If I were the kind of person to make a New Year’s resolution, I think that I would make something along the lines of organization. It’s not like my house is filthy, but I definitely am not a meticulous housekeeper. Most guests are greeted at the door with apologies for some mess here or there. If I have clean kitchen counters, then there might be some nastiness lurking in the bathroom or messes in the bedrooms. And the office only enjoys an organized appearance perhaps once a year as it ends up being the catchall for all those items I try to clean from other areas.

Admittedly, I am not an organized person. The same lack of order and habit prevented me from being a smoker! I could never remember to pack my cigarettes and if I did, I rarely remembered to actually light up. But alas, that lack of order and habit makes it difficult for me to conquer the piles of mail and clutter crowding my flat surfaces.

I actually didn’t think things were going so badly. I thought our 100-year old house was starting to look cute. Cottage-y. Blue-green walls give it a summery beachy look and new floors and baseboards and crown molding finished off the cottage style. I even got a new kitchen this year with much needed cabinet space for me to stash all those things hovering about in boxes before. But whenever we take pictures in our house, I come to the sad realization that it IS quite messy here. Oh my. Piles of papers and books and toys clutter the backgrounds of our happy family photos – and it doesn’t seem to matter which room we’re in. It’s all the same.

I would hire someone to organize me, but I know I can organize it. It’s the maintenance that’s the problem. I would need a live-in maid to keep me in line or at minimum, an assistant. That’s what should be my New Year resolution. Hire an assistant. That is – if I were the sort of person to make Resolutions.