Recently my husband installed new tile into our bathrooms and laundry room upstairs. The project took much longer than we thought and by the time he was done, we had grout on the carpet, tools laying everywhere, and a fine layer of dust covering every surface. The good news is: we were finally "done" and he even installed a warming pad under the tile in our master bath...so nice on the toes on cold mornings! Just when we thought the project was complete and he was nailing the last finish nail into the molding to re-attach it to the wall, he inadvertently hit a water line. Except we didn't know it. Thankfully, three hours later he heard a hissing sound and hunted it down. He pried the molding off the wall and we were both instantly doused with a jet of water.

The water leaked into our walls and ceiling over our dining room. Fortunately, I'm married to the handiest man on earth so he was able to tear everything apart (in the middle of the night), replace and soder the damaged copper pipe, and get water running again in our home. Yet, a week and a half later our wood floors still had sheetrock shmear, buckets, and paint drips on them. You can probably imagine the emotional crisis I experienced with my home ripped apart, first by the tile project, and then by the leak.

I--like many of you--experienced "situational disorganization." That's when a life event (move, divorce, remodel, illness, new baby, or any life transition) causes turmoil in your space. The good news is: with a little effort (and deep breathing), situational disorganization is entirely recoverable. The key is to tackle the problem before a new one is added. In my case, our tile project clean up was not quite finished before the leak incident. This meant that I had TWO problems causing disarray in my home before I knew it. Add to that the headache of a toddler running around screaming "SAW!" and "WATER!" as he sped around our bedroom "exploring" the sharp tools and buckets of standing water. Luckily we all survived, there was no blood shed, and my house is back together again (save a few pieces of molding!)

So, if you have some disorganization in your home you need to deal with, chances are some of it was caused by a life event that imposed itself upon you. After you've traced it to its root, resolve to unwind that mess before new ones have the chance to assault your space (as those unexpected situations often do!). Going forward, commit to eliminating this "trickle-down effect" of situational disorganization by tackling those unpleasant circumstances QUICKLY so they don't take over your space and life.

~Vicki