I’m so in the mood. {Not that kind, unfortunately.  The fuming kind.}  It’s been one of those weeks where things aren’t going particularly great.  As I started feeling the back-to-normal returning {thank you, Leigh for our coffee talk : ) . . . B A M!   Won’t get into the specifics of the incident {nothing terribly major}.  And, I know I should be grateful – at least we have a home, food, all that stuff.  So, “not feeling grateful” at this moment is adding to my frustration level.  So what the heck does this have to do with order {order being the underlying theme of my blog}?

This morning’s incident {which I personally feel was OUT of my control – it’s debatable} is what tipped me over to “exasperation.” What’s been building… building…… building…….. that’s what this post is about: Looking at your overall picture and determining what’s OUT of order before YOU erupt.  When you’re in this mood (actually, you don’t even have to be in the mood to enjoy this), here’s what to do:

1. Grab pen & paper.
2. Get comfy.
3. Hang a Do Not Disturb sign on door.  {If you are not able to get at least 20 minutes of peace to do this, then add that to this list.}
4. Now for the stimulating part: Write down everything that is bothering you. EVERYthing.
5. Experiment: you can rank them, put them on a scale of 1-10, highlight with different colors to indicate different things…get a little crazy.
6. No censoring. If anxious you’ll get caught, know that you can cover up {shred/burn} the evidence {the list} afterward.  {Or you may prefer leaving it out in plain view.  Getting busted by someone that made your list may be a good thing.}

I’ll expose a couple of mine to get you going:

Keeping up with passwords:  I write them down in one place but at times {when I most urgently need them to work} I get: Forget your username or password? @$%#!  This makes. me. crazy.

Lunch + 2 (HEALTHY) snack prep:  This week, one child announced he no longer wants to pack sandwiches, and my other’s preferences simply change daily {opting that day for what’s not an option}.  And this year the school added another snack time so kids are supposed to now bring TWO “healthy snacks” {an oxymoron if you ask me, but I’m really trying to change my personal definition of “snack” to something 1. delicious, 2. satisfying and 3. healthy:  apples, carrots, grapes: these just don’t meet 2 of my 3 criteria}.

My schedule: If you are having a hard time coming up with things that annoy you, try this:  Pull out your calendar: Look at the past month, two months, or longer.  Glance at each event/to-do/person/group/crazy day/nothing day/etc. and note: How does each make you feel? For me, it’s quite eye-opening. My reactions range from:  Wow, I wish I could do that again, to OMG, please let that be the last time I have to go there / do that…And then I really do like that organization but I simply cannot commit that much of my schedule at this time. You get the point.  {It’s kind of like (thank God for) caller id.  What do you feel when you see that name pop up???} Add to your list the things that give you that uggh feeling. {And, yes, it’s nice to note what you LOVED, too.  I also have my LOVE, LOVE list.  HOWEVER, don’t let those happy feelings be too distracting.  For best results, try your best to remain in your bad mood.  Visualize, fantasize…whatever it takes.}

Now it’s time to get introspective: look at the list and determine: What’s in your control?  What’s out of it?  What are ways to solve / eliminate / make better?

Revealing more:

1. X-Rated: I’ll mark things in this category with an “X” which means accept it, deal with it, pray about it, get over it: it’s out of my control. If you truly have no control over it, let IT stop controlling YOU.  Let go.
2. Looking down at mine, about 90% of it can be improved or even eliminated with {you guessed it} order. For example:
   

• Passwords:  1password.com has moved to the top of my wish list:   {My wish list is where I jot down everything I’d like to / need to purchase – whether it’s this software that was recommended as great solution to my un/pw frustrations… or… wedge uggs – my dream shoe which I just realized does actually exist!}  This helps me organize {prioritize} my wants & needs while keeping miscellaneous stuff that you don’t really need / love {and that can add up price- and clutter-wise} at bay.
• Lunch + Snacks: I love what I plan to do here. Two friends of mine shared their ideas with me this week.  I’ll share with YOU {idea specifics & how it’s working for us} soon.  {Order plays a lead role here – as the HERO, not the villain!  Organizing can have a boring connotation but – trust me – it can be quite thrilling…}
• Schedule:  Now that my kids are both in school full-time, I thought, “Wow, I’m going to have all the time in the world to get what needs to be done – done –  while gone so when they return home I am relaxed and can enjoy them.”  Not.  Only one week into this school year and that has SO not happened.  I’m now revisiting my calendar – what I can delegate {kids are way more capable than we give them credit for} – what I can eliminate – what I need to be allocating more time to – how I can do something differently.

Although order is pretty amazing, there are times we all need extra help:  don’t hesitate to call a trusted friend, pastor, therapist, doctor if you’re feeling completely overwhelmed. However, simply getting frustrations out of your head and onto paper, and knowing you have options, can be quite therapeutic. Doing this often gets me out of that mood.  And believe me, there are other moods I’d much rather be in…