Goodbye February.....

For a short month this one seemed to last forever. Wow.

I'm excited for tomorrow because it's March. And March means Spring. Technically. And really, I take whatever I can get even though I will keep my snow boots out until June. There is comfort and hope in technicalities.

I go into March somewhat more motivated then I went into February. I exercised 6 times this week, it just about killed me but I am trying to make it into the Consistency Club for a group I have joined. It means I have to exercise at least 30 minutes per day for 6 days each week. For 30 days. 5 down (I joined on Tuesday but I did exercise Monday)...25 to go.

And remember the 28 Day Organizational Challenge? Ah yes. That. Actually it spurred me on to get quite a lot accomplished. Culminating today in my scary office space. And when I say scary I mean, terrifying. Cataclysmic of Biblical proportions. I found a piece of paper from 2008 in there today. I'm not saying that I have not cleaned it since 2008. For real. But it does lead one to wonder how that happened. Anyway, moving on... It's pretty awesome now.

I actually cleaned several other areas and then realized that I had failed to take before photos of said areas. Shoot, but oh well. I did manage to capture the horror of my office in living techni-colour though. But let's not look at that right now. I do not have the strength. Maybe tomorrow.

Instead, how about we look at a dog in a hat. Or several hats. Styled by the divine Miss Gracie. Clearly the dog is thrilled by her foray into fashion fabulousness.







Tribute to the Winter Olympics (albeit the 2002 Winter Olympics)



PS: the potroast was to die for. It was. And actually, it pains me to say it, yet I must...it looked better then that Pioneer Woman's did. And we had roast potatoes which are so much better then mashed. I'm sorry PW. I know I probably just ruined your life.

Saving the Study

This is my entry for The Organizing Junkie's Whole Room clean up challenge.
Are you ready? It's not for the faint of heart, I assure you.

Ok then, you asked for it.

I apologise profusely...I know...I know.....here, let me hold you until the horror has passed.


A picture speaks 1000 words and so there is not much more to say. This is the culmination of a couple of weeks worth of dumping. I do tidy it fairly regularly but without a good system it would get trashed again in no time. We have a teeny tiny house with exceedingly little storage space so when there is a need to dump, it inevitably ends up in this little shop of horrors. Since there is not a lot of sunlight in that room, I generally don't use it, so it is the dumping ground and very little else. We have to pass through it several times a day though, and it really does give one a sinking feeling. Here it is after several frantic searches for something. You can tell that the garbage bag was open and ready to go...

Here's the other side of the room:




And after..oooohhh....ahhhh...look, even the sun is shining!




Unfortunately this still appears cluttery. It's something about photos and papers..they don't play well together, but really it is soooo organized now. It is a thing of beauty and a joy forever.

And! But for the printer, is now clear and lovely under the dresser (you can tell a smidge from this picture)

We were so inspired by the clean up that we got a long intended project done. Since my family are all in South Africa and Australia, I stole my mom's idea of three clocks. We don't live in New York but we are on EST and we just thought New York looked so much cooler then..Ohio. Wouldn't you agree? Indeed. So now I am so exceptionally organized, even my phone calling habits are organized. No more midnight phone calls mom. I am sure you are so sad.

1. What was the hardest part of the challenge for you and were you able to overcome it?

Getting started. It was a depressing room filled with papers of varying sentimental value. Sentimentality has always been my downfall. I knew tough decisions would have to be made.

2. Tell us what kind of changes/habits you have put into place in order for your area/room to maintain its new order?

Well I have tossed a bunch of stuff. As flylady says, "you can't organize clutter" so I just got rid of a lot of it. We tossed a bunch of cords and even a CPU we did not need there to make room for the filing system. Getting it off the desk means I can use the desk for work , rather then the couch. Now I am closer to where I need to be to file stuff and it does not build up into chaos. The paper shredder is now easily accessible, and plugged in (!) so I can get rid of stuff immediately. That has been a delight.

3. What did you do with the “stuff” you were able to purge out of your newly organized space?

I threw it away or donated it. I have a rubbermaid tub for sentimental things that I really really had to keep and I added a few things to it.

4. What creative storage solutions were you able to introduce in order to create additional space as well as establish some limits and boundaries?

I used the baskets I had more effectively-designating one of each large one to each "theme" in my life-soccer club, church, kids. I put brown paper of varying shades (to coordinate with the wall hanging) in the fronts of the plastic set of drawers. This makes them opaque and makes the whole room look better. When they were see through, it just added to the image of chaos and made me less motivated to put things away.

5. Why do you think you should win this challenge?

Because I pushed through with a dreary and dreadful task on an exceedingly dreary and dreadful day. I was so exceptionally depressed that day but I did it anyway. Even my children are thrilled with the results so even if I don't win, it was completely worth it. I have created a whole new viable space in my home rather then the messy walk in closet it was before. Since I have to walk through it several times a day it makes my heart sing each time.

Screaming inside:Day 1 and Day 2

{Updated with interview questions added below}

People, I will not lie. I am seriously hyperventilating over what I am about to do. It really makes no sense. It's pretty crazy, really. And ironic.

Ironic? You may ask. I'll tell you why. The reason why the closet you are about to see (and it is not too late to save yourself and click elsewhere by the way) looks the way it does?

Because last week I was shoving stuff in there, like there was no tomorrow. In order to hide it. In the event of the recent visit of the in laws. It is not usually this bad. No really. It's not.

Although in all honesty, it hasn't been good in quite some time. But it hasn't been, "call Clean House stat, failing which, the Health Department" for more then a week. A week too long though, I am sure you will agree. And wow, it's BAD. No really. Brace yourself. I am not exaggerating. For once. Sadly.

So there I was, last week, shoving stuff haphazardly into an innocent cupboard, in order to hide it from two family members , and now I am throwing it open to all the world. To judge in disgust and horror. ....

Here is a key of the contents that you see:

1. Hair curlers, that never worked and have thus never been used.

2. Contact lenses and accompanying paraphenalia, not yet removed from box.
3. Barbie who decided to drown herself rather then live this slovenly life.
4. Jergens body lotion. Which I will never use. But I like to sniff it occasionally, because it reminds me of my late mother in law (bless her heart) and the happy days spent in her home when Aaron and I were engaged.
5. Big Ziplock bag full of expired medications. This big ziplock bag actually caused the havoc you see above. when trying to pull it from the back of the closet it caused a major avalanche.
6. Fish oil capsules to make my children smarter. They were so gross though that we decided it was ok for them to be dumb.
7. Several bottles of Ibuprofen (let me tell you about the last two weeks sometime).
8. A tiny "scentport" and accompanying small bottle of "scent" in packaging large enough to house 12 scentports and 12 bottles of scent. The diabolical marketing dept at Bath and Body Works at work again...

My mother just died I think, looking at this photo. I will miss her so. I'm so sorry Marmie. My sister is in critical condition, it's touch and go for her. Forgive me Shona. I have shamed the family name. I know, I know. But I've got to be real, man. Not because I want to. I would prefer not to be real actually. But I HAD to take the challenge didn't I? Why don't I THINK before I embark upon these things? Stupid! Stupid.

Anyway it is not all bad because now it looks like this. Have I mentioned that each of those shelves is deep enough for a child to sleep in (we have considered assigning one to each of our kids in fact-voila-everyone has their own room!). They are now woefully under-utilized but clutter free. So that's good.



For day 2 (today )I tackled the other cabinet and several drawers. Actually I cleaned out every nook and cranny in the bathroom- the worst of which I give you now. The jewelry drawer.

(If you are pregnant or have a heart condition please skip this photo)

I blame my in-laws once again. It was only slightly horrifying before I removed all the jewelry from the room they were sleeping in (mine) and dumped it upon the nice little disaster that was existing in that drawer, slammed it shut and prayed they weren't nosy. It has been moderately well organized in the past, but there were always too many little boxes to search every time I wanted to be fancy, and I have been meaning to find creative solutions for a long while now.
So I guess I should thank the in-laws for putting me over the top in slobdom.

Here it is now. I am very proud of the solution I created for the plethora of bangles/bracelets. VERY PROUD. It is complicated and even Martha might find it challenging so pay attention.

OK. Ready?

I took a paper towel inside cardboard thingie, covered it with a scrap of white satin to make it look classy, and jewelry store-ish, (I did this by rolling the satin around the roll and stuffing the ends in the holes-it was a very delicate process, requiring much patience and skill)



And this is what I did with the plethora of necklaces and dangly earrings. That there is an under-utilized fabric bulletin board with some pin hooks shoved in it (again, don't even attempt this if you aren't REALLY CRAFTY). I did not even know pin hooks existed until today. I'm glad I picked them up with the vague notion that I might be able to use them somehow. Because I did. Oh how I did! BEHOLD the magnificence! (It looks more organized in person trust me. Photos do make things look cluttery don't they? It's the clutter equivalent of the camera adding 5lbs)


It sits nicely inside the cupboard formerly known as horrifying. Everything is out of the way yet easy to reach. A delight.

So now you all know my secret shame. Once the screaming stops perhaps I will find it liberating.

My bathroom is glorious now so it was probably worth it. Maybe.

To The Organizing Junkie: I count this as one small space entitled "bathroom cabinets" because half of the jewelry from the drawer ended up on the newly cleaned out shelf. I did not know how to differentiate the one from the other.

And now for the interview part: (added a few weeks later)

1. What was the hardest part of the challenge for you and were you able to overcome it?

Getting started is always the toughest part for me, and honestly it was physically hard to get into the back of those super deep shelves and to stand amidst all the debris while I was sorting through it. There was just not a lot of space with 5000000 towels on the floor.

2. Tell us what kind of changes/habits you have put into place in order for your area/room to maintain its new order?

OH my word this has genuinely changed my life. It has saved me sooo much time in the morning not to have to wade through stuff, to untangle jewelry or find my supplies. The jewelry board has made such a difference, I can see everything at a glance and it is so easy to put back that I always do. I think one good thing begets another. I don't let the jewelry rest anywhere but where it lives anymore. It's great.

3. What did you do with the “stuff” you were able to purge out of your newly organized space?

Tossed and donated everything.

4. What creative storage solutions were you able to introduce in order to create additional space as well as establish some limits and boundaries?

See the board and the fancy roll ;) They have worked marvelously.

5. Why do you think you should win this challenge?

Because I finally implemented something I have been meaning to do forever and it has been even better then I hoped it would be in terms of saving me time and irritation. AND I inspired a friend to do the same. She took a photo of her awesome board that she made the next day! :) Win or not, I am thrilled, thank you so sincerely for the inspiration.