When I Feel Overwhelmed, I Always Do This.

Yesterday, I went to IKEA to get wall lights for my daughter’s redesigned bedroom. I had a million things to do, but for some reason, I felt like this had to be the first thing I accomplished when I woke up in the morning.

And now I think I know why. And it had nothing to do with wall lights.

It had everything to do with shiny white bins and my current mental state.

Whenever I feel overwhelmed and out of control, I buy bins. Like, LOTS of bins. Last time I bin-binged, THIS happened. And this time, it currently looks more like the scene pictured above.

At the moment, I feel especially overwhelmed- which I am guessing is not too uncommon for anyone around the holidays. We go from Thanksgiving into Hannukah into Christmas (while neither my husband or I technically celebrate Christmas, we have holiday traditions with the girls that I will share in a later post- also adding to the overwhelm is my inner battle about how we transition the way we have worked Christmas into our lives as our kids grow up and decisions need to be made about what is appropriate/confusing/festive & fun/etc.) Then both girls have birthdays a couple weeks later… And it is 2019 and OMG WHERE DOES THE TIME GO?! That kind of overwhelm.

I haven’t corralled my photos for my annual album. My office is overflowing with beauty deliveries and glitter stickers and empty picture frames. Our linen closet is a wrinkled disaster. Which of these 10000 random cords in a drawer will charge my old camera that I suddenly want to use again? I forgot to check in to see when the tree removal people can come grind the stumps that are making our front lawn look a mess. And where did I put the automatic timers for our outdoor lights last January? I could go on….

Not to mention that my husband casually accuses me of being a hoarder daily- and it makes me feel like total crap every time. It is weird how many nerves that one statement hits in me. I realize I am doing so many things in any given day- between writing posts, pulling together holiday gift guide segments, taking my kids from A-Z and back again, doing errands, getting groceries, buying holiday gifts, tidying as I go- but the mere mention of the word “hoarder” instantly conjures up major feeling of failure at being a responsible grown up in charge of her own home/stuff/life.

So, I buy bins. And I feel relaxed. Shiny white bins are optimistic- an acknowledgement that I will go through the laundry room shelves and throw out empty containers and neatly place the detergent, dryer sheets and stain remover in one neatly labeled (I am OBSESSED with THIS for labeling) container. I will sort through my beauty closet and discard outdated samples and sort the remainder into categories that are easy to maintain. I will go through the girls’ bathroom towels and get rid of the washcloths that are unraveling and neatly fold the ones that aren’t into a perfectly sized bin.

When will I do these things? I have no f#&king idea. But, I will. Eventually. The white bins are a binding contract.

Oh- and PS- they were out of the wall light I was in search of. Go freakin’ figure.

And PPS- if you want to bin binge, save yourself the IKEA hullaballo and get THESE. I recommend them to everyone- best price, great quality and inexpensive to ship.