this is war!

Vix commented on my last post about my recent journey to keep my kitchen counters and sink clean:  "I'd love to develop that habit but I think I'm genetically predisposed to being messy and maximalist!"

And I replied, "Oh, Vix! Me, too. But (for me) there was just something about the piles that accumulated on "my" kitchen counter! I could tolerate them about so long...and then my head exploded thinking about going through the piles."

I HAVE resigned myself to the fact that I MUST be genetically predisposed to being both messy and maximalist.  But I MUST have an equal predisposition to becoming overwhelmed by stacks of paper and miscellany that seem to accumulate out of NOwhere and grow like Jack's beanstalk - overNIGHT!

So, in the words of Elaine (another blogger friend), I "soldier on".  
One small step after another.  
Simplicity is relative.
That's why I labeled one of the pictures, "Relatively uncluttered"
My counters will never be as sparsely furnished as some I see.
But it's not a competition, and that's not my goal.
  Living with my two warring, genetic predispositions IS!

6 comments:

  1. It's interesting how different people view clutter. My MIL can't stand to have anything extra out anywhere in her house and one of my SIls has an over-tschotsked house. It is easier to work in the kitchen if I don't have to make a path first. Elaine has it sussed; soldier on!

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  2. Hello Friend! I lived to tell the story! haha I keep my counters "decorated" but clean. I have tried them with nothing on them. I cannot do it.I need the coffee pot. I need a pretty spooner with spoons. I need a little doll hutch to hold a tiny lamp. I need a stack of ironstone. I need a pretty platter/or mirror standing in the back. I need some kind of floral or plant. I guess you could say they are "very decorated"!! LOL

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  3. If you have a place to put the stuff you used to pile on the counter, it helps. Somewhere in the kitchen or a room, do you have a place where you can put folders, books or whatever you stashed in the kitchen? My mess is all hidden in drawers and I have to go through it quite often.

    Since you are almost on a new habit, see if you can stay with the sparse look. Both your photos show a nice balance of needful things and cleanliness. Good luck with this.

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  4. I have things on my counter but not too many. My problem is I'm a "stasher". I pack things up and save them way too often. It seems like I'm always clearing out but somehow the piles get larger.

    Darla

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  5. Finally! There IS a way to describe me! "messy maximalist" !!!! And my counters are "decorated"! Love it!

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