Happy Earth Day!

4/22/2014

I have a confession to make. When it comes to our house, I’m messy. Utterly disorganized. I’d rather draw. Or play with the kids. Or volunteer. Or read books about decluttering but not actually do it.

But there comes a point when even I get cranky looking at the piles and get tired of not being able to find what I’m looking for. So after reading many books about getting organized, I learned these things:

Being organized provides serenity and increases productivity (which I like)
Tackle a small area at a time (conquer and divide!)
Donate the item if you have a hard time letting go of it
Reward yourself after you accomplish a major organizational project (yum!)

I went through our house and created a custom checklist by room of what needs to be done. Some rooms have a lot more work than others but being an artist, it is nice to have a visual overview of all the tasks.

Today, I cranked up the music and tackled two major areas: the medicine cabinet and the attic which was not even accessible anymore (except with a bulldozer). It’s amazing how much stuff you can fit into a medicine cabinet over the years… I took 3 bags of expired medication, vitamins, ointments, etc. to our local police station which has a special drop box for recycling this type of stuff. Before you throw your old meds in the trash or flush them down the toilet, please check the resources for recycling options in your community as you would not want to get drugs into your local water supply.
The attic contained lots of items worthy of donation. Now it is accessible and I have an overflowing bag full of kids clothes to donate. Yeah! I’m making progress! And in honor of Earth Day, I tackled all three R's: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. :0)

What is your plan of attack when it comes to getting organized? Any tips for success you can share?

Now I actually know how many sunscreen bottles and bandages we have!

2 Comments

sherryduin link

4/22/2014 11:26:15 pm

Marieke, I'm so proud of you : ). You know me, I'm constantly organizing, I find it to be a fun thing. One thing that I've noticed over the years is that when I find myself reorganizing a certain space in our house, that I don't need to necessarily go and buy a new basket, container, etc. to keep said thing organized. I usually have something that I can pull from another space that isn't needed anymore because that space has evolved and uses another system so to speak.

This past Christmas we got our son a desk for his room and in doing so required that we remove the simple little cube shelves that he had used for books/toys because the desk had it's own system and the toys that had be kept in baskets had actually been outgrown (so we made donation, garbage, give to little friends piles). In pulling those from his room, I was finally able to reorganize my closet which has haunted me for years. It is an awkward space that has a sloped ceiling so you can't just walk into one of those closet organizing stores and order a system. I was able to use one of his old cube shelves for me sweaters that had been hidden on a shelf and not easy to get to behind my hanging clothes. So my sweaters are easy to reach and see. The shelf that is difficult to get to now has my purses (which I don't change much). In doing so I was able to get the purses out of the guest bedroom closet. When I did, I put together a rather large pile of purses to donate.

Marieke link

4/23/2014 02:48:34 am

Sherry, you are my inspiration! Great idea on reusing organizational supplies when they have outgrown their purpose in an other area. I feel really pleased with what I got done yesterday. Now to find the motivation to cross off another item today.... Drinking an extra large cup of coffee this morning before I tackle daughter's overflowing clothes closet! :0)

Happy Earth Day!

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