I'm a Self Proclaimed Neat Freak.

Yep.

I admit it.

I'm probably the BIGGEST neat freak you'll ever meet.

I CANNOT stand it when my house is messy or things are out of order.

I'll even admit that when I go over to other people's houses, who might, let's say, be a teenier bit messy than me, I actually have to stop myself from trying to clean their house.

What?

Is that wrong?

I can't help it.

I LOVE to clean.

Oh, I can go on.

I LOVE to do laundry.

And, I LOVE to organize.

I really have no idea where this need to clean came from.

When I was younger, I NEVER made my bed. I rarely cleaned my room & I don't think I ever knew where my mom kept the vacuum.

I think it started when I got married.

We lived in a pretty small apartment & if there was clutter ANYWHERE, I felt like the walls were closing in on me.

So, I started cleaning.

I kept cleaning when we bought our house 3 years ago.

Now, I can't stop.

My husband would probably tell you I'm obsessed.

But, that's only because one night, during dinner, he turned his head to watch a few seconds of a baseball game & I thought that meant he was finished, so I took his plate.

It was when I was cleaning it off to put in the dishwasher, that he turned back around to take another bite.

He was like, "Sweetie, I wasn't done with that." And, I said, "Sugar Muffin, you were watching TV, so I thought you were finished."

OK, I didn't call him "Sugar Muffin" -- I added that just now for effect.

And, he says, "Cuddle Bear, I still had my fork in my hand!!"

No, he doesn't call me "Cuddle Bear" -- I made that up, too.

*******

My husband would also tell you I'm a perfectionist.

I like our clothes to hang the same way in our closets.

And, I divide them into sections: Long-sleeved, short-sleeved, pants, shorts & so on.

Long-sleeved can NEVER mix with short-sleeved.

They don't get along.

I also like the towels in the linen closet to be color-coded & folded the same way.

And, yes, you guessed it.

The towels are divided into sections: washcloths, hand towels & bath towels.

I like my house cleaned a certain way; the laundry folded & put away a certain way.

It's called MY WAY.

And, thankfully, Matt had adapted nicely to this, so he's totally cool with things being my way.

One night, a few months ago, I said to him, "Doesn't it just make you happy when the house is clean?". To which he replied, "Sugar Plum, I'm happy that you're happy the house is clean."

Isn't he sweet?

Um, yeah.

I'm also a huge perfectionist at work.

My desk is arranged neatly, with my day planner, pictures & files organized in a way that makes me happy.

I can tell if even one picture's out of place.

(Lindsey, that doesn't mean you get to work before me tomorrow & rearrange all my pictures).

*******

All this cleanliness, organization & perfectionism, doesn't mean I can't adapt to changes.

Because I can.

Sometimes.

For like an hour.

Like, our laptop is on our kitchen table. I mean, if that's not adapting to something that's totally out of place, I don't know what is.

Please.

No, seriously, I've learned that I can't always do things my way.

Being bedridden for 10 weeks after the car accident taught me that.

And, I've had multiple surgeries since then, that kept me off my feet for a week or so at a time.

My wonderful husband, mother-in-law, mom & sister have had to step in & do some housework when I couldn't .

And, my mother-in-law has politely reminded me (dozens of times) that it's okay if my house isn't perfect 100% of the time.

I have to remind myself that she's right.

Sometimes.

For like an hour.

For now, though, I must log off.

If you need me, I'll be cleaning.