It seems as if I have recently heard the word "chaos" used more frequently than ever. We are in the middle of the US presidential primary election season and the battle for delegates is won and lost via both elections and caucuses. I majored in Political Science when I was in college, yet I cannot recall spending a lot of time learning about the caucus process. The simplest explanation is that caucuses are private events that are directly run by the political parties themselves. It is hard to make a great case for their use when all we hear about is how much chaos they have created, that they are extremely time consuming, they are not easy for voters to access, the ballots are not private and that they do not use a popular vote system. Retaining the caucus system rewards passionate activists and diehard party members willing to take part in the often time-consuming process of selecting a candidate. This leads to the biggest disadvantage which is low voter turnout with less than 10% of registered voters participating. After the extreme chaos and lengthy delay (of the results) that developed during the Iowa Caucus process as the result of coding problems with the new smart phone app, some lessons were learned and a back-up system was built into the state of Nevada's primary caucus. Thank goodness for that since there was such a lengthy "hold time" when results were being phoned in to Nevada's "secure and dedicated hotline" and there were also problems with their new digital tool, the "caucus calculator". The paper and texting back-up plan that had been put into place actually came in handy. Yes, there were improvements, but the process could still be defined as extremely chaotic.
We are all familiar with the definition of the word CHAOS. Years ago, I read a book written by a popular professional organizer who defined the word CHAOS as Can't Have Anyone Over Syndrome. I thought this was the perfect description since the last thing you want when your home is in complete disarray is for the doorbell to ring. One of my friends told me last week that she recently had unexpected family drop into town for an extended visit. She had just completed the process of getting her house in order and she was extremely grateful that she had done so. She said that the initial panic she felt when she opened the door to her well-intentioned relatives was quickly replaced by a sense of calm knowing that her house was no longer Chaos Central.
I am about to launch a month-long Detox Program which I am calling Spring Cleaning. This online program will be a way to spring clean our homes as well as our bodies. What is it about the season of spring that makes us want to start scrubbing and decluttering? I used to have a co-worker who had a huge Spring Cleaning Binder with pages and pages and pages of cleaning chores. He would take a week off from work every year and clean his home from top to bottom. He said it was one of the most rewarding weeks of the year and he always looked so forward to it. I was impressed with his enthusiasm and tenacity but I thought his approach was "over-the-top", even for a self-described organizing-obsessed person like me! My suggestions for Spring Cleaning are far less radical and taxing. They don't require taking time off from work or carrying around a 4 inch binder! I suggest things like putting a box by your front door. Take a daily, leisurely stroll around your home and find things you no longer need, use or love and add them to the box. If you put only two items in per day, at the end of the month of March you will have over 60 items in that box. You may actually need a second or third box. My husband and I recently purged a bunch of old mugs from one of the shelves in our kitchen cabinet. Items that we had no intention of ever using again were taking up valuable real estate. Now we can more easily access the mugs we cherish and enjoy using, like the ones with our kids' faces on them.
Remember when I said earlier that they built in a back-up system for the Nevada caucus and that they ended up needing and using it? I think we can all gain a valuable lesson from that. It is always helpful to have a "Plan B" waiting in the wings. My family tries to live by the "always have a back-up" motto. We replenish our batteries as soon as we use them, we have a second bottle of vitamins ready for when we finish taking the last one, our trunks are filled with blankets, flashlights, water, a car-battery charger and food, and we have a cabinet where we stock extra laundry detergent, soap, shampoo, tissues and toilet paper.
If you heard what happened to the Carolina Hurricanes Hockey team this past weekend, then you too will believe in the power of always being ready, prepared and having a back-up plan. Due to injuries, the team did not have anyone to play the position of goalie. Well you can't play a game without one, so the 42 year old Zamboni (ice cleaning) driver, who had never before suited up and played in a professional hockey game, was pressed into duty at a moment's notice. Dave Ayers, who is a 15-year kidney transplant survivor and had to give up his dream of ever playing hockey in the NHL, went in as the replacement goalie and saved the game! He was responsible for preventing several goals from being scored by the opposing team, the Toronto Maple Leafs, and he helped bring the Carolina Hurricanes the victory! Talk about turning chaos into order!
Most of us will not be asked to do something as "out of our comfort zone" as Dave the Zamboni driver. We may not even have to deal with unexpected company dropping by. However, we all can benefit from taking a few steps to reduce the chaos and clutter around us, build in some back-up plans for our everyday tasks, and begin to enjoy a more peaceful and calm life.
Once you turn your CHAOS into CALM, you will no longer be a victim of the Can't Have Anyone Over Syndrome. Invite a few people over and see how great it feels!