I finally got around to doing something I’ve wanted to do for ages. It has nothing to do with a bucket list. I didn’t even have to leave my house. In fact, getting the house in order was the whole point. First I cleaned out the linen closet. No matter how hard I try to keep it neat, it quickly descends into a percale jungle. Why was I holding on to sheets and pillowcases from college? They were in very good condition; surely someone else could use them.  And why not store the sheets for the guest room bed in the guest room?  Voila!  Those two moves gave me the space to fold and store the remainder.

Next up, the shallow closet that despite the labeled bins, had once again devolved into total disorder. The extension cord, heating pad, and chandelier bulbs irked me with their perennial falling off their shelf.  The arnica cream (for sore muscles) had migrated into the bin labeled “tummy and toes.” Face wash definitely didn’t belong in the basket with contact lenses and eye drops. I rehoused toilet paper, the heating pad, and the lightbulbs on a linen closet shelf and fashioned from an oatmeal box a nifty holder for the extension cord.

Next up was a kit for touch-up paint.  Earlier in the month I’d spent a few hours repairing the nicks in the wood trim throughout the house.  It was a cumbersome task with a near disaster or two with a paint can.  But when it was all done I was quite happy with the job.  Gone was the shallow gouge in a door. When I come up the stairs I am no longer met with a nicked newel post niggling me for a spot of paint.

The world is steeped in disorder and chaos. There is so much I cannot repair. But I can bring order to my own little corner. I can smooth and fold, scrub and fix. What a gift that is, isn’t it?

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