Cutting a little slack

I'm sure Martha Stewart would be horrified at my housekeeping skills. To be honest, I think my in-laws are as well.

I've always liked the "lived in but not cluttered" kind of approach but I've been known to be missing SEVERAL parts of the cleaning genes it seems most housekeepers pick up naturally.

With all the recent changes around the Viking Hus, pretty much everything has gotten an overhaul. But, it's made me really think about things like how much underlying structure do we really need as a family and does a break from some arguably good intentions really wash away any positive results?

One thing that continues to prick my sensibilities is recycling.

Exciting, eh?

Moving to a new environs, it obviously takes some research to see what the local expectations are. And, being in a rental as opposed to an owner puts another twist on it. Being a lifelong Michigander (with bottle returns and curbside recycling) makes it very hard to throw stuff away lately. LOL

Illinois does not have a returnable fee on soft drink cans and bottles and it is killin' me to toss them. And, all the cans, glass, cardboard, paper, and newspaper that comes into the apartment? KILLIN' me, I tell ya!

In Michigan, on a good week, we wouldn't even fill 2 large trash bags. Most Wednesdays, I was rolling the garbage can to the curb with one bag in the bottom. And, every other week for recycling? I had more recycling bin'd up than all the trash I'd accumulated in that 2 weeks.

"Well, you can still recycle them" you say? Yea, well. I'm still getting turned around going from this little town to the next one down the road so finding the local recycling center across the county? Not darn likely.

This is where the slack comes in.

Every little bit helps - at least that's what the media and experts say. But, is my 4-6 weeks on non-conformist non-recycling gonna to bring down Western Civilization?

Gosh, I hope not.

And, recycling is the least of our worries right now with duplicate bills in two states.

So, slack!

And, a solid understanding that everything will NOT go smoothly and accidents happen, things get forgotten, stuff falls through the cracks. Do your best but step up and be ready to take care of any consequences. We're only human. Late fees still apply even if you didn't intended to. Keep up the best you can and sort the rest out later.

Preaching to myself here but can anyone else relate?