By Meri Mayes (wife of Dr. Mayes)

For the last 96 hours (4 days), I have been on my own. That's right folks -- no husband, no kids.!

My amazing husband took both of our girls to Atlanta to see the in-laws while he completed the Active Release Technique (ART) course down there. As you can see, I've taken the opportunity to hijack the blog.

SO, when I learned I would have FOUR DAYS to myself, I knew what I needed to do. Inspired by an amazing blog, iheartorganizing, I was ready to go. Would I be shopping at Bloomies and hitting the spa -- not this time. Instead, I was going to tackle my entire house.

Basically, I was like an animal let out of a cage - ha! As a working mom, there are so many projects I want to do, but I'd always rather leave dishes in the sink than miss time with my family.

So with no excuses here's what I did:

Wednesday, Oct. 3 (freedom started at 7:00pm)

Organized the playroom. Now you can actually see the floor and we have lots of toys to give away for other kids.

Worked on my bedroom and bathroom. Organized all the cabinets and drawers as well as my jewelry box. This took 4+ hours and lots of trash bags. How many bottles of lotion do we need?

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Thursday, Oct.4

Went to work at (Iron Physical Therapy) from 9-5. No patients, so Rachel (Office Coordinator) and I got so much done (including a lunch out at Chipotle : )

Major photo organization of pics from 2009, 2010, and 2011. What a nightmare! I am completely done with hard copies of pictures. I'll now be designing a digital album on Shutterfly at the end of each year.

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Friday, Oct. 5

Regrouted the bathroom floor. Purchased the grout two years ago.

Put weed/feed on the yard. Purchased that a month ago.
Errands - Costco, Staples, Party Fair. I hate loading/unloading everything, but boy is it easier without two little ones.
Went to work for a few hours from 5-8pm. Took care of reconciling some accounts from 2011!!!

Rearranged and organized our home office. Why has our desk been facing the wall for three years? It took about four hours, but now half the office supplies aren't in my daughter's room.

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Saturday, Oct. 6

At this point, I would describe myself as manic. I texted my husband this morning, "Can't Stop, Won't Stop." At times, it seems exhausting to put a dish in the sink, but for some reason this weekend I'm all amped up and feel my window of opportunity closing .

Kitchen - Bring on the reinforcements. My mom, Martha Stewart (only brimming with kindness and integrity), came to help me organize my kitchen for FIVE hours. Why on earth was I keeping all my baking dishes in lower cabinets all these years

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Visited one of my oldest friends at the hospital who just had her third beautiful boy. Here's a picture of us from college that I found when I organized all my photos : )

Organized gift bags and wrapping paper which took over an hour. Seriously!
Sorted a box of clothes to mail to my college roomate in NC

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Sunday, Oct. 7

Organized clothing bins. Anyone who has kids knows what that means. I have two girls and a niece so I have to box up all the stuff that doesn't fit and unload the new season of clothes. This took almost 6 hours. Hand-me-downs are a blessing and a curse.

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Moral of the Story

Do I regret spending my entire "staycation" working. Not at all! I might be a little tired and sore, but my mind and home are cleansed of the clutter.

In an hour, I'll leave for the airport and pick up the three people I love most in the world. They'll have a mom/wife who's ready to give them her full attention and who's created space for MORE FUN.

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Special Thanks

A huge thanks to my in-laws who took care of my precious babies for four whole days and nights without mom and dad. You are all amazing and so loved.

Thanks to my sister and her fam for lending me a great dog to watch over me while I was alone : )

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So what would you do if you had a weekend to yourself?

What are some of the hardest parts of "balancing it all?

What would you do if you had more time? An organization adventure.

Getting Back on Track!

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