Day 7

Victory, again! I'm almost at one week, and it feels really good. (Adult voice/Nurturing parent: Yes, this is something to be proud of. You've identified something you want to work on, and you're working on it consistently. There have been unexpected bumps along the way, and you've handled them in a reasonable, thoughtful way. Good job. You can keep it up!)

The latest unexpected bumps: I realized today that there were pockets of clothes that somehow made it only halfway home yesterday. I meant to put away the clothes I slept in, but they ended up on a rocking chair in the baby's room. They were partially obscured by a pair of his pants (Pin stripe linen pants for toddlers! I could not resist.), but I really don't know how they got there or how I missed them.

There was also a pair of pants I worked out in that were still in a bag. At some point on Friday I made a conscious note of them as I mentally planned my putting-away, but by the evening I'd forgotten about them.

So I put the night clothes away when I came across them, and left the pants until today for some reason, but they're away now too. Somehow they were compartmentalized into work-related-objects, so they suddenly didn't really count as clothes. Don't ask me why my mind took that particular leap, but it all seems to have worked out.

My bigger thought lately has been that this doesn't feel like enough. Don't get me wrong--this process is addressing a core issue and I very much believe in it and in the way I'm doing it. And I don't want to diminish or derail my success by allowing myself to get overwhelmed by the big picture. But I do have to think about the fact that this wonderful new habit of addressing the daily pileup isn't helping the piles that already exist.

I don't see enough of a difference, and I think it's important to see progress if you want to stay encouraged. So I'm wondering how to ramp up this process without setting unrealistic goals and without creating a rigid, unlivable structure. I'll let you know what I come up with.