New Strategies for the Ancient War on my Pack Rat Tendencies:
1) Take the extra 10 minutes once clean clothes are folded to actually put them away, like in drawers and stuff.
2) Open mail once a week instead of once a month, even the bank statements. Throw out envelopes, etc. Put up sign refusing flyers.
3) Get closet organizers, and, you know, organize them.
4) Disassemble Jolly Jumper and put in the basement. Find alternative laundry storage that the cat won't sleep/shed/puke on.
5) Do something with the foot-high pile of "to be filed" papers on top of the overfilled files that can't fit anymore in. Maybe buy some new file folders and start a 2007 set?
6) Stop using the kitchen table as a dumping ground.
7) Stop using the dining room table as a dumping ground.
8) Stop using the front hall shelf as a dumping ground. Maybe buy a new piece that fits more shoes and stuff in it.
9) Stop using every single surface out of Swee'pea's reach as a dumping ground. Find permanent homes for stuff or throw them out right away.
10) Stop using the laundry room as a dumping ground; stick to the basement.
11) Donate Donate Donate: clothes that I only wear for Halloween; clothes that I haven't worn in two years (except that in those two years I've been pregnant and postpartum, so maybe that's not fair?); serving dishes that I don't like as much as the new ones we got in South Africa.
12) Put away maternity clothes and baby stuff in a semi-permanent way.
13) TBD
Thanks to the generosity of Sugar Daddy's family, we have a much smaller debt from our trip than we expected. So this morning I went out and dropped a bunch of money buying various items to organize our house and closets: boxes, baskets, drawer units, etc. Plus a coupla gates for the top and bottom of the stairs. Hopefully tonight I will not drop suddenly after dinner from jetlag and will be able to organize some stuff somewhere between dinner and House.
Just a coupla random shots... Posting and organizing photos is proving a long and arduous process... check out my flickr page periodically if you want sneak peeks in the meantime... I'm uploading every day.
10 comments:
yay for pictures!
and good luck organizing. i am the organizational freak around here. i'm obsessive about this sort of thing, but my GOD WITH A BABY! it's all falling to pieces. (sob).
seriously. good luck.
Sin,
Are you my doppelganger? Your to-do list would have been so funny had it not also been so horrifically unnerving.
Those colourful baskets on the black and white tile. Magnificnet.
Joe's the neat freak around here, but even I'm getting anxious. A few weeks ago, after we'd finally folded all of our clean clothes, Mme L was surprised to find that there was a loveseat (a whole loveseat!) in our bedroom. Sad. And sadder still that it's disappeared again.
Good luck!
Mimi, any suggestions or tips?
Mad, what a relief to know I'm not the only one!
Sage, LOL!
That was my list, no question (except we don't have a kitchen table, just a dining room table. Things are improving here (except for the pile of important documents scattered all over the floor in mid-organization0 but it definitely takes time. Once the floor is visible again it'll be "tackle the basement" day, and man will that be a long one. Love the photos, I can't wait to be able to travel there!
good luck. at first i thought those baskets were the ones you bought to organize - how much awesomer would clutter look if it were in those baskets?
p.s. my clean, folded clothes (when they make it that far) haven't seen a drawer in 21 months. except for during the occasional cleaning frenzy.
love those pictures--you *are* a cinnamon girl, aren't you?! (i have the same glasses, i think)
if you can just do #1 it makes the week so much easier. i have a "balling socks" policy on sundays. i hate the stress of searching for socks ona weekday morning as i scramble!
have you see flylady.com? she's mildy insane, but some good tips there for these things:)
When you get done at your place, come organize all the same things at MY house. Although I'm terrified that putting away my maternity clothing will magically result in my getting knocked up again immidiately. If only there was some way to prevent this!
What beautiful basket/bags. And your photos are absolutely breathtaking -- I'm enjoying my catch-up reading!
I'm an organizing freak, too.
Love the baskets - so lively and colorful looking. In fact, I could probably organize something with those... ;-)
Post a Comment