A Cluttered Life

Living/Dining Room Progress

2008-11-11T22:08:00.003-05:00

I've been making a little progress on my living/dining room decluttering efforts. I did get rid of 36 VHS tapes this past week on Freecycle. I suppose the progress in the video tower area doesn't look like much...
I did remove ALL the kid videos that were in the game cabinet and added them to the VHS tower and DVD towers. After weeding out the 36 VHS tapes, I was able to fit all but 15 or so VHS tapes in the towers. SO, I still have some weeding to do. I used to watch movies ALL the time. Now as a parent, I hardly ever watch grown-up movies. It's kind of sad to let some of my collection go, but they really do take up too much space and it's time to weed those that I don't think I'll ever watch again!

I'm still sifting through that stack of magazines... it's about 1/2 the size it was when I started. I know I could make it easy on myself by just dumping them all with out looking at them, BUT really I'm enjoying skimming through them!

The game cabinet...
is looking good on the inside. The top is still a mess, but I think I'm happy with the results of the inside. The games that we had stacked in another room all fit... and they are easily accessible! Now we might play the games MORE!

I also did some work on the craft cabinet... although, after rearranging it... I decided that it needed to be moved. So, now the craft cabinet is in the kitchen.
And the former craft cabinet is now housing my platters, vases, fondue pot, etc. Things I use, just not often enough to have to take up room in the kitchen.
I need to tweak the craft cabinet a little... might need different containers. For now, I'm leaving it as is... and we'll test it out. I can definitely find things much easier in it now. The Kids will enjoy doing a bigger variety of crafts now that I can find the supplies easier!

Progess is being made... not BIG progress, but that's cool with me... at least it's getting done!

Getting back in the saddle

2008-11-03T21:23:00.004-05:00

It's been too long. It's not that I haven't been doing anything to declutter my cluttered life... it's just that I haven't been doing much of it... and I haven't been posting here.

That's the past though. No need to dwell!

I have come up with a new plan for the upcoming months. Once a month I'm picking a room, closet, shed, etc. to give my undivided attention. I'll continue to do daily, weekly, and monthly chores (working on my calendar for those still... trying to find what works for me), but I need to focus more on the clutter zones in each room and take care of them once and for all. I have a tendency to start a corner, make some progress, and then abandon that corner for another corner. I'm going to TRY hard to ignore the other corners right now... putting on my blinders. If I don't focus, none of it will get done... I know... it's been the way of my house for several years now.

For November, I'll be working on the living/dining room. They're connected and probably the easiest to tame. There's several clutter zones that need to be dealt with...

The game cabinet/mail spot...

The craft cabinet...

The movie towers/magazine end tables...
So, I've already decided what each of these areas is supposed to be used for... and to some extent they are already being used for those purposes. Now I just have to purge the junk, move the "stuff" to it's new home (if it's not there already), and organize it in a way that will make it easy to maintain (for me and The Kids... and Mr. Wonderful).

I've already got a good start for the month, I'm purging magazines (think I've sent about 20 of them out the door already) and VHS movies (have 35 ready to go right now). I'll check back next Monday with my progress.

Cleaning a closet...

2008-02-05T15:32:00.001-05:00

I'm back to getting organized... decluttered! I must say that I took an extended break at the Holiday time. Things just got so hectic, The Kids were sick, I've been sick, Mr. Wonderful's been sick, we've been traveling, working, etc.... it's just been a busy time.

NOW... I'm refocused on my decluttering efforts. I started small with a closet/drawer project that I've been meaning to tackle for some time now. I have all my "beauty" products in a drawer that The Kids can get into to. LUCKILY, they haven't shown much interest in it, BUT I've been meaning to move everything out of the drawer and up onto a shelf in our master bath linen closet. In the process I wanted to FINALLY weed out much of the "beauty" products that I've been keeping JUST IN CASE. I really don't use half that stuff... and most of it never really worked for me anyway. Not really sure WHY I feel the urge to keep it...

Anyway, here's what I've done so far... it's NOT completely finished, but it's a lot closer to the way I've been imagining it. AND the stuff I don't want the kids to get into are now on higher shelves... in a closet that we can child lock for now. Eventually, we might even have to move to some sort of lock box system... ESPECIALLY for the medicines that are now on the TOP shelf of the closet.

Here's the BEFORE and AFTER...

My hair/leg/miscellaneous care drawer is now... ...a drawer for Mr. Wonderful and my towels.The make-up/teeth care drawer is now......the hand towel drawer.The closet which was mainly a linen/cleaning/hodge podge closet is now... home of my "beauty" products (ALL of the remaining ones that didn't get tossed... they ALL fit into that basket with pink liner... I can take this basket out as needed and EVERYTHING I need is right there for me to use... no more searching), cleaning supplies, medicinal/first aid supplies, and extra sheets for our bed. There are still a few miscellaneous items that I'm NOT sure whether to toss yet or not... like the alarm clock you see (that's mine, currently I don't use it, but if I ever get a job again I'll probably need it... or if I want to get up BEFORE the kids).So, there you have it... my much neater... more kid proofed closet and drawer! OH, the added bonus?! Right now I have an empty drawer!! I'm not sure what to do with that, but it's there to be used... we can always use an extra drawer, right?! (NOTE: I forgot to take a before picture of this drawer, but it contained all the first aid, extra health care items that have now found a new home in the closet.)

AND of course, there's the TRASH pile... and the donate/give away/sell pile...OH... and nothing was purchased to aid in this reorganization project... just used items that have been laying around the house unused!

Downsizing Christmas...

2008-01-09T20:58:00.000-05:00

Now that Christmas is done, I've decided that I needed to organize the decorations that have just recently been taken down. I don't have a TON of Christmas decorations, but I have been storing them between at least three closets. I decided to make things easier... AND to actually be able to FIND everything next Christmas... I would organize and downsize. Here is a look at the majority of my decoration pile. That's TWO full totes (the smaller size), and a couple random boxes that I filled up while taking decorations down. I decided that I wanted ALL of my decorations to fit in the two totes AND in one closet (well, NOT including the tree which has a place in our downstairs storage closet). I would LOVE to have more decorations, but at this time I just don't have the space for it... so weeding out the favorites from the not so favorites is a necessity.

I decided that I HAVE to keep all my ornaments. Ornaments tell a story. I have every ornament I ever received and they all tell a story about some point of my life... whether it be a favorite cartoon character or an instrument that I played. I also have several ornaments that belonged to my mom... they are favorites from when I was growing up and always bring memories of past Christmas celebrations.

Beyond ornaments, I decided to keep two Christmas platters out of the five that I currently have. We tend to spend extended family gatherings away from our home, so they aren't really needed. I kept a Santa's cookies dish and one other platter for our own little family celebration. As far as other knick knacks, I weeded out those that I don't really like until everything fit... I have to let the bouncy snowman stay even though he doesn't actually fit... he's just too cute! :) AND now everything fits in the two totes on the floor of my upstairs linen closet. Perfect! ... AND I'll LOVE it next year when everything is so easy to find next year since it's all in one spot!

Oh... I did have an extra ornament tote that wasn't pictured in my first picture. It is currently home to The Kids' ornaments. They don't have much right now, but I would like to keep them separated so that they can take them for their own in the not-so-near future. For now, it's nice that they will be able to put their own special ornaments on the tree next year without any hassle on my part in finding them. The Boy really enjoyed hanging HIS special ornaments this year... and it'll be nice to keep that up! BTW, this ornament tote fits on the shelf right above the Christmas decoration totes!
I must say that I'm already looking forward to having a MUCH easier time decorating for the holidays next year!! :)

How to look good NAKED!!

2008-01-05T21:54:00.000-05:00

I watched this show today on Lifetime. It's the new "How to Look Good Naked" with Carson Kressley from "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy." Let me say... I'm a complete fan after just one episode!

I must admit when I first started seeing commercials for this show... I was just like "he just wants to see naked women" (I admit that I wasn't REALLY paying attention to WHO the host was), "who wants to watch a show about changing beauty queens" (some of the commercials were showing him prancing around beauty queens and talking about change... again, I wasn't REALLY paying attention), and "that's not going to help anyone." BUT I saw a clip on a morning show... can't remember which one it was (probably Good Morning America)... and it got me to the point that I wanted to see the show.

It has a GREAT concept, the show "teaches women of all shapes and sizes how to go from self-loathing to self-loving without resorting to interventions like extreme dieting or cosmetic surgery." Carson takes these girls through a number of tasks... he shows them how to pick the right undergarments, how to dress for the right body type, how to do hair and make-up, how to pamper (think day at the spa), and helps them to see how others see them... and how that is different than how they see themselves. At the end of five days with Carson, the girl is different... she has changed her self-image. Oh yeah, and she does a nude photo shoot!!

I admit that I don't REALLY love my body these days... what with my thunder thighs, muffin top, and flabby arms... so this kind of show appeals to me. I don't know if I've EVER been happy with my body... even when I got down to a size 8 between the births of The Kids. People have told me that I look good... skinny even, but I get too focused on the scale. How can I look skinny when I weight 182 pounds???? (I can't believe I'm revealing that here!) I have to admit that I AM 5 foot 8 inches... so, although 182 DOES put me in the "overweight" category according to BMI calculations, it doesn't label me as FAT. I think I'm FAT though. So, when I tell myself that I want to lose 30 pounds to get back to my size 8s... really I only need to be healthy... I need to exercise (I do fine with the eating healthy), but only to be healthy AND get some energy back... NOT to necessarily to lose weight. At this time I HARDLY ever exercise (pretty much my exercise is marching around the house once or twice with The Kids). I could use some help with my body image... and this show should help me to see more clearly! My wardrobe definitely needs help (I'm living full-time in the baggy clothes these days)... and I know I need help with pampering myself, too! So, I WILL be watching this show again... and hopefully, learning to LOVE my body for what it is!!

My BIGGEST problem with this show was the commercials (no TiVo here) that were shown during the show. Ummm... guess what over half of them were?! Dieting aids!! Lifetime puts this GREAT show on to help women with their body images, BUT then every commercial break tells them to diet or lose weight. Ok, I know they need their money, but you'd think they'd work on that a little don't ya think?!

Anyway, if you haven't checked this show out yet... and you don't REALLY love your body as it is, check this out!! :)

This entry has been cross-posted at Mom Chatter.

Christmas Cards

2007-12-12T12:46:00.000-05:00

I LOVE receiving Christmas cards... AND there was a time that I loved sending them out!!!

Now, it just seems to be one more major hurdle I stumble on every Christmas... I just can't seem to get it together enough to get them all finished and sent. The last few Christmases I've probably finished about 1/3rd of my list by Christmas... and by Valentine's Day I've finished off about a 3/4 of the list. Therefore, there seems to be an unfortunate 1/4 of my list that HAS NOT received their Christmas cards from me in several years. It's REALLY a shame!

It's time for a Christmas card makeover. It's just NOT working this way... and I end up feeling awful that these people never hear from me anymore! I've thought about NOT sending them, but that just doesn't seem quite right. I miss the many REAL letters I used to get... letter writing is quickly becoming a lost art form. I want to keep people's mailboxes filled with SOMETHING other than the regular bills and junk mail!!! I've come to the conclusion that my Christmas cards just can't be what they USED to be (card, pictures, update letter, and personal letter)... at least temporarily until The Kids are a little older and can help out more (some of my fondest Christmas memories are of helping my mom get the Christmas cards ready to mail). THIS Christmas... I'm sending a card with pictures... AND THAT'S IT!!!

NO letter... it just doesn't seem to work for me. INSTEAD, I'm going to be weeding through my list and identifying those people that deserve a letter... those that I don't keep in touch with often enough. I'll divide these people into 11 groups... and spread the letter love over the first 11 months of the year (I'm figuring that might add up to a letter a week). December will be kept for Christmas card preparation and mailing. I think this will be much easier on me than writing a MASSIVE amount of letters during one of the busiest times of the year!!

We'll see...

I'm still around!

2007-12-05T23:26:00.001-05:00

Now that I finished the BIG 30 Day Organizational Challenge (here and here)... I'm just taking a breather from my decluttering efforts. I STILL have closets (can you believe we have 9 closets in this house... and only 7 rooms... not including bathrooms) and one more room to work on.

I'm thinking I'm taking December off from home decluttering. I need to work a little on mind decluttering (there's just SO MUCH going on with the holidays being here) and weight decluttering (I have about 30 pounds I'd like to lose). I'm NOT sure that I'm going to be working on BOTH right now, but I should! I'm afraid that if I wait 'til January for starting the 30 pound shedding, it will become one of those failed New Year Resolutions. We'll see. I think a goal of "lose 6 pounds" by the end of December would be reasonable. As for the mind clutter, I just need to get some of my holiday "to do" list done with. The Christmas Cards, shopping, travel plans (we were going to travel back to my hometown, but have VERY recently changed plans), finishing stockings, etc., etc., etc. It's all "listed" in my head. I REALLY need a better way to store information such as that!

So, I'm here... just NOT entirely sure what to do with myself next!

30 Day Organizational Challenge- Got the Closet Done

2007-11-30T21:45:00.001-05:00

I've FINISHED Org Junkie's (Laura) 30 Day Organizational Challenge!! I must say, I didn't think I would have time to complete this portion of the challenge at ALL. I did it... and I'm so proud of myself!

I found in the last week that to finish my WHOLE room project, I had to do the closet that I had only thought about doing at the beginning of this challenge. This is my front closet (across the entryway from the "book/office" room) that I have always intended on using for coats, picnic/outdoor items, and eBay storage. Well, it USED to work, but then we just started throwing in EVERYTHING... or things that didn't quite fit in the "book/office" room. AND the clutter from the closet started overflowing into the entryway. Here's what it looked like BEFORE and AFTER I cleaned/organized it during the last week!

This is the whole view...

This is the left side of the top shelf...

The right side...

The eBay storage on the right side of the closet... (the first is BEFORE... I didn't get very good ones of the BEFORE on this side... and the other two are AFTER)

AND the close-up of the front view...

To help ease Laura's judging process she asked that I answer the following five questions:

1. What was the hardest part of the challenge for you and were you able to overcome it?

For this closet, the hardest part was just fitting the stroller and the vacuum in it so that they weren't sitting in the front entryway. The days are starting to be numbered for the HUGE double stroller, so soon the vacuum will take it's place and it will be sent on to another home!

2. Tell us what kind of changes/habits you have put into place in order for your area/room to maintain its new order?

We have to REMOVE coats from the closet once they don't fit! I found at least 10 coats in this closet that don't fit anyone in this house. I also need to keep up on the picnic/outdoor gear! The box on the upper shelf, right side is my box of PaperBackSwap books. The other boxes are eBay... which I WILL be listing in January or February! I need to keep it trim, since I don't really sell much on eBay.

3. What did you do with the “stuff” you were able to purge out of your newly organized space?

The coats are being donated. The other "stuff" were clothes that will be sold or donated, old costumes that will be sold or donated, and car items (which have been put BACK in the car).

4. Now that you have completed the challenge, do you think having and keeping your space organized will make a difference in your life?

It will be so nice to be able to get to my eBay items. It will be nice to be able hang or remove coats without several others falling down. It will be nice to hang VISITOR coats (we didn't have room before). And it will be nice to easily grab picnic/outdoor items when the season returns!

6. Why do you think you should win the challenge?

I'm proud that I was able to tackle this space in several hours. It may still look a bit cluttered, but once that stroller is not being used any longer... this closet will be perfect for our purposes! Although, I started this project LATE in the Challenge, I did tackle it with all the enthusiasm I had for my WHOLE room project! I came, I conquered, and now we have a much more user friendly closet! :)

To see other 30 Day Organizational Challenge participants, go here or here.

30 Day Organizational Challenge- THE END

2007-11-30T20:53:00.000-05:00

I've FINISHED Org Junkie's (Laura) 30 Day Organizational Challenge!! I must say, I was TOTALLY nervous about this and afraid that I wouldn't complete the challenge on time. I did it... and I'm so proud of myself!

I chose to work on my front "office" room for this Challenge... mainly because it was the WORST room in our house. Originally when we moved in to this house, this room was designated the "book room." It was to hold all our books... AND my computer. That decision was made before The Kids came along. From the beginning, it never really moved out of "storage" or "unpacking" mode and since kids, it became a repository for all our things we didn't know what to do with... our junk! Most of the junk arrived in this room when The Girl was born and we lost our spare bedroom!

The BEFORE and AFTER tour (sorry, I couldn't figure out how to get them side-by-side)... this is the view you see when coming in the front door.
If you turn your head to the right, you will see my "office." I didn't do MUCH with this area, as it had been organized previously!A little more to the right and you see the kitchen entryway.
Then, there's our BIG bookshelves!
The entryway, we started at...
AND finally, to the right of the entryway...
We are SO HAPPY to have reclaimed this room as a "book/office" room!! :)

Now I would've LIKED a slipcover for our hideous hand-me down chair, but haven't yet succeeded. AND there are a few other "decorating" projects I would be glad to do/have done, but for now it's CLEAN and that's AWESOME!!

To help ease Laura's judging process, she's asked that I answer the following five questions:

1. What was the hardest part of the challenge for you and were you able to overcome it?

There were so many HARD parts to this challenge: the massive amounts of stuff crammed into this room, the time limitations, The Kids, the distractions, the regular chores, and more! I think that the HARDEST part of this challenge was battling my own thoughts. The negative thoughts, as well as, the "hoarder" thoughts.
I overcame the negative thoughts by purging them on my blog (I REALLY think this helped) AND continually reminding myself how nice it was going to be to actually use this room for it's intended purpose (I DEFINITELY kept returning to my "vision" for the room). Mr. Wonderful helped a lot with this, too, by continually reminding me HOW much I had done... and how good it was looking (or how much change he already saw... this "outside" perspective REALLY helped)!
The "hoarder" thoughts are still there, but I helped battle those thoughts by starting with the "easy" junk... the books, the clothes... the objects that didn't have THAT much sentimental value to me or much use in this room OR our home. Once MOST of the "easy" clutter was removed, it made it easier to deal with the mementos... and it had put me in the right mindset for cleaning/purging. The mementos were a much harder task to deal with. I started with a VERY large bin (I'm not sure on the exact size of this, but I'm pretty sure it's the LARGEST made by Rubbermaid)... of items I've collected since High School and I whittled it down to two small boxes of keepsakes AND several binders of letters. There was a LARGE of amount of stuff in the bin that I had NO idea what it meant to me anymore! ...AND then there were all the silly things that I still know what they meant (for example, sugar packets that my summer "camp" buddies and I used to "steal" from restaurants and pretend to use as energy boosters in class), but there's not reason to keep that memento to remember (plus, that's a pretty GROSS thing [the sugar packets] to keep... a bug magnet, although I didn't find any thankfully)! It was a hard project, but I feel much happier now that I've tackled it!

2. Tell us what kind of changes/habits you have put into place in order for your area/room to maintain its new order?

We are working on getting EVERYONE in the mindset of putting books away after reading, even The Girl who is 1. I figured out a solution for The Kids books. These baskets were sitting unused in The Boy's room, so I thought they would work nicely on the kid shelves! I think they will have an EASIER time putting books in a basket, rather than trying to fit them back on the shelf!
Another change, is that I NOW have room for my photos (which still need some organizing) and old memory letters on the bookshelves! To be able to keep this up, Mr. Wonderful and I will have to continually evaluate our book situation. We ARE NOT getting more bookshelves (we have set our limit to ONLY current bookshelf space), and if we get more books... we will have to send some books out! I did join PaperBackSwap and am allowing us to have ONE box of books to exchange. This box is NOT full yet!!
Most importantly, EVERYTHING comes into this room MUST have a place or it is banished! This room will never again be a storage room!!

3. What did you do with the “stuff” you were able to purge out of your newly organized space?

I purged a TON of "stuff." On my sidebar I have a list of items that I've purged since the beginning of this challenge (TOTAL Items Purged is approximately 294)... boxes of items donated to Purple Heart: 2, books freecycled: 112, cassettes freecycled: 133, other items freecycled: 41, and bags of garbage: 6. Freecycle has been where most of my "stuff" has been outsourced, too! I LOVE Freecycle! I also have a pile of items awaiting donation pickup (5 large boxes, 3 smaller boxes, a bag of coats, and two chairs that were NOT yet included in my Purge list because they aren't OFFICIALLY out of my house yet)... sitting near my front door. They will NOT leave this spot until they are placed outside the door on their scheduled pickup date!
I'll admit... that TWO small boxes of mementos were moved to another room. They just didn't fit in the newly organized space... and fit quite nicely in a new room!
MOST of the items purged from this room have also been PURGED from the house (through Freecycle, donations, or trash)... making the whole house seem lighter! :)

4. Now that you have completed the challenge, do you think having and keeping your space organized will make a difference in your life?

It will definitely make a difference in my life. I might actually invite friends over more often. I will no longer be embarrassed if an inspector, neighbor, or landlord stops by unannounced. Mr. Wonderful and I can actually USE this room to read and relax... instead of sitting in the family room watching TV! The Kids can now find books that have been hidden away for months... a whole new library for them to explore! I actually have a place to organize photos. My letters are no longer stuffed in a box... they are on the shelf and can be enjoyed when the mood hits! I can ACTUALLY consider opening up this room to be an option for meeting tutor clients. I can "play" at the computer without feeling suffocated by all the stuff in the room! :)

5. Why do you think you should win the challenge?

I have already WON this challenge... I got my room and I'm already so much more relaxed! Coming in the front door is a whole new experience... I'm not immediately bombarded by the thoughts of ALL the things I NEED to clean/organize!
I think in terms of "winning" the prize... well, I put in a LOT of time in this room to get it RIGHT and DECLUTTERED! I didn't keep track of actual time spent, but I would estimate a good 4-8 hours on weekends and 2-3 hours during the week.
I think the change is QUITE noticeable both in the room and our habits! Not much clutter was transferred to OTHER rooms (only a few odds and ends... and the TWO small boxes I mentioned earlier)... MOST of the clutter was sent away!!
I have overcome some MAJOR mental hurdles. I am a pack-rat... and I'm learning to deal with that urge. I am fighting my hoarding ways... I don't want to be OVERRUN by my stuff... it's suffocating. AND now that I've conquered my WORST room, I see how much better I feel without the "stuff" and how much nicer it is without it. I will now be more "picky" about which mementos I will keep... and which non-mementos can stay AND come into our house!
We have used container limits (the bookshelves) to help combat future clutter problems.
I tackled MOST of this project on my own. Mr. Wonderful helped TREMENDOUSLY on the weekends with entertaining the kids while I cleaned and he sorted "his" books, but otherwise, I was on my own. I don't really have any organizing freak friends who live nearby that I could call in to help... and those that are have young children that need to be watched, too!
AND overall, I did have FUN with this challenge! I did get overwhelmed at times, but mostly I tried to enjoy the project... especially when I got to the hardest part of it! I let myself think back and remember the past and I used these "happy" thoughts to help push me through! :)

So, there you have it! The finished room and my thoughts on the whole challenge!

NOTE: To see the beginning, go here... for update #1, go here... for update #2, go here... AND for update #3, go here!

...AND to see other 30 Day Organizational Challenge participants, go here or here.

30 Day Organizational Challenge- Update #3

2007-11-24T21:27:00.000-05:00

The final week!!

I don't have any new pictures to show this week. I must admit, I didn't work as much as I would've liked on my room this past week. Things just got too hectic with the holiday!

I did make progress with my memory box. I have thrown out TWO bags of trash... two bags of things I've been carrying around since high school for no real good reason! I must say that I feel a LOT lighter now. :)

I have decided to keep most of the letters I've received from friends and family. Letters are just rare anymore, they are nice mementos of something I REALLY enjoyed doing when I was younger... something I keep meaning to do more of... if only the internet weren't so EASY!! They also act as a sort of diary/journal for me. Anyway, I decided that I would "display" these letters, make them more accessible, by putting them in 3-ring binders on the shelves (NO MORE boxes). The letters themselves are being put in plastic page covers. I have sorted through about half of them already... the other half will hopefully be completed by the end of this week.

I found some unused baskets that I'm hoping will work for storing the kids books on the shelves. Their books just get thrown back helter skelter, so I'm thinking that baskets will at least help the helter skelter look neater! I still would LOVE to get some baskets for Mr. Wonderful's paperback books, but since I would like wicker baskets with liners, that will have to wait until I scrounge up a little extra money (This week I'll be checking the dollar store to see if they have anything I could use... I think I can afford that if they do).

Now, the remaining project is to start moving the donate and sell piles out! The donate pile will be REMOVED from our house! The sell pile will be moved into my "eBay/Craigslist" closet to be listed... yes, I do have a closet set aside for this purpose and it's pretty empty right now! It's my goal to get everything listed by the end of January (I'm not thinking they'll sell very well during December).

I also have several small piles of paper and knick knacks that need to be attended to... I NEED to make final decisions as to what to do with them and PUT them away or get RID of them!

It's the final push... I'm REALLY hoping I can finish up with the room by the end of the week! I do see a light that signifies the end of the project, but I'm afraid it's a little further away than I'd like it to be... we'll see!! :)

NOTE: To see the beginning, go here... for update #1, go here... AND for update #2, go here.

30 Day Organizational Challenge- Update #2

2007-11-16T21:04:00.000-05:00

Week 2 is done and gone! I'm feeling a little more in control of my mess, but I still realize there is work to be done. My books are pretty much all lined up on the bookshelves now! Now it's time to tackle the dreaded bin... full of memorabilia from high school and college years, as well as, letters from friends and family. This might be the hardest task for me in this room. It's hard to let go of those type of mementos for me.

I, too, watched Oprah's two part series on hoarding... well, I've only watched the first part and have the second part taped to view tomorrow. I have not experienced hoarding to the extent of the family shown, but I know that I have hoarding tendencies... look at the end of my previous paragraph.

I'm learning to keep going back to my vision for this room. It bears repeating... I want a peaceful, clean room that we can work, read, and play in! I've been returning to this vision continually throughout this challenge... AND I do find it helps! Oprah's hoarding episode has helped reinforce the vision as well and helped me to see that I just need to RID myself of the clutter that has overtaken the room.

I am setting limits for myself. The bookshelves are my containers for the books. If new books come into the house old ones will have to go to make room. I want to have a few "pretty" shelves... and have incorporated those in the new "design." (NOTE: If I had some money to spend on this project, I think I'd buy lined baskets to put many of those paperback books in... just to make it look more pretty/homey... it's only on my wishlist for now.)I did decide earlier this week that I was going to allow myself to keep one box of books to be listed on the PaperBackSwap site. This is one way we can bring "new" books into our house without spending too much money... and get books we actually want when we want them. So far, the box isn't full... a good thing! This box will be stored in one of our many closet... namely the one that HAS been organized!

I have been getting better at getting rid of stuff... like books that I will unlikely use again AND that I have not used in months, even years. I'm actually getting to the point that I just want it GONE! I had planned on trying to sell stuff, but it seems like MORE work to do that, especially when it comes to books. Therefore, I have decided to give these... three boxes to a charity that can pass the textbooks onto others who might need them... including international groups that might be lacking textbooks. Several of these I have offered on Freecycle, but have not had any takers. This weekend, they will be dropped off at The Salvation Army or Goodwill. I have also had luck with Freecycle... these two bags left my home tonight. They are full of books Mr. Wonderful has kindly decided to part with and other items I no longer use or NEVER used in the first place! ...AND remember the two boxes of old biology teaching material/books I pictured last week? They were taken by a new teacher who is lacking materials... through Freecycle, YEAH!

So, I have been asking myself Peter's questions... if I haven't used something in six months or more then it's likely I won't, so those items are leaving (check out my "Purged Items Since Beginning of Challenge" list in my sidebar)! I am getting rid of clutter! It does make me feel better with each item "purged."

With books it is a little different. We DO want a small library of our own. Mr. Wonderful continuously pulls books off the shelf to read a page or two and then puts it back on the shelf, so he does use them. I'm actually pleasantly surprised that he decided to get rid of so many! As for me, I kept books that I knew that I would read someday soon (I want to get back into reading as a hobby) or that I will refer to for work purposes (teaching or tutoring). Many of the textbooks I'm getting rid of are books that I might refer to in the future, but I decided that I will more likely use the internet to get information... I allowed myself one shelf of teaching aides (again it's those limits I'm setting for myself).

So, the last two weeks of this challenge will be dealing with the OTHER clutter in this room. The knick knacks, the pile of "to sell" items, the memento bin (sorry, I didn't get a picture of that... it's one of the BIG Rubbermaid bins), and the other odds and ends that have landed in this room. I have hope that I will finish by the end of the month... AND if I don't, I've come a LONG way from where I started!!! :)

NOTE: To see the beginning, go here... AND for update #1, go here.

Secret Lives of Hoarders...

2007-11-15T23:02:00.000-05:00

I haven't watched Oprah in a long time! I just don't get a chance to watch TV during the day that much, I don't have TiVo, and there's too many other shows I want to watch more. Plus, I'm not sure if I REALLY like Oprah... she's just got too much something for me. Maybe it's that she decides which books make it to the bestseller lists or maybe it's that she tries to tell me how to live debt free when she doesn't have to worry about that herself. On the other hand, I do like that she has worked HARD for what she has... she has been a good influence on the reading habits of many people... she does help many people. Anyway, I digress...

I am writing about Oprah, because yesterday I saw a commercial for today's show... "Inside the Lives of Hoarders." I wanted to watch this... and did. The show was about a woman and her husband who were confronted by their grown-up children about their hoarding problem. They were living in a 3,000-square-foot house that was filled with 75 tons of garbage. They estimated that it would take 8 weeks and 100 people to clear this house out! WOW! The show continues tomorrow and I will probably watch that, too. Peter Walsh is the main organizational expert. I LOVE this guy... he's just so straight when it comes to cutting the clutter. I love that his first question is "what do you want from your home?" I've asked myself that of my own "horror" room... I want a peaceful, clean room that we can work, read, and play in! He's got the "Clean Sweep" set-up of piles: Keep, Trash, Donate, Sell. The homeowners are in charge of directing which pile the "stuff" should go to. They showed the first two cleaned rooms today... amazing! I will try to tune in tomorrow to watch the rest of the clean-up. (I did miss much of the end of today's show because I HAD to start dinner, but I saw enough to give me my kick!)

I suppose this gives me hope in my own efforts. My "mess" isn't anywhere near 75 tons of garbage and is confined to closets and my front office/book room, but if I don't do something NOW... that could be me in 15-20 years. It has taken me, with some help from Mr. Wonderful, several months to get to where I'm at now in our office/book room... it's almost to the point where I'm going to let the kids in!! I don't have a ton of time to work on it either... it's a little here, a little there. It's shows like these that give me the kick in the butt that I need to keep going forward with my own decluttering efforts.

I realize that I have hoarding tendencies. I took Dr. David Tolin's self-assessment (Hoarding Severity Scale) today after watching the show.

Clutter score: 10

Difficulty Discarding score: 16

Acquiring score: 5

Each of these scores can be interpreted as:

0–2: Minimal
This is probably not something you need to worry about.

3–7: Mild
Although you may have a bit of clutter, difficulty discarding or acquiring, it is unlikely to be a significant problem for you. You might want to consider working on these issues, perhaps using a self-directed manual such as Buried in Treasures.

8–12: Moderate
In all likelihood, you have a significant hoarding-related problem. People who score in this range typically find their lives to be impacted by clutter, difficulty discarding or acquiring. You might benefit from working on the problem on your own with a manual such as Buried in Treasures. However, you could also consider working with a mental health professional who knows about the treatment of hoarding.

13–17: Severe
People who score in this range usually find that their quality of life is suffering quite a bit due to hoarding-related concerns. A self-directed manual such as Buried in Treasures might be a good start, but if you score in this range, you will probably find that you need the help of a professional to beat the problem.

18–20: Very Severe
If you scored in this range on any of the clutter, difficulty discarding or acquiring scales, it's time to get professional help. People who score in this range are probably going to have a very hard time tackling this problem on their own. Contact a mental health professional who knows about the treatment of hoarding.

As you can see from my results, my main problem is discarding items. I don't really shop much these days... just for the basics. It's hard for me to throw things away. I knew this before taking the quiz... that is why I started my "Purged Items" list in my sidebar. I am working on this... and have gotten rid of MANY things! Unfortunately, I still find myself clinging to certain items with the thought that they are still useful and SOMEONE should be able to get use out of them. I hold on to the item until I can find that person... I have to stop this. I have to keep reminding myself of the room that I want to have... and the house I want to avoid having! I can't keep the items forever... I need to be strong and toss! Soon, I will have the room I crave! :)

Getting Rid of Books

2007-11-13T22:01:00.000-05:00

Mr. Wonderful has surprised me! He has decided to part with a big box of books. I told him when he began sorting "his" books that I didn't expect him to get rid of any books. I'm proud that he's showing me some support in my efforts by dumping some of his excess, too!

I wanted to find a way that I could "reward" him for the books he has decided to pass on. SO, I finally signed up for a program that I heard about months ago...

The PaperBackSwap... a place that we can list our "finished" books and trade for "new" books! I think this is a brilliant idea... and I've been meaning to sign up for it since I heard about it, BUT it always got pushed aside. Now, I've signed up and listed several of the books that my husband has decided to part with.

What exactly is the PaperBackSwap? It's a site for readers who share books with each other... AND not just paperbacks! From my understanding, I list books, wait until someone requests the books, and then ship it to them (postage is on me). After they receive the book, I get a credit which I can use to request someone else's book... ANY book I want (if available). Sounds easy enough to me! I received some "start-up" credits when I signed up, so I can actually pick out a couple books now! I'm planning on splitting those with Mr. Wonderful, since he did give up so many books! (OH, I get credits if you join using my links... or saying that you heard about the site through me... my PaperBackSwap nickname is bookmama08!)

I consider myself a book lover, although, I hate to admit that since The Kids arrived on the scene I haven't read nearly as many books as I would have liked to. I'm hoping that this program helps to reintroduce that love! Mr. Wonderful is a book lover, too... so this looks to be a great program for us!

...AND as added bonuses, it helps the environment and our wallets. The environment is helped by keeping our books out of the landfills and in the hands of other book lovers! Our wallets are helped because we won't feel as pressured to buy NEW books. We're totally fine with used and have frequented many used bookstores and library sales!

The only problem I have with this site is that the books we list may not go immediately. To keep these books from cluttering our home, I decided that I needed a plan. These books will be stored in a box until they are requested. I've decided to keep only one BIG box of our discarded books for use on this site. After 6 months (I may shorten this to 3), if they haven't been requested, I will go through the box and donate or recycle the unclaimed books. Perhaps at that time I will also reevaluate the books I have KEPT for myself and list more.

Progress after 1st week...

2007-11-09T19:48:00.000-05:00

This is my progress report on how I am doing with Org Junkie's 30 Day Organizational Challenge. To tell you the truth... right now it looks like a much BIGGER mess than I started with, but I do realize that that is part of the process... and it probably means I'm heading in the right direction. Here's a peek at the room in it's current state...
Just want to note, HAPPILY, that this pile of books will be sorted through by Mr. Wonderful since they are "his"!!!! ...AND that's not even all of his books, he's got a big collection!

Org Junkie posed a few questions for participants to answer. Here are my answers and her questions...

"How many of you have taken large boxes or baskets and labeled them keep, donate, toss, relocate and possibly sell in order to do your sort?"

I have NOT been using large boxes or baskets, but I do have a piles! I have actually donated two boxes already to Purple Heart (some clothing and small household items)... and tossed a number of items (at least a trash bag full). I have a couple boxes of old teaching material/books that I'm trying to figure out how to get rid of. I don't WANT to just throw them out as they MIGHT be useful to someone. I need to figure out if I can Freecycle them, hopefully to a current teacher/tutor, otherwise I will be trying to find a group that could use them in overseas classrooms. I'm relocating items that don't belong in our book/office room as I go. I also have a growing pile of items that I would LIKE to sell, but I may just end up donating those as well (meant to take a picture of that pile, but I forgot).

"How many of you have designated a certain length of time each day to tackling your project?"

I've been trying to work at least 30 minutes during weekdays and 1 or 2 hours during the weekend days. It's hard to fit in with two toddlers though. Some days I get more time in, other days I get nothing done.

"How many of you want to run right out and buy containers and baskets before doing the remove, sort and purge? [fight that urge!]"

I haven't gotten the urge to BUY containers yet. I'm waiting until everything is in it's place before I do that... if I do that. I don't really have a whole lot of money to BUY any containers right now, but closer to the end of this project I may hit the dollar store to see what I can find! Otherwise, I might be rummaging around the rest of the house for something that will work... IF I end up needing something that is!

"How many of you are feeling overwhelmed?"

Completely AND totally! Still wondering if I bit off more than I can chew! :)

"How many of you are feeling excited to keep going?"

Completely AND totally! Happy to see that I AM making progress! Some of my shelves are starting to shape up with reorganized book placements... and I am actually going to have room to display some pretty knick knacks that have been hiding out previously!

So, although it looks WORSE in some ways, I think it's actually somewhat BETTER! I am super overwhelmed, but I'm trying to keep the positive thinking going... and imagining how much happier we will all be when this room is ACTUALLY usable! :)

Paper Clutter...

2007-11-06T22:28:00.000-05:00

I have a TON of it!! As mentioned several times before, I have a hard time throwing things away. Paper is one of my worst enemies! I ALWAYS convince myself that I will need it again someday.

This has got to change though. I can NO longer deal with all the paper!

I'm so happy that my filing system has been overhauled in a way that works for me... although, I suppose I should admit that Mr. Wonderful has his own pile of "stuff" that needs to be added. That will be tackled when we organize our bedroom! I still might consider going "paperless," but that is a project for another time. I want to research it MUCH more before making that decision! For now, I can find ALL my files, they're NOT piled in boxes, and that makes me HAPPY!

Right now I'm dealing with magazine paper clutter...
Yep, a whole diaper box FULL of magazines! AND that's not all, although it's all I'm dealing with right now, there's two more piles about the same size (one in the living room and in our bedroom). The sad thing is... I've flipped through ALL of these magazines. The only reason I'm keeping them is because I wanted to refer to a few items in each one... like maybe check out a website or to figure out a better way to ORGANIZE! ;P

I've made it my current goal to quickly thumb through all these magazines and pull those random tidbits out. I have a notebook started for websites... and folders set up for several topics that interest me (environment, exercise, kid crafts, healthy eating, self-improvement... or "me" time). The rest of the magazines will be recycled! (NOTE: in the future, I'm planning on finding a place I can "share" my magazines with... hospital, doctor's office, friend, nursing home, etc.)

Once I get done with this BIG purge... I'll spend more time on the articles that interest me. If after reading again, they seem like something I'll reference in the future, then I'll scan the article and throw it out to be recycled. If it's not something I'll touch again, I'll recycle.

Hopefully, I'll get a good "filing" system for information up and running on my computer. This is one area I can DEFINITELY go paperless. Incoming magazines will be allowed to stay until the new magazine comes in, except for Consumer Reports... I STILL have to keep those!! I have a basket for magazines... once it's full, a purge is NEEDED immediately. Hopefully, it won't GET full again!! :)

Purging Negative Thoughts...

2007-11-04T22:52:00.000-05:00

I AM one of my biggest roadblocks. I have all the excuses...

There's just TOO much, I don't know where to start!
I have to take care of The Kids and the cooking and the.....!
I just can't deal with it right now!
I don't have the time!
I don't have the money!

The list could go on and on! I believe that most of the problem is in my head. The "organizing" has to start in my mind. If I keep coming up with excuses, there is NO WAY the organizing will get finished. Therefore, I'm taking a moment to purge all these negative thoughts right here... outta my head and onto this post! Will it work? Who knows, but I'm willing to give it a try!

I'm also going to remind myself EVERYDAY that "everyone" else has problems, too... even if they seem PERFECT! I know their secrets... and I'm letting EVERYONE know!! The only thing they are perfect at is covering up the craziness in their lives! Everyone has some sort of craziness... that's what makes us human!!

There... the roadblocks and negative thoughts are BANNED from my head... banished to this post!! :)

Distractions...

2007-11-03T22:17:00.000-04:00

I'm easily distracted these days, especially during my cleaning efforts. I could be organizing my files, when suddenly I find a picture that NEEDS to be returned to it's album or placed in a frame that's located in the other room. This starts me on a whole NEW project and the filing gets left unfinished.

I REALLY need to work on this. I NEED tunnel vision... or better yet, some of those horse blinders/blinkers that restrict my vision forward. Do they have something that will keep my head from thinking of ALL the other tasks I need to complete, too?! I'm so scattered... it's driving me completely insane. I USED to be more in control of things... I could get a task done and move on to the next with NO problem. I could even work on several tasks at once and not get too overwhelmed. NOW... maybe I just have TOO many tasks/chores to complete that my head is in overdrive. Let's just hope it doesn't explode anytime soon!

I started reading a book Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity by David Allen. It seems like it might have some keys to future success for me. Unfortunately, it's a popular title at the library right now and I had to return it before getting to the nitty gritty details. From what I did read though, I need to start writing EVERYTHING down, sort of like a "to do" list. The difference is that everything listed should also have the goal of that item/project AND the next step needed to complete the project. Hmmm... it makes sense to me... and it seems it would help me CLEAR my head!!! The book also seems to emphasize the common sense task of touching mail/small tasks only once. If it's something that can be done in under two minutes... just do it, don't add it to the rest of the stuff you have to do. I'm definitely getting this book from the library again... I may even have to buy it for my own collection.

I just need to find something else... because what I'm doing is NOT working! I'm also scouring the web for hints... but so far all I've located are suggestions of LIMITING distractions while completing organizing projects. No clues as to HOW to limit those distractions!!!

30 Day Organizational Challenge- My choice

2007-11-02T09:59:00.000-04:00

I've taken the first step in Org Junkie's 30 Day Organizational Challenge... I choose my project. I must say, I'm a bit nervous about this and a little afraid that I won't complete the challenge on time. I've been working on my "project" for several months now... well, at least that's what I tell myself. Really, all I've done is filed paperwork that SO NEEDED to be filed. Now... it's time to clean-up the rest of the room!

I've chosen to work on my front "office" room for this Challenge... mainly because, although I HAVE been working on it, it still remains the WORST room in our house. Originally when we moved in to this house, this room was designated the "book room." It was to hold all our books... AND my computer. That decision was made before The Kids came along. Since kids, it's kind of become a repository for all our things we don't know what to do with... our junk! Most of the junk arrived in this room when The Girl was born and we lost our spare bedroom, which was previously the holding area for the junk! I THOUGHT that putting the junk in the front room would help encourage me to rid myself of it QUICKLY, since it was in the open, now... months later... it's still sitting there AND it has grown. This room is REALLY stressing me out... so much so, that I just don't do much with it, even though I say that I do.

A quick look... this is the view you see when coming in the front door. Not a pretty site with all the boxes of stuff piled on the floor.
If you turn your head to the right, you will see my newly organized "office." It's actually still pretty clean... I just got to work on keeping the incoming mail pile to a minimum and filed QUICKLY!A little more to the right and you see more boxes... mostly stuff that I've been MEANING to sell on eBay!
Then, there's our BIG bookshelves! Would you believe we got these for FREE?! They are AWESOME, but they have been overrun by clutter... on top, on the shelves, EVERYWHERE. It's a surprise that we can find ANY books when we want them. At the bottom there is my eBay pile.
The entryway, we started at. There's an old dining room chair in here that I keep telling myself I'm going to fix and sell... instead it sits there holding boxes and bags. SAD.
AND finally, to the right of this... we have the pile of miscellaneous JUNK. This is all the stuff that I have NOT gotten to yet. I don't know whether to sell, keep, or junk any of this. I so need to go through this area.
We would like to reclaim this room as a "book/office" room. Mr. Wonderful is a writer at heart... and with that comes a love of reading. I LOVE reading, as well, but it's a different sort of love... I think. Anyway, he'd rather not part with MOST of his books... although I think he's starting to rethink that a tiny bit. I, on the other hand, would like to purge myself of the majority of my books. For me, it's a matter of getting in the right mindset... and just telling myself that I'm not REALLY going to read or refer to my college statistics book EVER again. I have a hard time giving up STUFF... especially if there is a slight, no matter how minuscule, chance of me needing it again. I'm getting better... starting to see the light, but it's still hard.

To reclaim this room as a "book/office" room, we pretty much just need to rid ourself of all our junk... that will clear the floor! As far as the bookshelves, the books need some serious rearranging!! There's miscellaneous items stuffed in the bookshelves, too... those items need to be removed and either relocated OR discarded. I have TONS of pictures in this room. Those need to be organized, but for now... I think I'll just put them in photo boxes to be stored on the bookshelves. Going through those will take much longer than I have to give right now.

Mr. Wonderful will help with this task... perhaps just by keeping The Kids occupied while I organize. The Boy might be able to help with small tasks, he always likes to help throw things away. In the past thought, The Kids got bored quickly though and ended up INCREASING my mess!

If we can get the books organized... and the junk OUT, this room should be pretty functional again. It would be NICE to have a second sitting chair... and a slipcover for the one we have now (it's a pretty hideous hand-me down, but beggars CAN'T be choosers). We will have to work on getting EVERYONE in the mindset of putting books away after reading. I need to figure out a solution for The Kids books. They will have a couple shelves of their own... right now they have one and it's just a mound of books.. nothing neat to it.

We pretty much have zero money to buy new items for this room, but I've been finding new uses for stowed away junk recently, so I'm sure I have some items that will help me organize this room somewhere else in the house... and there's ALWAYS Freecycle or Craigslist!

I HOPE that working just 15 to 30 minutes during the week and longer periods on the weekend will allow me to get this room cleaned once and for all by the end of the month. Keep your fingers crossed for me, will ya?! I'm starting by getting the Purple Heart in here to TAKE stuff away... even stuff that I tell myself that I could eBay. I've been telling myself that for too long... it's part of my problem! :)

If I DO by some chance finish early, I have a closet that I'd like to organize. That will be my back burner project!

Wish me luck! :)

I'm joining a 30 Day Challenge!

2007-11-01T10:43:00.001-04:00

I've decided to join Org Junkie's 30 Day Organizational Challenge. This may be the extra motivational PUSH that I need to get cracking a little more regularly. I admit, I've been slacking in my efforts. I get a couple hours of cleaning done on the weekends, but lately during the week... I just BARELY get the regular chores done! It would be GREAT to be a little more organized for when Thanksgiving roles around! Now deciding which space to tackle... I have so many. I think I would continue with my efforts in the front "office" room, but that might not be realistic to think I can get done in a month. A smaller space might be the front entryway closet... it's become a catchall for too many items. I must THINK about this... I only have a month, so I'd better think F-A-S-T! In fact, I am making it a goal of mine to make my final decision tomorrow and to have pictures of the space in hand... so, check back tomorrow!

Filing complete...

2007-10-28T11:38:00.000-04:00

The LAST box of "to file" paper work!!!I did it!!!! This box has been emptied... the junk paper has been thrown out and the "good" paper has been filed! It's a happy day! Now it's time to buy my labeler so I can label all the folders in my filing cabinet.

Here's my NEW and IMPROVED office area...
I'm still tweaking the drawers, but I think I'm pretty happy with the results so far! :)

I still have lots of paper to go through, but most of these are school papers from my teaching days, old letters/cards from friends and family, and old schoolwork from my school days. Many of those things will be junked, but some will be kept. I just have to figure out WHAT to do with them.

As far as my teaching days paperwork, I will probably toss most, but it will take time. I'm still tutoring AND I may teach again in the future, so I will want to have some of these to refer to and/or use. I hope to start scanning them into the computer... a long process, but one that should be done... there really is NO reason to keep hard copies anymore.

I'm also looking for ways to keep the old letters/cards. I've heard of putting them in a 3-ring binder or a photo box. I think I need to find a way to keep the important letters/cards in a way that they can be displayed... a way that I can actually look at them from time to time instead of having them stowed away in a box.

As far as the old schoolwork goes... I think ALL of these will be tossed. Except maybe course syllabi... those usually come in handy for resume preparation.

Beyond paperwork... I have a pile of things to be sold, donated, or trashed. This is a partial look at that pile...
I plan on starting this process this week.

I'm still feeling overwhelmed by the ~~whole mess~~ process, but at least I have had some progress!

Laundry Woes...

2007-10-21T22:53:00.000-04:00

Well, I have caught up on my laundry from our vacation. It's all cleaned, folded, and put away. This is actually an amazing thing for me. I hate to admit it, but our couch and/or clothes basket have become a dresser. I have no problem doing the laundry... I do a load or two a day (except on the weekends), but folding and putting the laundry away... I just can't do it. I HATE IT! Mostly, I hate the putting away of laundry. When I get a chance to fold, in front of the TV, it isn't so bad... perhaps even a tiny bit soothing... unless the kids are around. AND it's not that often that they aren't around. If the kids are around, it's a CONSTANT battle to keep them away from my nicely folded piles. Why is it that little ones are drawn to neatly folded piles? There's always a unfolded mass nearby, but they ignore that mass.

After this past week, I decided that there's got to be an easier way. I must be missing something, right? Well, I've been searching the web... and so far all I can find are many, many others in the same boat as me. I found someone (jokingly) deciding to opt for the nudist life instead of continuing with the dreaded task of folding and putting away clothes! I might just have to REALLY consider this option. I even found someone willing to pay a student to do the folding once a week on a Craigslist ad:

"This is an easy one. Once a week, you come to our ********* home (right near the **** campus) and put away a ton of laundry. (We can run it but we never seem to get around to putting it away. It's about 2 hours of work. If you are efficient, it should take you less time. We'll pay $40 for the whole shebang to be put away each week. Here's the catch: You will have to turn things inside out. You will have to know the difference between men's underwear and women's underwear, etc. I don't care if you talk on your cell phone the whole time you are working. I just hate folding and hanging laundry. Thanks."

I did also find the suggestion of getting the kids to put their own clothes away. That would be an option if they were older, but 1 and 3? Not sure that's going to happen just yet. I do think that I can get The Boy to put his socks and underwear away if I move them to a lower drawer, but that's about the extent of help from them. Both kids to occasionally help me load and unload the washer and dryer, but I REALLY don't think they'll be much help with folding and putting away right now.

So, tomorrow is another laundry day... the clothes will start piling up once again. I MUST find the secret to putting the laundry away. It's got be out there. If it's not... well, then I might just have my million dollar idea! Now if only I can think what it is...

I'm still decluttering... I think!

2007-10-17T22:02:00.001-04:00

I just got back from a vacation! ...AND you know what that means...
Yep... mounds of laundry to be caught up on!! :(

I usually do at least a load a day. Well the last few days... it seems I've done at least 4 or 5 a day. Not sure how going on vacation backs me up THAT much. Anyway, I haven't had much time for OTHER decluttering/cleaning tasks. I'm working hard on "catching up" from my vacation. I LOVE vacations, but I HATE post-vacations!!! I hope to get back into the swing of things in the next day or so.

Organizing the kitchen junk drawer

2007-10-05T10:18:00.001-04:00

I can't believe it's Thursday already! This week has really flown by... and unfortunately, I spent most of the week procrastinating getting much of anything done. Procrastination tends to be one of my BIGGEST pitfalls when it comes to cleaning. I still have that mentality that if I can't finish it in one sitting, it will NEVER get finished so I might as well skip it altogether. I needed to find a small job that I could do in one sitting... unfortunately, right now ALL jobs seem like they are too big for one sitting.

Yesterday, I finally forced myself to pull out my junk drawer, and as so kindly suggested by SAHMmy Says (although she was referring to my office I think if works here, too), I took a before picture.
Mr. Wonderful and I have stopped using this drawer... it's become the deposit for everything we don't know where to put. ...Or a receptacle for those things I don't want to throw away because I MIGHT use them again someday.

I pulled this drawer our, took another picture, and dumped everything out on the floor. Somehow I wrangled The Boy into helping me clean it out... AND
Surprise of all surprises... the task only took about 10 minutes! Ta da!
I used zipper baggies to hold clothes pins (which we use to close chip bags and such... and sometimes laundry), rubber bands, matches, and candles). I stole this idea from SAHMmy Says... these drawers are a bit too narrow and short for any pretty baskets, finding a silverware separator thing took us weeks... I didn't even want to look for something in this drawer.

I got so excited that this task went so quickly, I decided to pull out the only other drawer of ours that could use some help and repeated the process...
We use the items in this drawer daily... so having it a little more organized would be SUPER helpful! And here's what I came up with...
Now, if only I can get Mr. Wonderful to keep it this way. He doesn't do very well remembering where things go. This is one of his flaws... but I can't complain too much because he will help with the dishes on a fairly regular basis and that's usually a big help. (Although, SOMETIMES... I wish he would just let me handle it 'cause I will get it right!)

I decided to take a picture of the stuff I threw out as well. I think I got rid of like half of what was in that first junk drawer... very liberating I must admit. I almost talked myself into keeping some of it, but in the end I let it go!So, here's to a small SUCCESS! Now that I've completed one small task... I know I can find at least one small task for every other day. I might have to settle on every other day because sometimes I get too worn out by the regular household duties... I don't want to push myself too hard... and I want to be able to hang out with my kids and Mr. Wonderful sometimes, too!

New Plan...

2007-09-30T20:25:00.000-04:00

I've been thinking on my new plan of action. Here's what I've come up with...

I'm going to work on filing ONLY when Mr. Wonderful is home. Basically this means that the remainder of the filing will be completed on weekends. I DID work on filing this weekend... have ANOTHER bag of paper clutter shredded and ready to LEAVE my house!

I'm down to ONE box to file. I think I started with at least 4 (I know, it's horrible). My treat for when I finish this last box is to run out to an office supply store and purchase a labeler... did I ever mention that I'm a bit of an office supply geek?! My folders are created with handwritten labels, but it would be more visible to label with a labeler... this will also help my husband add his files when the time comes!

During the week, I'm going to spend at least a half hour on OTHER problem areas in my house. I think the first stop will be the kitchen junk drawer... who knows what is in there. Luckily, my kitchen is fairly well organized, although I know there are a few things I SHOULD throw out because I never use them... I'm working up to the right mindset for that purge.

I also plan on listing some things on eBay or Craigslist during the coming weeks. I have a growing pile here in my "office" that needs to be sold, given away, or donated. I don't know that this will happen this week... as I won't be on the computer the following week, so it just isn't logical to list now.

I'm hoping this will help with the burnout I'm experiencing in this room. I've always been one for variety. Focusing ALL my attention on ONE area may be the reason for my burnout.

So, this week I'll try out this NEW plan...

Burned Out...

2007-09-27T22:34:00.000-04:00

I was doing well, but now I think I'm burned out on working on the "office." If I let myself quit now it'll just build up again, so I need to come up with a new plan of action. To avoid losing the progress I have made, I'm now reevaluating and trying to figure out how to motivate myself again. ARGH!!