How to Fake a Clean Room

Hello Everyone!

I hope you're all enjoying the last Sunday of the year! I spent mine cleaning out all the junk I've accumulated this year. I'm determined that I'm going to turn my life around in 2013, and in order to do that, I'll need to be rid of every useless thing in my "old life." I'm not going to replace everything in my old life, but I'm definitely throwing away everything I don't need, and anything that has too many bad memories associated with it.

You see, I've always been a messy person. No matter how much I clean my room, within a week, it'll be in disarray again. Now, being a messy person in a family of neat-freaks, I've learned a few quick tricks about "faking a clean room." If you don't know what that means, allow me to explain:

Have you ever been in a situation when you don't have much time to clean, but you NEED to tidy up a room, or house? For example, suppose some friends were coming over to your place in 20 minutes, and  your place was a complete wreck. I'm talking clothes all over the floor, your running shoes on the dining table, magazines on the sofa, dishes overflowing in the sink, dining table half covered in unopened mail and the newspaper you never read. How do you make a place like that look presentable? Easy.

The rule for a bedroom is: as long as the floor is clean, and the bed is made, the bedroom will look clean to most people. Only really picky OCD mother-in-laws will notice that your hairspray is on your nightstand.

A similar room applies to the living room: if the sofa's, chairs, and table tops, and floors are clean, the room will be clean. And the only table tops that really matter are the coffee table and dining table. The best part, is that it is SO easy to pick things up off the floor. It you set up a couple trash bags (hanging from a drawer), one for trash, and one for things that aren't where they belong, and run around the room, picking things up and sorting them, you'll have a clutter free room in less than 10 minutes depending on how messy the place was. Then all thats left to do is take the bag full of trash out, and hide the bag full of misplaced items (you'll sort through them later).

I went all out in cleaning my room this morning, because I really want a fresh start this new year. And I realized that having a clean room (or clean house), really lightens your overall mood. I've been walking around feeling a little happier because a small load has been lifted off my shoulders. When my room was messy, it was like there was a little voice in my head, constantly nagging at me to go clean it. I'm going to work hard to keep my room clean this year, because I know that if I can manage that, I can manage anything.

I hope you've all had an equally productive day!

Silver

"It's like there's rock bottom, 50 feet of crap, then me" -- Rachel Green on Friends

Hello,

You've probably inferred from the title and tagline, that I'm most likely an irresponsible young woman who has landed herself in a predicament. If that's true, well done! You're right. Here's some more information, though, just in case you wanted more of a story:

I'm in my early twenties, and I've just been kicked out of my University (the predicament). I've had three different majors and I've failed 10 different classes (mostly because I never attended class) in 4 and a half years in college. I also have roughly $10,000 of credit card debt, not to mention about $35,000 worth of student loans, but no job. Actually, there's a little more irony to this situation: I was offered a ~70K job when I finished my internship last summer at a Financial Institution (which will remain nameless), but now, I will most likely lose it because I'll be academically dismissed in a week. It's so nice of the administration to wait until after the holidays to academically dismiss students.

Now that you know the story -- the cliff-notes version, at least -- you've probably concluded that I'm an irresponsible loser. It's okay, if I were you I probably would think so, too. Actually, I'm beginning to feel that way about myself these days, which is strange. You see, growing up, I sailed through school. I was a decent student, did well on standardized tests, read literature in my spare time, and got along with my friends and family. Throughout the first 18 years of my life, I never thought I could fail. But then one day, I did (Art History during freshman year). I didn't think it was a very big deal back then. It was one class, and there was no point crying over spilled milk, right? So I put it out of my mind and tried to move forward. But I failed more classes, and relationships, and meeting deadlines, until one day when I realized that my life these past 4-5 years has been a series of failures with random successes, which were few and far between. I hate that.

I'm ashamed that I've fallen so far. I'm angry at myself for letting this happen. I'm scared for my future. And I'm wishing so much that life had a re-do button. But it doesn't.

However, that doesn't mean that I can't fix my life. Right now, there are many negative adjectives you can attach my name to, but unmotivated isn't one of them. I'm going to fix my life this year. That's why I'm making this diary blog, as a record of my promise to myself, and my journey. I'm making it a public diary for you, reader. Knowing that you're there reading this, judging me, and bearing witness to my words will help hold me accountable to everything I say and do. At least, that's how I'm hoping it works out. 

So, here's my promise to you: I promise that everything I write on this blog (except for names) will be the truth. 

And I promise myself that on December 31st, 2013, I will have cut my credit card debt by half, and I will be moved out of my parent's house, and at least have a plan to finish my bachelors degree set in motion.

Wish me luck!

Silver