2016 is here and this is a MAJOR goal!
We have lived in our current house for a little over 11 years now. Since we moved in, our family has grown with 5 children, and has sheltered several relatives who needed a little bit of help. With the addition of wee-ones, visitors through our revolving door, entertaining for holidays and celebrations, etc., we've had to move things from room to room to room, ending up in our dumping ground of a basement or office. Does that sound familiar???
It's time for me to take the bull by the horns and get it together!
We are currently finishing our basement for more living space and storage, both of which should provide homes for our mix-match belongings. Our basement should hopefully be complete right after the New Year! YAY!!! With that said, I am already planning the decluttering process while figuring out where our personal belongs will reside. I'm rather excited about it!
First on my list are the closets. Closets are a great place to store items as long as they are organized. I'll be starting off with my on closet which I share with my husband (his closet has become storage). While decluttering my closet, I hope to clear his out as well. Then, MAYBE we can use our respective spaces to not only house our clothing, but store some of our important memorabilia and other necessities.
My current problem with my closet is multi-level: 1) I don't hang up my clothes, 2) I put something on, then realize it doesn't fit or I'm not digging the look and drop it on the floor, 3) I have boxes of stuff on the floor so I can't reach my hangers easily to hang things back up, 4) I empty my pockets at night and just dump the contents on the dresser (ie. pens, coins, trash, toys, etc.), and 6) I'm not utilizing my space well.
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I started to tidy up, before I remembered to take a "Before"photo.
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| I just toss the contents of my pockets onto the counter. |
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| I already cleared out some of the boxes in front of my clothes... now I can reach my clothing. |
Of course my mission to get my house under control was not a spur of the moment idea. It is planned mission which I have been attempted to do over the past several years. I would start the process, accomplish several goals, and then get distracted or overwhelmed and just stop. And the whole cycle starts again. I'm hoping that by writing about my process, I can keep myself on task, and inspire you to keep chugging along!
Tip #1:
Set up some goals and write them down!!! A plan is just a dream... it becomes a goal when you write it down!!! One of my big goals is to get my house organized by the fall. I'm hoping to go back to finish my master's degree, and having a chaotic home will not help me to succeed easily.
So, I have my big goal! Now to break it down into smaller goals! So, my first "mini" goal is to organize all the closets in my home. By doing this, I provide more spaces to become a home for specific items. I could go and break that down even further: 1) Remove items that do not belong in this closet, 2) throw away all trash and items that no one could use, 3) separate items to be upcycled or donated, 4) take care of clothing, 5) make the space attractive so that I would want to use it.
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| First step in my mission! |
WRITE DOWN YOUR GOALS!!!
Tip #2:
Here is one tip that I recently read about that I think would help me: instead of completely changing the habit of someone in this decluttering process, try altering the behavior by providing a compromising solution! For example: I tend to empty my pockets at the end of the day by dumping the contents all over my counter. No rhyme or reason... my pockets would just vomit onto my counter. Pleasant, I know.
So, instead of completely changing my habit, I found compromising solutions to help me improve the habit. So, I have placed my beloved COW piggy bank on my dresser for the flood of coins I drop; placed a small pail on the counter to collect my pens/pencils/markers; placed a decorative box for items I need to return elsewhere in the house; I just need to add a small waste basket inside of my closet. I'm excited about the compromises!!! At least all of those contents can be easily located when I need them again!
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| Cleaned off my dresser top! |
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| Piggy bank for collected coins & mini bucket for all the pens/markers/pencils which end up in my pocket. |
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| Collection box for pocket items which I need to distribute throughout the house. |
Tip #3:
Don't
be afraid to look up solutions!!! You are not the first nor the last
to run into organization issues. Here are some resources I found about
getting organized. If you have other resources not listed here, PLEASE
share!!! One can never have too much knowledge in a particular topic!7 Ways to Declutter You Probably Haven't Tried
Decluttering Room by Room
7 Reasons to Declutter and Live with Less
Ok, I'm not going to droll on about decluttering. You know that it needs to be done, so let's do it together! I'm holding myself accountable by sharing my journey with you! Feel free to share you successes and failures.
Let's try this again, shall we???
