Feel free to laugh...

A few weeks ago, life was feeling rather overwhelming. No matter how much I cleaned the house, it was dirty. No matter how much laundry I did, there was more. No matter how long I stood at the sink, there was always another dirty dish. The toy I had just picked up was back on the floor, and it had brought three friends with it. Sigh.

I was searching for joy in the midst...
I was trying to find some way to balance creating order from chaos and yet not elevating my desire for order into an idol...
I was trying to be a relaxed mom, letting her children be creative and imaginative without constantly stopping them to clean up what I perceived as useless mess (they saw a great battlefield from WWI or an oil spill to clean up or a dog park/circus)...

So, having done what I could with house chores, and choosing to let the children play, I sat down at my computer to create some order. In my lack of concentrated computer time in recent months, I had taken to a very bad habit of saving everything to the desktop of my computer until I could no longer clearly discern what the image on my background was. Seeing that I was completely failing at making things neat and tidy in my home, I transferred my efforts to my computer. What happened next was so awesome, I am still enjoying the benefits today.

I made a file on my desktop called "Everything in its Place". From there I decided on categories... Paper Crafts, Handicrafts, Food, School, Church, etc. Then I made subfolders... Paper Crafts - ToyMaker, Paper Crafts - Made By Joel, Handicrafts - Crochet, Handicrafts - Embroidery, etc, etc, etc. I started unraveling the virtual dumping ground of my laptop disorder. Once I started it took two days of concentrated effort... but now it is lovely. I can find anything. I never thought looking for a file could be so relaxing. Go on, ask me where I keep the registration forms for the Homeschool Choir... :)

Next, I plan on embarking on some sort of photo refiling system, grouping photos by general family, friends, child... that could take years...

And yes, you still have my permission to laugh... Elliott hasn't stopped laughing yet... but I really think he is jealous... ;)