, Furniture, Walls, Windows, Projects, Miscellaneous.
• Pull pictures out of magazines and catalogs, then file them away in your sections. 
  
• I love looking through my Style Book once in a while and seeing things that make me smile.
• Evaluate lighting and color in the spaces you use most often.