Right now, my living room looks like a baby GAP threw up in it.
It has for a week.
I started a project to clean out and organize our closets. As part of that project, I washed all the laundry and plopped it on our coach. I dragged all the clothes that my kids have outgrown and put them in trash bags in the entryway (so I remember to take them…somewhere). I am also sorting through the mountain of clothes that my kids are growing into, so their closets are updated. I don’t want to accidentally buy the same thing twice again (yes, it has happened).
This is a whole day project in the best of times. Between work, family obligations, and health issues, this has turned into a two-week project.
My living room has been in this chaos for two weeks. I hate it. My husband hates it. The dog loves it. There are, after all, extra snuggies on the coach.
The most frustrating part is the mess. It feels like the more progress I make, the messier the living room gets.
This week, I had to take a breath and remind myself that it’s okay, because progress is messy.
Want to get rid of the junk in your trunk? You have to drag it all out.
Want to learn a new skill? Prepare to tear your hair out, have notes, and learning things, and mental models, and mess everywhere.
Want to heal from your childhood trauma? Bad relationship? That mental health issue that has plagued you since you were a teen? Prepare for a snot-nosed, emotional mess.
The good news is that the mess doesn’t have to stay. It can get cleaned up, picked up again, and put back in order.
The process of progress, though, it is a messy one.
Jess Boctor 