Why a decluttering, organization, and cleaning blog?

I am working on the decluttering, organization, and cleaning process of my home, and realized that perhaps other folks can learn from what works and what doesn’t.  I’ve been reading a lot on how to organize and declutter your home.  There are all kinds of ideas on what works best.  I invite you all to comment on what has worked for you, or what you have done differently.

First, you should know about where I am beginning.  My home is pretty average I’d say, as far as clutter goes.  It’s not a hoarding situation, but I am certainly a pile maker, and have trouble keeping up with the cleaning and organization tasks.  I run my business out of my home, so I have the business organization as well.  I work in graphic design, so my walls are full of design work and color.  I love color in my home, but not an overload.  I am also someone who enjoys photography, travel, gardening, and of course … my faithful dog Lucy.  I also have ADHD, so this process can be a bit difficult.  I need to accomodate for that.  There are 2 dogs that currently live in the house.  My favorite colors lately are beachy colors like blue/green’s, turquoise, and coral.

I don’t handle walking into a room and seeing clutter very well.  It literally upsets me and makes me feel down.  Ever look around your home and feel depressed and defeated?  That’s the feeling I have right now.  Hopefully, through this process, that will change.  I will be exploring organizational ideas and cleaning tips along the way.  So, please join me on this journey.

I will also be posting tips I get from a variety of resources.  Please check out the list on the “links” page.

tip #4: laundry organization

I got these really cool chalk tags and decided to use them to mark the laundry.  I found out recently that people get confused about sorting colors, so this makes it easier.  It works out real nice.  I believe I got the tags from my local Home Goods store.

Tip #3: Doing “that” pile of Laundry

If you are anything like me, you DREAD doing that mountain of overflowing laundry, you ignore it until you end up picking out the next days clothes from the laundry pile.  Here is something that I find that works.  Ignore the huge pile and just take 1/4 of the pile and set it on your bed (or wherever you fold clothes).  Just focus on folding that smaller amount.  Then, take another small pile and fold that, again only worrying about the pile before you.  Play some of your favorite music to make it more enjoyable.  Whatever it takes to get through the drudgery of folding.

Painting Furniture

It’s time to redo my bookcase to something that works better for me.  I wanted something happy and fun.  I decided to paint my oak bookcase a white color, with a little accent color.  I think that when it comes to painting furniture, always expect for it to take double to triple the time you estimated.  You never know how many coats of paint you will be applying.  Now, painting my nice oak bookcase may very well be a decorating faux pas, but it works for me, so … too bad, so sad.

This is a perfect project to invite your friends to take part in, especially the creative drawing.  I wanted something imaginative and creative.  I was not looking for perfection.  We had a lot of fun creating the design.  The colors used on this are Sherwin Williams HGTV Coastal Cool colors:  Eider White (SW 7014) and Cooled Blue (SW 6759), which automatically came with primer mixed in.  It was a lot of work (a 2 day project), but also a lot of fun.

Tip #2: Sorting those Socks

The sock drawer can be really difficult to go through for many people.  With this drawer that I organized, I found a short bin that I was going to give away, which I got from an office store.  It acts as a natural separator.  You can also use shoe boxes or clear bins. To sort, and figure out what you use:  put all your socks into 1 clear bin.  Each time you wear them, put those socks into your drawer.  If you don’t wear them, those are the socks to get rid of.  The reason to use a clear bin is so you can’t later say “I didn’t see them.”  I recommend checking out The Container Store, if you are looking at organizing options.  However, if you use your imagination and look around the house, you may find some sorting containers right there.

Tip #1: Sugar & Spice Storage

This one is so great, and I get compliments every time people see this.  I found the product at Ikea.  It’s a storage set for your spices, office supplies, home supplies, or anything else you think might fit.  I could even see it being used for a garage storage area.  It’s for the smaller things like spices, push pins, paper clips, screws, nails, etc.  The great thing about them is that you can see exactly what item is in it, and they are MAGNETIC.  That’s right!  Go ahead and stick those babies onto any metal surface and enjoy!  Here is the link:  http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/80102919/