Work in Progress...

Ok, so for my first official post, I thought I'd tackle my closet. Aye, what a mess. My husband and I share a small walkin, and it needs help. First things first, getting out what I don't/can't wear. Hubby was a little tired of walking in there with piles everywhere and hearing me whine (I'll admit it, I whined) "I have nothing to wear!" So I started trying things on and if it didn't fit, it went in the donate pile. If I hadn't worn it in over a year, it got added to the pile. And so the pile grew and grew--way more than 10 things. What's left inside is more manageable now for sure, but I still need help. I need a few matching bins/baskets to line the top shelf on one side. I think I'd like to use those for little clutches and bags, scarves, etc. We also need a better way to secure our stacked clothing on the shelf. It's too easy for the stacks to topple over leaving us with the messy piles we currently have. I did separate my shoes some, and now I have my little sandals and flip flops in one of those under the bed shoes thing-a-ma-jigs. (On another note, how does my closet get so dang dusty? Hopefully my shoes will stay a little cleaner this way, at least those 10 pair!)

Anyway, the photos above are the befores (maybe not the worst of the before). Hopefully I can finish this project up soon--it all hinges on those upper shelves!

pictureless desk

I didn't take any pictures but I took twenty minutes just and cleared a STACK of crap off my desk. I have organized things that need to be filed (I'll do that tonight) and have a decent size trash pile. I feel really good about this monday morning so far!


Where is everyone??? Come back! Post to us! Let's motivate each other. Remember it doesn't have to be huge massive projects. Just ten things. Walk around with a laundry basket and pick up ten things that need to GO or just sit in a "trouble spot" with a trash can at your feet!

Cheers!

The Island... aka "the catch all"

We bought this island so that we'd have more counter room in our kitchen... HA. It's NEVER used for extra counter space in the way I see an island being used... for cooking, food handling, grocery setting down.. nope. It's used for mail dumping, paper dumping, coloring dumping, random things we don't know where to put them... NO MORE!



I took everything off the top and put it on the table to sort it out. I did the same with the cabinet. I am keeping the art supplies in the cabinet for now mostly be/c there isn't another place for them currently. But I'm considering getting some kind of shelving for art/puzzles/games since we seem to be breeding those things.

Here are two things that really don't belong in here but haven't had another "home" until TODAY. One is a BAG full of different icings and sprinkles and birthday candles. The second is a safety kit.

Here is a stack of just papers needing to find the trash can.

Here is a stack of junk needing to find the trash can...
play-do scissors (we don't even have any play-do!)

And TA DA! The after:

Little By Little

Nothing is particularly hard if you divide it into small jobs.
-Henry Ford

This may be a small and pretty insignificant project today. But, hey, at least I committed!

I had a crazy day involving a big interview that was 2.5 hours away (5 hours round trip). In between I had to take care of two little boys---in particular, a newly 3 year old who wants to prove to mommy he doesn't have to do anything she says. Being the sole parent is particularly stressful when interviewing because when the interviewer says jump, I have to jump. I get crazy trying to make back up plans in a pinch (the boys are in daycare on a military base and you have to have a military id to get on to base---so I have to jump through rings of fire to get anyone else to be able to pick them up as backup). So, when the interviewer asked me today what my greatest accomplishment was, I was wishing that I could have been really honest and told him it was getting out of the house today instead of the corporate mumbo jumbo I spoon fed.

ANYWAY, my whining aside, I cleaned out under the half bath sink this morning while I was drying my hair. The clutter was mostly just packaging from toilet paper, etc.

BEFORE:

AFTER:

Now, I know it is not much, but it does help to restore order in my otherwise chaotic life. Every little bit counts.

Bathrooms

I'm not all together sure how this happened, but I ended up in both bathrooms tonight giving them a big purge! I forgot the before pictures be/c I wasn't really planning on doing so much. I had toothpaste to put under the sink and it was TRASHED so I sat down and got busy. Here's the after, left side and right side.

nAnd here's the crap that leaves my house... the box has nothing but trash in it. wrappers and empty boxes of old junk. Expired meds, SUPER OLD (like from high school) perfume that smells gross now, cough drops from who knows when be/c I don't remember ever buying that kind...

the funniest thing to me though was the lipsticks.
WHY do I still have them, when they look like this?

OLD MEDS

I don't remember ever seeing this basket under the sink either. I wish I would have had it OUT and used cutely over the holidays. I'll be relocating it now. Thank you so much.

And then something weird happened. I moved from the master bath to the hall bath... and started over. Again no before pic be/c I wasn't planning on pulling it all out, but here's the after.

Here's the crap that is expired and hitting the trash can.
(NO Clue how old that bleach is,.... ew)

And then somehow, I scooted over and opened the linen closet and went "ACK!" so here's the before pic since I was with camera in hand:

And the after!

So there you have it... my bathrooms. Whew!

Playroom Perk Up

It's crazy. This whole experience of writing about getting rid of things and organizing is very eye opening. If you were to walk into my house, I think you would say that I was organized, orderly, and pretty darn clean. And I feel that way. BUT, my goodness, when I break it down closet by closet and cabinet by cabinet, it looks so different! Perhaps I need to do a better job! Granted, this is just a glimpse into my life and I don't show the good things. I'm only showing the bad. Why did I think this was a good idea to do this again????? Too late to turn back now. You've seen it all.

Anyway, today's task had to be done quickly and easily because I had my two little boys running around who desperately wanted Mommy's undivided attention. So, I tackled the cabinet I use in the playroom for a catch-all for diapering needs (I have two in diapers), meds, etc. This way, I could be in constant contact with the boys without them even knowing I was cleaning. They were playing and I was tossing.

BEFORE:

AFTER:

One cabinet, one drawer, one closet, and one room at a time. Sooner or later, it will all get done and I will relish in it!

Only 10 Things??

Obviously I had a lot to tackle here. We rarely go in this room, probably because it's a freaking mess. Would you want to go in there? I swear I'm not a hoarder. The rest of my house doesn't look like that, I promise. Just little cluttery piles everywhere. I repeat, I'm not a hoarder, so don't go calling A&E just yet.

10 Things. Done. Piece of cake.

Soooooo much better.

I guess I got a little carried away. I decided to start going through my closet and getting rid of some clothes. Then I moved into the last bedroom, to see what else I could find. Not much, not much at all...Just a few little things to get rid of.

What? I told you I'm not a hoarder. At least that's what I keep telling myself. I'd like to know where the heck this all came from though. I still have the kitchen and garage to go through. I figure this got me ahead a little bit. Once this is taken away, I'll start again. Not bad for a day's work, eh?

the boys' closet

Again I forgot to take before pics, but here is my after...

The top shelf was a JOKE. Things were just thrown up there with no rhyme or reason. Piles of underwear too small, baby toys, blankets, art work, ugh, it was just a mess. The clothes hanging were of multiple sizes and always a pain to go through and find a nice shirt for Sundays. Then on the lower shelf, there were again piles of clothes that needed to be put away either too small now or too big or hang ups that weren't hung, ect. Under those piles were a heaping mound of shoes again-- zero organization. The floor kind of rinse and repeat for the shelf. Clothes with tags, clothes in bags, clothes too small, the next size waiting for Matthew needing to go in the dresser... ugh. It was awful.

NOW It is nice a neat!
-The top shelf is very friendly with their baby books/memory boxes then comes baby toys, and a wipes container with pacifiers in it. The brown sack has two different size opened partially used packs of diapers. Next to the brown sack, you can't see is a small tub labeled of two different sizes of too small underwear for Matthew that I didn't want to put up in the attic not knowing when Mark was going to begin potty training.
-Then the hanging stuff on the far left is special jackets/outfits, then extra hangers, the middle is Matthew's and the right is Mark's.
-The lower shelf while in the picture doesn't look very organized, I'm actually most pleased about! ALLLL the shoes are now labeled and bagged and will be very easy to find as they grow size to size. Here's a closer look at the shoes:
-Then the floor... that is a little dark in the picture but the far left is the next size for Matthew (things that have been handed down from cousins), next to that is a bag for my BFF, then the box you can actually see is Mark's current size but summer clothes and next to that last box is the comforter/bumper for the crib.

It looks so nice in there! I keep opening the doors to see it all straightened up! It took two hours last night and about two plus hours this morning to go through all the clothes and all. I got Matthew's dresser emptied of all small clothes and filled with the now size. ( I forget what a huge chore size changing is for them). I boxed three boxes of Matthew's smaller size (goodness, slacker!) and one box from even the size before that (super slacker). Jamie took them up to the attic. I also ended up with a PILE of trash: random papers from the hospital from Mark (eeee!), art work, tags, wrappers... Also I made a give pile (for a friend who's recently had a boy) of some really cute things but my boys just haven't worn. And lastly, I made a small pile of goodwill stuff. LOVE IT!

Papers, Schmapers.

This is one of my major trouble zones. I tend to collect all things crap here: papers, mail, bills, coupons, craft supplies, newspapers, the kids' art, and miscellaneous stuff I don't know what else to do with. So, it piles and piles, and piles until it gets to this point and I HAVE to do something about it....which is where I was earlier today.

I've read recently that when trying to organize, try to stay true to your routine or pattern. That way you will be more likely to stick to it. So, since I pile here, I'm going to attempt to organize here.

My first step was to sort through this mound:

And, so I did:

My next step was to set up an organizing system:

I found these at Walmart in the clearance section. I think each set of two was $7. So, I spent $14. I labeled each drawer: File, To-Do, Receipts, and Misc. My system also includes the basket on the ground, because under the blanket...:

...are all of my file folders:

This way, the folders are readily available to sort when I need to. Also, the basket is easily moved. So, when I have guests and need to clear the area, all I have to do is pick it up and move it to another location.

We will see if this system proves to be any better for me over time!

Cleaning Supply Cabinet Cleanup

Say that 10 times fast!

I only had a few minutes to do some extra organizing today, so I dove into the cleaning supply cabinet in the laundry room. I knew this one would be quick and easy as it was mostly just reorganizing.

BEFORE:

AFTER:

And here are the 10 things that I got rid of from this cabinet:

Quick, easy, and DONE!

Small things are starting to make a big difference!

Hot Dog! I Did It!

This is some exciting stuff. Almost as exciting as candles! So you don't sit on pins and needles any longer, I will cut to the chase (no pun intended). Here are the before and after shots of the dog cabinet in the laundry room (sorry for the poor lighting):

BEFORE:

AFTER:

Here are a few of the things I got rid of:

1. A mason jar (which I shattered on the floor while cleaning, dammit)

2. A dead Roomba (it costs as much to fix as it does for a new one)

3. A new but unused collar for our St. Bernard (who was put down last May)

4. A harness that has never been used

5 & 6. Two mostly empty peanut butter jars that we call "Dog Peanut Butter"

7 & 8. Two rogue tea light candles

9. An empty bottle of ear cleaner

10. The extra food container and the nasty pig ears that were in it

One of the nice things that came out of this project is that I found my St. Bernard's collar. Instead of getting rid of it, I made a little memorial to him on the door. I hung his picture up with his collar hanging around it. I miss my big guy and this is a nice way to think of him more often.
So, as I work my way through the laundry room cabinets, my next stop will most likely be the cleaning supplies. Can you stand the excitement?!

My Name is Jackie, and I'm Addicted to Candles.

We all have our addictions. At least I think everyone does. I have several, one of them being candles. I have a cabinet full of candles. Call me a liar because I actually have TWO cabinets full of candles.

My husband and I have come to the conclusion that we will never be minimalists. We dream about it---about living without plethora of things, about being stripped down to the bare essentials and not be weighed down by our possessions. But let's face it. It's not in either of our blood---especially mine. However, we have come to the conclusion and agreement that we will only keep the things we use (including my service for 60). And believe it or not, I use the majority of these candles throughout the year. Many of them are seasonal and are used at different times of the year. But in the spirit of cleaning things up and eliminating things we don't use, I give to you my candle cabinet(s)!

Before:

AFTER:

BEFORE:

AFTER:

I do not have photographic evidence of the things I discarded, but I have a bag full that went in the trash and some that are headed to our favorite donation spot.

I'm trying to make my way through the laundry room (where the candles are located), so stay tuned for some very exciting stuff like the dog cabinet. I bet you can barely stand the anticipation!