Professional Help

I know that a list of all the crap cluttering my mind and life isn't a solution. So, on the advice of my husband, I'm meeting with a professional organizer tomorrow morning to get an estimate on some help getting my life in some sort of order.

I'm completely embarrassed to have someone come in and see all of my clutter and mess. I thought that I should clean it all up before she comes, but (a) that's unrealistic and (b) the whole point is to figure out how to keep up with things. If I do a stash-and-dash clean up, that doesn't help her to help me create realistic routines. And even more embarrassing than the state of the house is just the fact that I need professional help with this. I'm a GREAT organizer--I can create systems, purge ruthlessly, set up routines--as long as it's for someone else. For my own mess, I wander around in circles.

Is this normal? Are most people better at doing for others than they are doing for themselves? Why don't we use our talents to help ourselves? I'm a great cook, but do I make nice meals for my family? Um, not usually. I'm a very creative person with a HUGE stash of craft supplies, but how long has it been since I created anything? Forever. This is depressing me--why do I save the best of myself for other people? I need to learn to shine my light on myself and my immediate family rather than saving it for others.

Hopefully tomorrow the organizer will set me on the right path.