Talk Thursday: Favorite Proverbs

I grew up in a house that abounded with proverbs, wise sayings, and bizarre but intellectual quips, whether legit or made up by my brilliant and insightful mother.

It has been thrown around that my mom has some OCD tendencies. This is no laughing matter. "A place for everything and everything in it's place" was no joke in our house. I'll never forget the time I was sitting on the sofa reading and mom asked me to take out the garbage. I put down my book, took out the trash, and came back to the sofa. My book was gone. I found it on top of my dresser. I could say that I was a slob out of rebellion, but honestly, I'm just a lazy procrastinator who easily gets lost in one thing after another. Certain aspects of the OCD are contagious though. I, more than once, frustrated and sometimes infuriated my very NON-OCD step-mother. One of the first things I always saw to upon going to their house was the organization of their pantry. Cans of peas and peaches don't go together and you can't have the soups with the tomato products. I just can't stand it. AND, I don't care if you only have one can of creamed corn you can't stack it on the green beans. Boxed goods must go on a separate shelf, however you MAY put the unopened peanut butter next to the Bisquick. Don't ask me why, that's just the way it is. I did however go too far when I reorganized her kitchen one day while she was in town. They had a huge kitchen with more storage than anyone really has a right to have, but there was no rhyme or reason to where things were or what was stored with what. They liked it when I cooked but I couldn't cook in those conditions. So I moved the glasses from next to the stove and put them in the cupboard between the fridge and the sink.... that is obviously where they belong. DUH! I took the spices that had been in that cupboard and put them in the now empty one by the stove. I separated everyday  pots and pans from the seldom used baking pans and placed them in appropriate places. I put storage containers in a handy location next to the drawer that stored the foils, wraps, and baggies. LOGIC! HELLO! When she got home, she was so pissed. I think it was several weeks before I was allowed back in the kitchen. I still say I did her a favor. People pay good money to have professional organizers come in and do that shit.


"Any job worth doing is worth doing right" or some crap like that. This is where my procrastination hits a snag. See, when I clean- OMG, I get in there and go to town like a mad man. I don't own a mop. I do it by hand because that's the only way to really get it cleaned right. Even as a kid, when I'd break down and FINALLY clean my room, I didn't just clean it.... I'd get so deep into it that I inevitably ended up totally gutting and rearranging the whole damn thing. I think this is why when things get a little out of hand, I procrastinate until it's WAY out of hand... because I know that if I get in there to clean it up, it's going to be an all day project anyway... I can't JUST clean the kitchen floor... because I'll end up wiping down the baseboards,.... which leads to the walls... which leads to the cupboards... makes no sense to have clean cupboard doors if the inside isn't clean too.... the fridge needs wiped.... uggg the inside needs cleaned.... and on and on and on. I think maybe I have a little ADD too, cuz I might not always get one completely done before something else gets my attention and Ohhhhh if I have to go to the bathroom before I'm done cleaning the kitchen, I might just have to stay and clean that first.... then where did I put that spray bottle.....

That said.... I need to quit procrastinating and go clean my kitchen floor...... I could go on..... mom had lots of bits of wisdom to share.... but the floor, and baseboards, and walls, and cupboards, and fridge and bathroom are calling........ *sigh*