the collapse of PerFECTionISM

Oh, I remember the days when I was so very organized. Organized to the point of Obsessive Compulsiveness actually. If it could be alphabetized, it was. If it could be put into chronological order, it was. If all else failed, order by size. Such bliss. Such happiness when all was in order. Imagine the blissful scene of someone running through a peaceful meadow in slow motion; wind in their hair, a look of total satisfaction on their face... You think I'm stretching it?!!! Well, maybe just a tad. But, it was such a wonderful thing to have my world organized neatly around me.
Like any other true blue, through and through perfectionist; I am all or nothing.
Something magical and mysterious happened when I became a mother. I held a tiny little bundle of joy in my arms, gazed into those adorable, big, brown eyes, fell instantly and irreversibly in love and threw my organizational skills out the window. WHAT HAPPENED?!!!
I actually got to thinking about this last night. I had a quick music practice with the bass player in our music group and his wife and I were talking about how we "used" to be so organized. Seriously, what happened? As soon as I had children, I didn't forget how to organize... No. Its just that I can't have it the way I want it so PHEWIE!!! Yeah, that's the three year old coming out in me... Or the Freudian ID raising it's ugly selfish head.
Its true. Funny thing with the perfectionist. As much as we LOVE having things exactly the way we want it, the moment we can't, its to heck with it!! It seems to create even more anxiety to have something "half way organized" than it is to have utter chaos. Ok, I may again be stretching that a tad, but when I can't organize to my standards, that is what it seems like: utter chaos!!
Have you ever tried to keep things organized to a perfectionist's standards with two small children who love to explore and get into things? WOW! Nothing stays the way it was originally arranged. The A's get mixed in with the T's and the 1998's get stuck in with the 1980's... Oh, my!! The empire has FALLEN!!! Save yourselves!!
So, I am slowly trying to weed through all of the little idiocracies of my perfectionist disorder and put something together that makes sense and is actually "doable". Non-perfection organizing 101, or as it is also known REAL LIFE organizational skills of a MOM. I'm getting there. I am teaching myself so its slow going. I plan on sharing any ideas that seem to work for me for the other mothers out there struggling with this same disorder to help you make order in your chaotic world. In return, any tips or helpful advice you can offer would be greatly appreciated in this journey to sanity.