The Decluttering Lion and The Linen Closet

My mom is "shocked and slightly embarassed at the sight of" my clutter and disarray being displayed for the world to see. I, on the other hand, think that you're like me and need to see that no matter how hard we try, we're not perfect and don't have to time for everything. Rome wasn't built in a day, and a clean and organized home comes from constant work and upkeep. My current process has been to methodically room by room, closet by closet, purge and declutter. If you are a packrat, just skip on to the pictures, close your ears and your eyes because you are not going to like what I am going to say.

Are all the packrats gone??

For YEARS, I mean since I was in high school, I have saved things. Special things, not special things, things I thought could be repurposed, broken things, ridiculous things, things for art projects, useful or not it got saved. I thought I "couldn't part with it". I linked memories, money, happiness, and lots of other things to all this STUFF.

THE RESULT-

A mess that I could not keep up with. When we bought our house, we bought a fixer-upper, because it had more character, and more square footage. That was 6 years ago. I couldn't believe all the closets, cabinets, and space, after living in my apartment and then dorm room before that. Then one day I woke up and the house was full. The attic, the closets, the basements, drawers, cabinets, every space full of STUFF!! For a long time I and those who loved me couldn't understand why I couldn't keep my house clean, why I couldn't just pick up as I went, why I let it get so bad, and why it didn't bother me unless company was coming.

I read books about it, I read blogs about it, searched for tips, tried little things like baskets for my medicine, it helped a little, but was not the cure.

They say necessity is the mother of all invention, and that's what happened with me. I got tired of not being comfortable in my home, of not being able to find what I needed, and not having a place to put things. (Being hospitalized for the 2nd year in a row helped this just a little)

I am by NO means finished. This is going to be a process, a long one. But I've accomplished a lot and gotten rid of a lot!! I think my current count is 6 bags of trash and about 8 bags/boxes of things for Goodwill, thrift, etc.

You saw my bedroom earlier in the week, but I forgot to tell you that I also tackled my linen closet-the dark abyss of forgotten linens. It is amazing what we accumulate, way to much of stuff that is used WAY to little. I got rid of icky sheets and towels, scratchy ones, and just kept the good stuff. I, in fact, did a little research about stocking a linen closet and how much of what you needed. This helped guide me a little in how much of what to keep. So check out the stuff I pulled out and the end result.

Before:

After:

When it rains it pours......

Right into the basement!

That's right-our basement-full of water, that's what we got to deal with today :) But we are still smiling and pushing forward. Russell worked all day packing up his stuff-the basement was/is his man cave! Since I got home at 4:00 my Mom and I have been plowing through our guest room/mount crumpet/junk hole. 3 boxes in the attic later, 2 bags of clothes sorted for new homes, several bags of trash, and piles of other stuff all over my house-we have restored some order. Russell was able to get all of the things from the basement clean and into rubbermaid tubs that were put in the closet in our guest room-one giant one in the floor. Now we have to deal with the furniture, carpet, etc. Most of the furniture is ruined, and unless we can be sure it doesn't have mold, we won't keep it, because I am allergic to mold and mildew-and we don't want anyone to breath it, allergic or not :) We don't know what the insurance will cover-but everything is ruined-carpet, furniture, paneling, etc. AND in order for it not to happen again, it's going to take about $3,o00 or more worth of work on the outside of the house, to dig trenches, build drains, etc.
I'm frustrated, but it could be so much worse and we are still so blessed. I am so thankful I had completed all the things I had done, otherwise I don't know if I would have ever been able to dig out of the mess that would have been made. Instead, I have some piles and stacks to deal with, but for the most part things are okay-and as a bonus we got our major clutter hole (the guest room) clean!! We even got part of the crazy pit of a hall closet clean, only because we had stuff that had to go on it!! Mom and dad just left, bless them, and Cher brought Isaac home from church for us-which helped tremendously. I'm going to shower and see if I can't at least try to contain things a little. It seems the biggest messes are in the hall and our bedroom-which I just almost finished cleaning.
This too shall pass! I continue to be thankful for my healing-I feel sooooooooo good-and can't imagine doing this, experiencing all this, still feeling bad-I praise the LORD for the healing he has brought and for what he continues to do in our lives.

Tackle it Tuesday

I have really tackled a lot in the last few days in the hope of being more organized this year. My latest accomplishment is pictureless-sorry the batteries died, but I promise after pictures tomorrow! I have cleaned and organized the computer desk-whew it was bad. But today, it was the blackhole cabinet in the kitchen. I have to tell you I found a few crazy things. I didn't even know we had a Tater Twister-it's brand new. My dh says we got it as a wedding present-I disagree-we moved once I really don't think I would have kept it-we don't fry at all. So if anyone wants a brand new Tater Twister-speak up or its off to the donation pile. I also found random slicer and dicer parts, an arcaic mixer, as well as my old broken mixer that my amazing mom replaced with my dream bright red shiny Kitchen Aid Mixer last year!!! And then there was the cruddy, gross, nasty toaster oven that my DH has had since he was a MARINE, I mean really!! So I promised him I would buy him a new one (won't that be a great Valentine's Day gift :)), and it too is in the donation pile. Way, way, way too many gadgets. 2 crockpots-I use and love-, the other is almost all expendable, except for the AWESOME bright shiny red mixer-Isaac and I couldn't make banana bread without it! So if my DH will take all the clutter to donate it tomorrow I will really be in business :)

A place for everything-even if it means putting it in the garbage!

This is the first of many projects I'm working on. I'm cleaning EVERYTHING out. I'm tired of clutter, tired of messes, tired of not knowing where something is, and tired of stuff being everywhere. I've sorted, trashed, piled for donation, and sorted some more. I can't lift over 5 pounds, so that makes things interesting :) My dear hubby is beginning to wonder if the doctors tinkered with my brain a little-due to this sudden fluctuation in my behavior. He hopes that it sticks, but knows that I'm good at digging in, but not always so great at keeping up with it. So take a look at my first project:

Back when Isaac was only a flutter in my tummy we began working on his room. We tackled the closet first, hoping to get it ready and be able to be organized. Ha!! Ha-Ha!! We got the great Closetmaid set, did drawers, 2 poles, shelves, all the right stuff-but it was almost like it was too much space. I've struggled with what goes where and what to do with the shelves for 4 years. But now, I'm into the lets just stick it all in a basket phase-so that's what I did. I bought baskets, and Santa brought my DH a snazzy labeler in his stocking. I'm hoping that the old saying "a place for everything and everything in it's place" will pay off. I've never been good about having a place for everything-so here it goes!

The infamous shelves. The higher they go, the less Isaac needs to reach it!Keeping fire gear closest, of course :)

Soft toys, puzzles, and finally a drawer for shoes so they aren't all over the floor!!

All this was stuffed inside his desk and never used, because he couldn't get to it. Now, paper, workbooks, and coloring books all within reach :)

This hanging organizer was great, but his "equipment" always fell out. Now there are baskets in each hole-pretend, Carolina Panthers, Clemson, Soccer, and Baseball.

I would love to know your tips and tricks for staying organized and dealing with clutter. What are you secrets, routines, or habits that help you keep your home in order?