Since my last link up, I've organized several areas in my home, the biggest being my studio. I've also developed a serious objection to clutter... Any clutter... My once beloved piles drive me crazy! Don't get me wrong, I still have piles (too many piles) but the sight of them makes me cringe. In the past two weeks, while attempting to clean something I was supposed too, I got 100% side tracked by clutter. It derailed the entire morning and delayed getting done what I was supposed to be doing, but I now have a spotless fridge, immaculate computer station on the main floor and a clutter free fridge top (and sides).
I threw out fridge magnets... I have a habit of collecting them. Even thought I'd done away with all the other "collections", I couldn't part with my magnets (including broken ones), but when I started cleaning before Christmas, I just couldn't help myself. I think my husband thought I'd been abducted by aliens. The more I cleaned, the more I... LIKED it! Seriously, who gets addicted to cleaning out clutter!?!?
I even went so far as to create an Organizing Survival Kit for my contribution to our yearly, family gift exchange. In addition to the copy of "Clutter Rehab", I added post it notes, a baking dish organizer, and over the door organizer, a shoe organizer, Command hooks and a few other little organizing tidbits I gleaned from Laura's book. It certainly inspired me to become my own junkie, so I hope it will inspire my sister-in-law (who exclaimed "OOOO! Organizing stuff, I LOVE IT!" and proceed to tell me what a clutter bug my brother and nephews are!
I also managed to organize our Christmas decorations, the Halloween supplies, my seasonal craft stuff, my son's bedroom (and dresser - AGAIN), the pantry, the fridge, the pot cupboard, my fabric, yarn, ribbon and half of my notions. I also went through TroubleMaker's toys again and his books plus we purged our own fiction and non fiction libraries. I got rid of books, VHS movies, excess notions and fabric pieces, toys and even am waiting to give away a bunch of furniture we don't need! I don't want to wait til summer for a garage sale, so the local Freecycle has been my very best friend.
It's been an amazing year for me - organizing wise - when I started out last January, I remember thinking this was going to be a chore - and at first, it was. Then one day, I suddenly realized that I was just "doing" much of this automatically - so much so, that I quit writing about it altogether because it just needed to be done and it was getting done... Kind of like magic.
Games Area (After) Games Area (Before)
I've learned a few things about myself and my family (my husband is a clutter bug too but he's better at keep it organized) and our habits are all too quickly becoming our son's habits! He hates parting with anything - but is the first to point out my foibles when it comes to how a system I've selected for organizing something does't quite measure up!
For 2012, I hope to keep up the work... I also hope to incorporate more organization into my life - especially in my kitchen. I haven't completed my spice cupboard overall, but with the "back to work blues" looming, I know I need to tackle it so I can spend more time with my son and less time riffling through the spice cupboard when I'm cooking!
Thank you, Laura, for hosting this unique and amazing challenge! Thank you to all the inspiring people who've shared their journeys, visited my blog and help keep me inspired! I'll be adding some photos later tomorrow so check back to see some concrete results of changed habits!
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