Start small

Well THANK YOU for all the comments on my mouse post. :) I’m serious, it helps that I’m not the only one who has dealt with it. I mean, I knew we weren’t the only ones, but it helps to hear that I’m not the only person who was completely overwhelmed with the situation and the messes they left behind.

I’m about a third of the way through the storage room clean up so far but I’m at least through the worst of it (I think), so that’s encouraging.

So speaking of conquering messes, you know how you look around some days and all the sudden it feels like NOTHING is organized, everything is out of it’s place, things are overflowing everywhere? OK, maybe it’s just my house. ;)

Well it feels like that around here lately, and without fail it happens when life is crazy – we’ve had so much going on over the past few weeks that I feel like I’m playing catch up in the house.

I mentioned last month I’m determined to get the house better organized this year, one little project at a time. The thing is, I feel like we’re thisclose to truly having a place for everything (OK, well that’s just crazy – most everything) in this house. The new basement cubbies are a HUGE step in that direction. But I have storage projects to finish up in the basement bathroom, the laundry room, the dining/library – and of course the storage room. It’s like I can’t get one spot just right until I get another one just right, you know?

So it gets overwhelming – I’m only one person and can only tackle so many projects and decrapify so much in one day. :) The other day I walked by a spot in our family room for the 50th time that week and decided I just needed to start somewhere. It was just a little mess but at least it was something!

I told you about my slight magazine/catalog obsession here – and I’ve been much better about them since! MUCH. Well, you may not think so after this photo, but really, I have:

We have a little Target basket on the subwoofer in the family room (an effort to hide it a bit) for magazines. Well, we started adding more than magazines – like school papers, books, random mail and of course, a treasure box. Why not?

So I went after it. I tackle big messes the same way every time. Sit on the floor and make piles. I’m a piler, but sometimes that’s a good thing. ;)

I started sorting them out – there was a TON of stuff in there (and spilling out the sides), but keep in mind it had built up for the past six months or so:

Lego books went to the basement, the Bub’s books and workbooks went upstairs, the trash went to recycling, shred stuff to the shredder, and my small “keep” pile too. Believe it or not, I hadn’t read some of the magazines in there. ;)

And of course, there’s that I-don’t-know-what-to-do-with-you pile. I hate that pile. But I always make one just so I can get through it all quick. I address that one after the rest is put away.

What’s funny is it took no time at all – maybe 30 minutes or so? Now the only things in the magazine basket are -- get ready for this…magazines!:

OK, and catalogs. I can’t quit them.

Isn’t that a beautiful sight? So clean and decluttered and you can almost see the bottom!

It was just a little spot, but getting it in order cleared up my mind a LOT:

Paper and magazines and mail and booklets and manuals continue to be my biggest clutter issue. I’m making progress, slow but sure. What’s your’s?

Now, you’ll find me in the basement for the next few hours. I power on!!