All I want is for my home to look like a pottery barn catalog, is that too much to ask?

I have an extremely busy lifestyle.  I work full time at a job that demands more than full time hours, am getting my MBA from a high ranking university, not to mention trying to stay healthy by exercising, and maintain a semblance of a social life.  I have recently felt the need for a creative outlet to let my emotions take hold for a bit.  This is mostly to try to keep them contained for the other 99.9% of the time, so we will see how blogging works.  I feel as though is my internet debutant.  Yes world, Heather has joined the 21^st century and is now blogging.

 

First topic: I wanted to share something that has been on my mind for the past couple of days.   My home is beautiful and I absolutely love it.   We have painted bright colors and decorated very comfortably and traditionally.  Even though all of the above is true, I can't help but be frustrated on occasion with the little items that seem to make there way out of their "places" and all over my rooms.  When I flip through Z Gallerie or Crate and Barrel pictures of well laid out rooms, I long for their ease.  No clothes waiting to be folded or shoes to be straightened.  It leaves me wondering if the catalog standard of cleanliness, organization, and décor an attainable goal or am I just chasing an illusion?

 

My husband David knows that I am a very clean person trapped in clutter bug’s body.  I have aspirations to be organized in every facet of my life, but seem to make it only half way there. This culminated two evenings ago in a conversation at the dinner table. 

 

Heather: I was thinking that since we have Friday off this week that we could take an hour to really organize the house.

David: (Big Sigh) Really? On our Friday off?

Heather: Yes, I could get our closet organized and we have some mail that has been sitting out for a while that needs to be filed.  Is that ok?

David: (mournfully) But our house is clean, we have a cleaning lady.  What else do we need to do?

Heather: There are cards sitting out from our last get together and the linen closet could be straightened.  I don’t know; just generally get the house clean while we have some extra time.

David: (Looking tortured at this point) I don’t want to take my time off to clean!?!

Heather: But all I want is our house to look like a pottery barn catalogue, is that too much to ask?

 

This ended in an agreement to devote one hour on our sacred Friday off to organizing the house, but no more.  I have a wonderful husband for humoring me.  This still leaves me with the question of if I will ever achieve my goal?

 

So I ask you brave reader of my venting, is this an impossible mission?  Have I set too high of a standard for myself?  Or is this seemingly peaceful existence in the pretty paper pages between clean line furniture and brightly colored bed linens attainable?  Does the Pottery Barn idealized standard of organization exist?