For some time now, I have wanted to get my house more organized, less cluttered, and running more efficient. So I decided that this is the week that I am going to tackle this enormous project. It has been put off for too long, but that is why I am going to spread it over this entire week. It is a big project and that is one of the reasons I have procrastinated doing it because it is a bit intimidating to me. My house is not blessed with a lot of storage space so I have to be creative and use the space I have more efficiently. The focus for this project are all the closets, including the pantry, and garage. I realize that the garage is typically the man's space, but my husband and I do most of our home improvement projects together so there are many ways I see to make the space better for both of us. When telling him about what I was planning, his response was, "sounds good," so I think I received the go ahead from him.
The goal for the project is to keep it attainable for me. I am a mom of a 13 month old and we enjoy our play time together so I do not want to squash that, so the plan is to tackle the garage a little each day during nap #1 and then come in to get cleaned up before my baby wakes up. During nap #2, I will clean out a different closet each day. Some days 2 closets may be tackled if on the smaller side.
Here are a few things that I know I want to accomplish:
1. Properly dispose/recycle of all empty or previous owner's paint cans. When we moved in, we painted almost every wall in this house and now, since we have been here 3.5 years, I know that we have painted every wall in this house, including trim and ceilings. We have a TON of paint cans in our garage just taking up valuable space. If you live in my area, then go here to find out more information about where to dispose/recycle your paint cans.
2. Set up and put to use my recycling center. A few months ago, our neighborhood changed trash services and delivered us a recycle bin, so there is finally no excuse not to use it. But right now, all it is doing is gathering junk, so I hope by cleaning up/organizing/de-cluttering the garage the recycle bin will be up to its full use. All I have to do is fill it up and put in on the curb. Simple. I can do this, right?
3. Gather items to sell either at the upcoming neighborhood garage sale, consignment shops, used book stores, etc. I know we have a ton in our closets that I don't even know is there because we haven't looked at it or used it since we moved into this house. What can be used, re-purposed or sold? The rest is going to goodwill or in the trash. Hopefully, little in the trash, think green!
4. Set up binders with all our manuals to everything we own. I keep them all for reference, so it would be great to have them in one place and sorted by category. School just started so there should be some sales on binders and dividers, hopefully.
Today, I worked on the garage gathering all the paint cans and labeling the ones that are still in use. Also I cleaned out the recycling bin so it is ready to be put to use. The hall closet has also been completed and half of its space was made available. It now includes a whole shelf for garage sale items. I do planned to store my binders in there as well, but they are not made yet, but there was a space created for them.
How do you make your homes run efficiently? How often to you feel you need to reorganize or de-clutter? How do you do it? Any tips as I go through my week?
Leigh Ann
The goal for the project is to keep it attainable for me. I am a mom of a 13 month old and we enjoy our play time together so I do not want to squash that, so the plan is to tackle the garage a little each day during nap #1 and then come in to get cleaned up before my baby wakes up. During nap #2, I will clean out a different closet each day. Some days 2 closets may be tackled if on the smaller side.
Here are a few things that I know I want to accomplish:
1. Properly dispose/recycle of all empty or previous owner's paint cans. When we moved in, we painted almost every wall in this house and now, since we have been here 3.5 years, I know that we have painted every wall in this house, including trim and ceilings. We have a TON of paint cans in our garage just taking up valuable space. If you live in my area, then go here to find out more information about where to dispose/recycle your paint cans.
2. Set up and put to use my recycling center. A few months ago, our neighborhood changed trash services and delivered us a recycle bin, so there is finally no excuse not to use it. But right now, all it is doing is gathering junk, so I hope by cleaning up/organizing/de-cluttering the garage the recycle bin will be up to its full use. All I have to do is fill it up and put in on the curb. Simple. I can do this, right?
3. Gather items to sell either at the upcoming neighborhood garage sale, consignment shops, used book stores, etc. I know we have a ton in our closets that I don't even know is there because we haven't looked at it or used it since we moved into this house. What can be used, re-purposed or sold? The rest is going to goodwill or in the trash. Hopefully, little in the trash, think green!
4. Set up binders with all our manuals to everything we own. I keep them all for reference, so it would be great to have them in one place and sorted by category. School just started so there should be some sales on binders and dividers, hopefully.
Today, I worked on the garage gathering all the paint cans and labeling the ones that are still in use. Also I cleaned out the recycling bin so it is ready to be put to use. The hall closet has also been completed and half of its space was made available. It now includes a whole shelf for garage sale items. I do planned to store my binders in there as well, but they are not made yet, but there was a space created for them.
How do you make your homes run efficiently? How often to you feel you need to reorganize or de-clutter? How do you do it? Any tips as I go through my week?
Leigh Ann
