By Jean Mlincek They say nothing motivates better than t he last minute. How true! I recently had overnight out-of-town company which, quite frankly, put the swift back into my Swifter in terms of making my apartment somewhat presentable. Oh, I’ve been meaning to organize my disorganization–going on five years now. I always eye shelving units upon every visit to Home Depot, and I own a copy of “The Ultimate Decluttering Guide” . . . if only I could find it. I have vacuum bags that can reduce a comforter to the size of a tea bag, but they sit in the bottom of my linen closet collecting dust. Then there are my space-saving hangers that can hold all my summer clothes on one hanger . . . but who has time to hang up clothes? I possess at least ten 64-quart storage containers, but still have 1,073 quarts of junk without a home. I even have a nylon bag for washing my bras…somewhere. It’s not like I haven’t TRIED to organize! Even though I was motivated to finally sort pa-pers, clothes, and match pairs of socks for the first time in five years, I simply didn’t have enough time to accomplish my tasks before my guests arrived. So, a valuable, hidden talent kicked into gear. I began to stuff stuff everywhere. Before my guests arrived, I managed to cram the equivalent of six storage units (rent free!) worth of whatever under my bed . . . the very bed my guests would be sleep-ing on! I stashed stuff under and behind my sofa, and even slid a few items under the cushions. And inside the cushions. (Hey! They need periodic bolstering, plus what’s a zipper for except access?) If there was a molecule of space, my stuff inhabited it. I am so good at stuffing stuff, I swear I should have been a taxidermist! I even utilized my dishwasher and oven for stor-age. Yes, Judy and Bob looked askance at me when I said, “Let me get you a banana out of the dish-washer” but, hey, it worked. I had a loaf of bread and bag of chips that survived in there as well…and were quite edible, thank you. Oh, I confessed my slob nature to both Judy and Bob, and begged them not to open any closet doors for fear of an avalanche of everything from clothes to a deflated basketball to last year’s Christmas tree, fully decorated. I THINK they obliged me. I also pled with them not to look under the bed they slept upon. They would have had night-mares. I have no idea when I will feel motivated enough to undo my cramming, stuffing, and stash-ing now that Judy and Bob have left. First of all, I don’t remember what I stashed where. We fin-ished the bananas, bread, and chips, so I don’t need to worry about the dishwasher. In fact, my place looks more decluttered than ever, so why undo a good thing? Besides, there’s a perfect saying for my stowaways: Out of sight, out of mind. At least for now. Senior Voice America Publications 813-693-5511 https://todayssenioramerica.org/overnight-guests-spur-quick-clean-up-by-jean-mlincek-p933-149.htm