My home has been in chaos for a few weeks now. Some of the mess has been for reasons beyond my control and some because of the apathy that develops when we start to wonder why we even try.

The source of the original chaos was an issue with the well. Then other issues developed following the fix of the original problem. There were days with some combination of no water, hot water only, cold and hot here but only hot there with what the heck is going on serving as the most commonly asked question.

It was quite the situation. Then there was the problem of sediment and mud in the water lines that clogged the fixtures and made messes everywhere.

Let me tell you, if you’ve never lived with water insecurity or with a well, count yourself lucky. You have no idea how frustrating and scary it can be. I’m grateful that my dad is the water whisperer after many decades of dealing with these problems.

County water is promised to be on the way this year so we just have to limp along a little while more. Meanwhile, lots of things needed cleaned, put away, thrown away or adjusted somehow.

So what was my reaction to the mess this week? Did I do the responsible thing and deal with the leftover mess from water issues?

I did not.

Instead, I removed almost everything from my laundry room, cleaned it, painted the walls and then slowly began moving back in the things that will stay. This process left my kitchen and dining room nearly impassable because of all the piles of stuff that needed a place to rest.

Now the laundry room is mostly done but there are still piles everywhere. There’s a pile of stuff that needs to go but I don’t know where and more stuff for recycling and even more stuff for the trash. There’s also a pile of stuff that needs decisioned.

If there’s anything that I have learned it’s that life is a series of choices. The most common choice in my past evidently was “should I get rid of it now or get rid of it later” and the choice was nearly always later.

Good. Grief.

Why do we hold onto the old, the broken, the unneeded and the unwanted?

Incidentally, in the middle of sorting stuff to go back into that room, I discovered I had some vegetable broth and canned beans nearing their use by date as well as some sad potatoes.

So I did the thing that any perfectly sane person would do: I abandoned my real work and created more work for myself by making a potato and bean soup. This allowed me to use up some carrots, celery and onion languishing in the fridge and now I have soup for a few days of lunches.

It was the frugal and reasonable thing to do.

So to be clear: I made the soup to get away from the sorting that I was doing as a means to avoid the real issue of cleaning to recover from the water issues.

Phew. It’s hard to keep up around here. But if you would like to try, I have a couple of bathrooms that need a good scrub! Come on over and I will put you to work!