Goal Setting for the Y&C Mother

There are some projects - big and small - in the works around this house that are prompting me to reach beyond my Natural Organizational Skills. 
I hope you understand that word "Natural" means "Minimal."  I shouldn't have to explain this one to you folks; I am a mother of five children, still desperately clinging to the words "young" and "creative," (if even only mildly "young" and "creative.")  As demonstrated by my children, a young person is not excessively responsible or organized.  In the same way, common practice demands that creative types are not expected to be tidy or organized.
Even though I don't have to explain, because all my readers (shout out to my Mom & Dad!) are very smart people, I will sum up this equation for you:

Let us keep in mind, (no matter how clever my current obsession with colorful signage) I am only mildly young & creative.  There are days that I distinctly feel the youth and creativity seeping out of me, leaving my aging and unimaginative nerves irritated by the Messy Normal.  Even on the days that I am full to nearly bursting with energetic innovation, I struggle to stay atop the muddle.  It seems that these Projects of Various Sizes (PVS) are pushing my surroundings to Abnormal Messy.  So, I'm trying to become more organized than my {mildly young and creative} natural self. 

I've decided to start small on this neatness effort.  Let's say about the size of a dining room table instead of a whole dining room.

The dining room table at our house, center of household foot traffic, favorite spot for homework-folding laundry-paying bills-coloring-and-stashing-debris, is always often buried under a pile of things not related to dining.  My first {small} step in reaching beyond my Natural Organizational Skills?  Setting the table.  Or rather, setting the goal that each night, before I go to bed, the dining room table will be empty of everything except the tired looking winter centerpiece.  I made this goal on Saturday night, and immediately decided to postpone implementation until the following night.  Sunday nights I am usually trying to make up for all the laziness relaxation I didn't get to enjoy throughout the previous hours of the weekend.  Yes, on the first day of my first small step, I failed. 

I guess I was feeling more Young and Creative (and thus not responsible, tidy, or organized) that night.

Since then, I've met my goal.

Yup.  One whole night I went to bed with a clean table, even though Monday was pretty full of Y&C Motherhood. (Look for more on that, later.)

The rest of my house will eventually catch up.

Probably when the children are grown or I am full-time Old and Boring.