We are all pretty familiar with the traditions surrounding the beginning of a new year. The resolutions, the examinations of self and usually the inevitable realizations that follow-we have a lot to work on and keeping the resolutions we have made is far more difficult that making them. For the most part people I know make resolutions to eliminate bad habits or create good ones. Exercise is at the top of a lot of lists along with eating healthier (or at least eating less junk), doing their best to keep in touch with family and friends and for the parents in the bunch we usually have things on our list liek spending more time with the spouse, quality time with the kids, less TV and more activities and the very intimidating organization resolutions.
I have made several attempts at that last one.
It fristrates and embarasses me that I am coming up on 30 and I still can't keep my house organized. Schedules are hard to keep. The dog gets her dinner late because I forget. The husband will point out that he has no work clothes and I have to rush to get them washed and dried before the morning because I opted to wash the kids stuff first and then proceede to forgetg about it for the rest of the day.
My pantry stays organized for a week or two, the spice cabinet ususally survives much longer but it too decends into chaos eventually. Even with the labels clearly visible to anyone who has a set of eyes. The China Cabinet gets stuffed with reciepts, pens and whatever else I can't find a place for. The desk in the kithcen that is supposed to be for my boys school work is a catch all for every piece of paper, loose lego, broken toy that Daddy needs to check out and peice of artwork my kids create. The only drawer the desk has goes from neatly organized to umpossible to open and close because things just get swept into it when I need to clean up quickly.
Launfry doesn't seem to escape my room quickly but instead gets left in a basket for a week on my floor and sometimes those unpaired socks get dumped on teh floor night after night as I climb into bed. I clean my dresser off constantly but stuff seems to be drwn to it, from my water glass for the last 3 nights, loose hair ties, dryer sheets, hangers and other things that I am not sure why they are even in my room to begin with.
My kids shove toys under their beds despite the bins I have under their beds and in the middle of the room. I don't understand how there are still toys that don't go or fit into at least one of these storage areas. It boggles the mind really. I have a place for superhero stuff, costumes, hats, little girl dress up, legos, baby mega blocks, animals and cars. Under the bed its all geo tracks and large vehicles that don't fit in bins and yet somehow its a mess. The dirty clothes basket fills up so fast and I know that a good portion of them were worn for a couple of hours if at all.
And then there is the office. that room that everything gets thrown into. A basket full of the girls clothes I don't want to put away right now? JUst leave it on the floor. Books that the boys don't need for school? In the office. Pictures, scrapbook material, birthday cards, bills, reciepts, old artwork, shoes that are too big or too small, board games and things I have no clue where to put...all end up on the floor, in the closet, on teh bookcase or desk. Its like a room for lost things and I hate it. It is supposed to be organized and streamlined so my husband can find what he needs easlily. Its supposed to be kept clean because the kids don't play in it. ANd yet it is the worst room in the house.
So what is a Mom to do? Give up and allow things to fall apart? Of course not. But what can be done? What does pinterest offer to help me get this mess under control as quidckly and painlessy as possible?
Well, there are a few things I have found that sound great and I will give them a try but the first one I don't like and most people probably agree with me. What is it?
Get rid of stuff.
Yep, it makes sense logically that the less you own the less mess you will have to clean up. It is not easy to get rid of things though. We have memories attatched to this or that, or so and so gave that to us as a gift or hey hte kids still play with it sometimes. We muster up a lot of excuses for why we can't give something away but if we want progress we have to take a closer look at why we keep what we have.
This month I am starting with my room. I use the JustMommies.com house management plan found here it really helps me get to the things I don't have to deal with on a day to day basis. This months decluttering task is the Master Bedroom so I figured I would go along with that and add a few pinterest discovered tips as well. THe first thing on the list is clothing. JM suggests going through and finding things that are unused and outgrown. Well, short of weight gain or loss we adults are pretty much in the same size we are going to be in next year so that isn't too helpful of a suggestion. My tip: anything stained should go unless you plan on getting it taken care of by a pro or can find a way to hide the stain via alterations. Most of us don't hae that kind of time or money to spend on a simple top or pair of pants-if its a nice dress or suit then its probalby worth it if you can save the item. The other tip: anything with holes or worn out hems. When you are a teen or a college student holes in your pants is cool and having owrn out hems is no big deal, but when you are in your 30's those items need to go. I save one pair of jeans for yard work but other than that if it gets worn out knees it gets tossed.
Pinterest offered a cool tip about how to figure out if you wear somehting often enough to keep it around. Go to your closet and turn your hangers around and as you wear an item put it back the right way. At the end of a given time frame (I thnk the suggestion was 6 months) whatever items remain on hangers turned the other way are clothes you don't wear often enough to keep around. Of course I personally would make exceptions for things like a really nice suit that you wear for weddings or bid shindigs, or dresses that you wear once a year. I have a black dress that I have had since I was 17 and I have worn it once a year since then for fundraisers and the like. Its okay to keep things like that when you live a lifestyle that warrants it.
Also a nice thing to keep in mind-if you go out and buy a new dress, skirt, pair of shoes or scarf think to yourself "When will I wear this?" and "Can this replace anything I already own?" Sometimes it necessary to update your look or repace something that is worn out or faded or if your size has changed. If you have 8 pairs of black boots chances are you don't need a 9th.
So that is where I start this month and hopefully I will be able to resist the temptaion to find an excuse to keep everything hangig in my closet!
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