Results!

As one of my resolutions for boosting energy, I'm trying to get organized. I feel like I've always been a fairly organized person but have been trying to do some reading along with online research into how to do a better job of it.

Last week I read The One Minute Organizer Plain & Simple: 500 Tips for Getting Your Life in Order by Donna Smallin. The book was a REALLY quick read since it's exactly what it says it is: a book full of quick tips. There wasn't much that I didn't already know in there but a couple of things did stick with me that I hadn't really considered before.

The first was that you shouldn't confuse neat with organized. Once I read that, I could see that I definitely had been confusing the two, or was at least assuming they were the same thing. I keep the house clean and neat, but is it organized? Not as well as it could be as it turns out. So, with that revelation in mind, I got to work on the house.

Per the author's suggestion, I wrote up a One Month Organizing Plan and prioritized the rooms I really wanted to get done. They are as follows:

1. Playroom (which is pretty much our whole upstairs)
2. Storage eaves (the space upstairs that isn't playroom)
3. Kitchen
4. Bedrooms
5. Man Cave (Mike's computer room in the basement)

Even though this is how I prioritized them, I don't seem to be doing them in that order. Today I finished our bedroom, one of our hall closets, the bathroom, and part of the upstairs. Some of the changing up of the order has to do with where the kids are playing and if anyone is around to help me watch them so I'm cutting myself some slack there.

Anyway, even if I didn't do it in the order listed above, I've made some excellent progress. I have SIX boxes of donations to take to Savers tomorrow and the house is looking GOOD. How good? I'm so glad you asked! Here are the results of my labor today:

Closet in our bedroom

Top half of hall closet #1

Bottom half of hall closet #1

Storage cupboard over the toilet in bathroom

Medicine cabinet in bathroom (just to prove I didn't stuff this full to empty the other cupboard)

Toiletry stock pile cupboard in bedroom

I didn't take before photos and I really wish I had. Ah well. I can do that for the other rooms on the list I suppose. (If I remember...)

The other bits of information that I read in The One Minute Organizer which are turning out to be helpful were related to trying to decide what you should get rid of. Here are the questions that I've been asking myself that have proved useful when I'm not sure to keep/toss/donate something:

• Have I used this in the past year?
• Do I need it on a definite date in the future?
• Do I need it for legal/tax purposes?
• Would it be difficult/expensive to get another one if it became needed?

If the answer to all of those questions is no, then off it goes. The author also suggested that if it takes you longer than 60 seconds to decide, then you probably don't need it. I didn't think this would prove to be as true a statement as it has been. It's also been quite useful to ask myself "What useful purpose does this serve?" since I'm have a history of hanging onto things for sentimental reasons. Don't get me wrong. I'm not saying you should toss out everything you have an emotional attachment to (Heavens knows I'm certainly not!) but I just got rid of nail polish from HIGH SCHOOL today. That's sad and I can't even tell you how many times I moved it around with me for no real reason other than it reminded me of happy memories. I didn't wear it and didn't even really like the colors anymore. I just HAD to have them... for some reason. Awful and I'm glad to say good bye to them so I can enjoy a less cluttered cupboard.

I'm expecting a book ordered from Paperback Swap soon called SHED Your Stuff, Change Your Life: A Four-Step Guide to Getting Unstuck. It gets great reviews on Amazon so I'm hoping to find something new there to help me get this place even more organized.