Gaining Control

In my former job as a legal assistant I worked a lot of hours.  Many times I brought work home and worked on weekends.   I worked for a sole practitioner and the only vacation backup was when his daughter or my son were available during the summer to work and give me time off.   I loved my job.  I enjoyed working in the area of the law so I was willing to make the sacrifice in other areas of my life.  I could keep on top of all sorts of projects at work and balance multiple cases at a time.  Why then am I having a terrible time gaining control of my messy house?  I gave up on the housework in early June and did only what was necessary as I was going to be responsible to close the law firm.  My employer was appointed as a judge.  There was a lot of work to do and I knew that come August I would be at home.

Now - here we are at the end of September and I have made some strides but am struggling in getting into a routine and schedule at home so that I can get my house in order.  One thing that has not happened, I do not miss my former work life.  Even though I was a career woman for many years and I loved my job, I also longed to be home full time.  Something always stood in the way.  Perhaps it was saving up for a house or putting our oldest son through college or maybe it was the fact that I wanted to quit but couldn't imagine telling my boss.  Hence it was decided for me.

I did work very hard at the beginning of this month and I cleaned out the basement.  It seemed that if I was going to make an attempt to get organized, the basement was the place to start.  After all that is where we store a lot of stuff.  I got the majority of it organized and when I go to the basement to do laundry I feel a sense of pride. 

I have thought and thought and the only way for me to gain control in my housework - cleaning, laundry, cooking, baking, home renovation projects and such is to treat my home as I treated my former job.  I have to make a plan, set goals and have a deadline.  Most important, I must make a schedule and do what I can to not deviate from it.  This is going to be interesting and I am wondering how many other women have worked this path with me - longed to be home, but facing the frustration of not being able to gain control and get things done at home.