get organized

I am sure this idea is not original, but it’s something that I recently started doing with Emma’s toys, and it is working WELL for us!

I don’t feel like E has a TON of toys, but she prefers smaller toys, which are messier. I’m really trying to get a hold on clutter around here, so I decided to do the box system with her playroom toys.

I bought some clear boxes w/ lids at Dollar General for $1/each, and I have different toys in each box.

I waffled about labeling them, because I’m sure the contents will change over time – plus, they’re clear, so I can see what’s inside. For now, I think I’ll just leave them label-free.

So the rule is … one box at a time. She can make a huge mess with one box, but if she wants a different box, she has to clean up the first one.

She’s not into stuffed animals, and they’re easy to pick up, so they live in the blue and green canvas boxes. The remaining cubes in the shelving unit hold puzzles (we only keep 2 at a time in her playroom), coloring books, and reading books.

She also has a set of wooden blocks and a set of foam blocks that stay in the downstairs closet, which I cleaned out and re-organized a couple of weeks ago.

I am currently in the process of cleaning out the rest of her toys. I have a few boxes packed up for future baby, but there is some that she doesn’t like that I don’t care to keep.

Side note: she’s currently walking around with one of her baby dolls, patting baby’s back, and saying, “It’s okay, baby. It’s okay.” Awww.

I am also working to get this office / playroom cleaned out so that I can paint it. And possibly get hardwood put down if we can scrape up a little extra moolah. But that’s another post for another day.

I need to go tend to these piles of paperwork, now …

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I worked hard yesterday morning on Spring Cleaning: Day One [read more about that here] and here are the before/after shots.

antique organ (I think this is going to live with Ken’s parents soon)

dvd bookcase

tv

sidetable next to the couch

sidetable next to the oversized chair

breakfast table (where we actually eat all of our meals)

buffet behind the table (it holds all of our small kitchen appliances & cookbooks)

bar (this is our biggest nemesis)

Did you notice something … we literally used up every.single.one of the flat surfaces in our first floor. I’m embarrassed to show these pictures, because really – not one flat area wasn’t being used.

But I know now that clutter is really what’s taking over our house. We all tend to come in and just throw stuff wherever there is space, and I have got to put a stop to that!

I also understand why my allergies & Emma’s hives have gotten so bad lately. There’s no way to dust with all that stuff everywhere — so our whole first floor is a giant dust bunny!

Ken came home from teaching and noticed the difference – cluttered surface areas are really noticeable! I don’t think we notice them daily, because we’re used to seeing it. Speaking for myself, I justify everything that’s there.

“Well, I can’t really clean that off, because if I move it to point b, then I’ll have to clean point b.”

Yeah, that’s a good justification, Messy McClutterson.

See why everything is so bad? But I’m proud to say that all surfaces lasted a day without being messed up. And I actually either threw or put everything away that was on them.

next up: the living room (I’m a day behind, btw)

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Two posts today!! Don’t miss the final recap of Emma’s first day of preschool. It ended well. :)

I’m a day behind on the Simple Mom Spring Cleaning challenge, but I didn’t catch up on my Google reader until late last night. I’ll deal.

Spring cleaning is definitely something that we are going to do this year. Our house is unbelievably cluttered with junk, and it’s just time to get rid of it and start fresh.

We have actually been purging quite a bit …

And I have pictures ready of things to list on Craigslist. I’m really proud of Ken, because a lot of what we are finally getting rid of is stuff that he’s had for many MANY years. But the more we clean out, the happier we are. I need less clutter in my life – it’s just part of being me. And as we all know, a happy wife/mommy is a happy household.

So the Spring Cleaning challenge from Simple Mom came just at the right time. And can I just say that her before/after pictures are making me all giddy inside? Dude, her house looks like our house!! I’m not horribly inept at keeping a house clean – it’s totally normal to have piles of crap everywhere! Woohoo!!

Day One was called “A Clean Sweep”

The goal is to quickly sweep through your home, throw away trash, and toss items you no longer need or want into a box for later.

And that’s what I’ll be doing today. And yes, I’ll have some before/after pictures to share, because I am all about keeping it real.

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