29 Day Challenge Follow Up

I started with Laura's PROCESS steps:

Plan of attack:

Plan your project before

you start.

Remove items:

Empty the space completely

so you can start from a

clean slate.

Organize into piles:

One each to donate/toss/

sell/keep/relocate.

Sort like with like.

Containerize:

Containers and other

storage solutions establish

limits and boundaries.

Evaluate your plan:

How is your system

working for you? What

needs to be modified?

Solve and simplify: Address anything that isn’t working for you and revise accordingly.

Smile, relax and enjoy your hard work!

orgjunkie.com

The stack of magazines in front of the closet were from early 2010. If I haven't read them by now I doubt that I will, besides the information is 2 years old already. Out they went. Tax papers and medical bills were also included those were relocated to my desk to be sorted later. Back in the 90's when they were supposed to be cool, I bought one of the round bed side tables with a glass top. Normally, it should have a cloth matching the bedding but I think I took it off a few years ago to wash it and never put it back. It never really fit beside my bed because it was so big, I could not even open the first two drawers under the bed fully. However, I have a very nice "telephone stand" that belonged to my Grandmother that I love and it fits perfectly. I switched them out and added storage drawers to keep the dogs from getting into my treasures and medication.

I used to have a shelf system against the wall at the end of the bed, however my son needed it for a while, eventually it ended up in another room. After much deliberation I decided to purchase a new one. It used to work well for organizing my stock pile of medications, toothpaste, travel size freebies, scrapbooking supplies, and such. The current system is not working the top is a mess and I cannot get to the lower boxes without having to move every thing.

Finally, I started to work my way through the piles in and around the opening of the closet. I can not work on something I can not get into. I found old purses that I would never use again and were not in adequate shape to even give away, a box of sock, a partially filled box of give away items, a bridesmaid dress from last July I am trying to sell, sewing projects, and luggage.

Thanks to Walmart and Target gift cards I had received at Christmas everything I purchased only cost me $50.00 out of pocket. I also bought a few other things that may will be used for compartmentalization later. I am actually surprised at how well I have done so far. Classes are going well and since I was trying to work ahead I was able to accomplish all my class work including 5 papers along with my clean up. Next week I will be tackling the closet, dresser, and dressing table.

29 day challenge.

I started my 29 day challenge yesterday. Here are the before pictures. I am embarrassed to post these but it always seems to look worse in pictures so maybe it will help me get motivated. Normally I would use the start at the top method of organizing however in this case I cannot get to the top. I will have to start on the floor cleaning up enough to be able to get to the dresser and closet before the end of the month.
Closet

DresserTV stand

Feb - Daily Challange

This is the website that inspired me to "clean up" my life for good. I have gotten off to a great start but one area certainly lacking a fresh start has been my bedroom. It has become the place where I hide all the junk I clean up but don't want to part with yet. Truthfully it has become a small pathway around my bed with the walls and floor closing in on me. It is time for a small diversion 15 minutes at a time for one short month to bring peace, harmony, and health back to my bedroom.

Week 04

I am still attempting to finish last week's closet organization. I have a pile of recycle still sitting, a number of old phones to drop off at the police station, and a box of light bulbs to relocate among other various odds and ends. I also have a number of coffee cups from dish sets. We use the dishes but I don't think we ever used the cups, likewise, I doubt we ever will, those will be packed and wrapped for the next donation pick up. School began last week and I am taking 2 classes for the next 8 weeks leaving little time for anything much less organizing. While cooking eggs for breakfast one morning I started to quickly sift through the cabinet over the stove. No time for a before picture. But here is the after:

I added the adjustable wire shelf. Before, everything was stacked on top of each other making opening the doors a hazard from falling food. It turned out to be a great time to tackle this area because I found bugs in the whole wheat pasta. Even they are eating healthy these days. Five or Six boxes of pasta went into the trash and all new boxes will be placed in plastic bags or sealed glass containers immediately.

Week 03

Watch out Belle there may be an avalanche. That closet is stacked up to the point it is dangerous. You cannot tell by this picture but there is a 38" x 19" floor in there. The closet is over the basement stairwell, therefore it gets increasingly deeper with each shelf. The middle shelf is 2.5 feet deep and the top one is just over 3 feet deep.

We had most of the plastic containers in the closet but could never find a lid no matter how hard I tried to keep them together. We also had some in a deep drawer in the kitchen. Rani cannot believe the drawer it now empty. "Where did it go, Rani?" It is all now matched and neatly stacked in the closet thanks to Florica.

I can even step into the closet. I realized I had way to many paper plates so we will be bringing a number of those down to the camper we keep in the country for weekend getaways. Those pink tubs are full of plates and cups. Paper bowls are stacked up on the center shelf and more packages of plates are on top of a new wire shelf I had purchased years ago but could not get DH to hang. The brace can be seen in the upper right hand corner. I now have some place to hang my guest's coats.

Classes begin this week and I have chosen 2 classes this quarter. The History class looks like it will require an extreme amount of work and writing assignments. I anticipate smaller challenges for the next eight weeks.

Week 2 began with a look at my daughters room. She just moved into her brother's old room in Aug when he moved out. One would think her room would not need purging or organizing in such a short time but it did. Here is the before. First was her dresser. The book shelf was a mess and vertical space was not used effectively.

The second area was her closet. We had run out of boxes and nothing was where it was supposed to be, shirts mixed with shorts, long sleeve and camis all together...

After a complete purging of her clothes we have 2 boxes of give-aways. Then during a quick run to Walmart for organizational supplies we found these great pink sterilite boxes on clearance for $3.00. We bought all they had (16). I would have liked to have gotten clear boxes to make it easier to determine what was inside but for the price I went with the pink and they match her black and pink room. Once I find my label maker I will be able to label all the boxes for easier identification.

It is much easier now for her to find what she wants and as a bonus she personally cleaned up her desk before I could even get pictures. I had planed to tackle that area my next round in her room. Hopefully she can keep this up for a while.

Out with the Old.

Week 1. As is evident by the past year's worth of blog I didn't keep up very well. I am resolving this year a number of things.

1. continue classes at the university. (I am determined to finish my degree this time around I have one more year to go therefore, this will remain number one until I am finished.) I have a straight A average at this time and joined the Golden Key

International Honor Society this past year.

2. 52 weeks of Organization. I found a blog toward the end of the year which helps encourage those of us domestically challenged to take it slow and steady. Picking one area a week makes it seem like a doable task. After spending the last month decluttering while preparing for the holidays I really like the simpler lifestyle along with being able to see the top of my tables and counters. I will keep this up and hopefully report each week. With any luck I will have my car in the garage by the end of the year. I started a little early since I was off work the last couple of days. I started in Flori's room but have not finished because we ran out of boxes and I believe we could use an extend-a-shelf which I have ordered. I moved to a smaller area to help me feel like I accomplished something. I was able to purge and even have empty spaces now.

3. This brings me to my last resolution to blog about my accomplishments and set backs throughout the year in an effort to learn and grow from them. My garden was a complete failure last year due to the heat and rats. I tried, to no avail, to produce a hardy crop of anything. With any luck I will be able to report a better outcome this year.