Cut Your Crap…Or Maybe Today I Should Go With “Get Your Shit Together”

Friends and lurkers, I am fucking up like a wildwoman lately.  My shit is NOT together.  My crap is NOT cut.

In July I had a little moment of civil disobedience in Chase bank.  I was angry.  I had taken my money out of the behemoth and moved it to a small credit union here in the valley.  But Chase was taking their sweet time closing my account (or rather, inexplicably reopening it again time after time) and charging me fees out my ass in the process.  So when the teller questioned why I was putting 9$ in the bank, I responded loudly and with the full venom of my hatred for Chase behind me.  The first guy in line laughed out loud and said “PREACH” and I’m not kidding when I tell you that other folks in line applauded and echoed with their own frustrations.  It was a pretty amusing little scene. But the bank manager begged to differ.  She sat me down and agreed to close my account forever then and there and refund the fees in question if I’d shut the hell up and get out of the bank when it was over.  And just like that, my imprisonment in the fees of Chase ended.   But my banking nightmare had only just begun.

See…Credit Unions aren’t like banks in all the ways you hope they aren’t.  Programs are better, credit requirements are stricter, fees are lower, and for me personally, when I do get hit by one, I’m happy to know that it’s going to fund something for another member of our union, which is made up of self-employed Entertainment Industry people like myself.  (You know, rather than lining the pockets of greedy ass wipes like my Cousin-in-Law who stole $58 million dollars from hard working people, cost tons of families their homes, and thinks he was justified in doing so because he’s filthy stinking rich now.  No seriously.  Enjoy prison, Dude!)

But upon my arrival in Credit Union Heaven, something ridiculous happened.  My checks were printed with the wrong account number on them and every bill I paid for the month of August bounced. I’ve *almost* finished clearing up all the bullshit that followed but it’s been a damn nightmare and I’d be lying if I didn’t say I wanted to just throw it all in the shredder and move to Switzerland.

So anyway – needless to say organization has completely fallen by the wayside, since all of my spare office time has been spent pulling paperwork OUT of drawers and making phone calls… But SUPER BETH {That’s Professional Organizer Extraordinaire Beth Zeigler of BNEATO} to the rescue once again.  Like an old friend, she heeded last week’s call and has given me the advice I need to get back on track.

Here’s what the master had to say.

More often than not, backsliding will happen so if you can prepare yourself mentally for that, it helps with the process. Backsliding is when you let things go and don’t follow through (you’ll notice it happening because piles will start forming and pretty soon, you feel like you’re back at square one). The reasons for backsliding are many but the main ones are; 1. Not creating enough time to keep up the system, 2. You didn’t give the system enough time and gave up after a few days, 3. A life changing event took place (death, birth, change of job, moved).

After a client and I work out any kinks with the system, I usually suggest going back through all the categories we processed 6 months later. That’s usually enough time to go back through and realize, “wow, I haven’t used this since we last organized so I’m now comfortable letting it go.” If 6 months seems too soon, you can make this a yearly event.

I maintain control when life gets hectic by;

1. Sometimes I’ll wake up early or forgo an evening out with friends so I can recenter myself. Otherwise, I’ll just be stressed out and a. can’t sleep and b. wouldn’t enjoy myself out with friends knowing that work/mail/home life is getting out of control.
2. Delegate. I like cleaning, doing the dishes, etc.  because I’m good at them but when I need time to answer emails and get stuff done, I’ll hire a housekeeper, ask my boyfriend to do the dishes (even if he doesn’t do as good of a job, order take-out instead of cooking).
3. Writing everything out that I have to do — sometimes just having it on paper and prioritizing helps me get really clear on what is doable and makes things easier to accomplish.

 

What do you do when your shit gets out of control?  How do you maintain sanity?

And most importantly did you Purge?