Everyone Organizes in January

I kicked off the organizing season by organizing these two shelves. I'm no Marie Kondo (she would've thrown out all this stuff, as none of it sparks joy), but with limited supplies, I believe I've done good work. Good enough for us, anyway. I didn't want to have to buy any new containers, and I didn't want to spend all day on it. I had other things to do. A balance must be struck. So there it is.

I think that organizing is the natural response to the excesses of Christmas, and that's why so many people do it in January. As long as I'm finding space for new things, I might as well keep going and get everything into good order. It's not like I've got a lot of other things that I want to be doing at this point in the winter, or at least not things that I can do while my kids are at home with me. I may as well do this.

I have other reasons for organizing, of course. It's not just because I want everything clean and neat after the chaos of Christmas. Sometimes I get these ideas into my head about our family life and what I want for us as the kids grow up, and these things seem impossible, but I still prepare for them as if they might happen. Later this year, we will be eligible to apply for indefinite leave to remain, and I have it in mind that at some point it would also be nice to have a bit more permanence in our housing situation. In the interest of pointing my feet in the direction I hope to travel, I am getting things organized, so that should a miracle occur and a house of our own become a real possibility, moving will not be a total pain in the posterior.

Of course, we could end up staying in this house for quite some time. Logically, this seems the most likely thing to occur. I love this house and all that it has given us. A dishwasher! A bigger fridge! A second toilet! I feel spoiled by this house. It is a gift, living here, and I will not be disappointed if we stay for many years.

I don't know what the future holds. I try to hold these things - both the gifts I'm enjoying and the things I hope for - lightly in my hands and my heart, because I know how fleeting it all can be. I know how lucky we are to have what we have. Who could want for more? We have everything we want. I just need to organize it.