Sunday, January 23, 2011

Organizing and purging feels so good

Last week I came to a very big realization. We are moving in just about four months. Four months?!?! That seems like no time at all. And a fire was suddenly lit under my behind.

I. Must. Organize. Our. Stuff.

I used to consider myself an organized, neat, and tidy person. But after having two kids, I just can't seem to keep up with the clutter. And the...stuff. My upstairs bonus room has become a dumping ground. If I have things that need to get put away, they get dumped up there with an "I'll get to it someday" label.

Someday is here, folks.

I got to work on the mess upstairs first. I sorted clothes that the girls have outgrown in order to determine what should be kept, consigned, or tossed. I separated out all the infant baby toys to be stored. I created piles for baby blankets, swaddlers, and sleep sacks. I purchased some new Tupperware storage containers yesterday and am working on getting all this stuff put away. {Sidenote - I began this task with the idea that I was going to pare down the plethora of little baby girl clothes that we are keeping. I just couldn't do it. There is nothing like being faced with the task of getting rid of baby clothes to make you realize that you, in fact, are not done having kids.}

Next, I turned to Miss H's room, specifically her closet. I pulled about 20 pairs of shoes out of there that aren't anywhere near her size anymore. We organized the toys and books, and what do you know, you can actually see her floor! Lil B's room got a once over as well, but she just doesn't have as much stuff.

On Friday, my Tupperware order arrived so I quickly got to work on my pantry. I knew it was time because whenever I opened the pantry door I was showered with snack boxes and arts and crafts materials raining down on me. I filled three shoebox size containers with crayons, markers, and dot paints. I filed away the completed coloring books and threw away those that were tattered and torn.

After the rest of the pantry had been sorted, purged, and reshelved, I tackled the refrigerator. Not just organizing there, but cleaning and scrubbing the shelves.

Today, while I laid on the couch sick with a cold, my wonderful husband worked on the kitchen some more. And y'all? It shines like the top of the Chrysler Building. He not only cleared the clutter off of our other dumping ground "The Bar Counter" but he also cleaned it.

It is so amazing to me what a clean and organized house will do for a woman's soul. All that junk and gunk was cluttering me up on the inside too, and even though I am sick with literal junk and gunk at the moment, I have a sense of clarity that I have not had in a long time. I cannot recommend it highly enough.

Do you have any dumping grounds in your house? Why don't you set a timer for 15 minutes, go clear it out, and see how you feel? I promise you'll feel better!

Erin

3 comments:

Debbie said...

A clean house just makes me feel so much better.
I think. It's been a long time:)

Liz Mays said...

Mine was the basement in my last house and when I finally dealt with it, it took me a full week! In this house, it's right here in my office. Ugh!

Shell said...

Oh, I'd need so much more than 15 minutes...