Tag Archives: Clutter

Small Solutions: Closet Organization

A few months ago we replaced the towel bars in the bathroom (now they are all uniform brushed nickel and lovely). I kept one of the old bars to hang in the closet. I use it to store my spray bottles. Now I have a wall of cleaning supplies/tools:

full wall of cleaning supplies

I use a belt holder (like this, but mine is pink) to wrangle tapes and the hooks below hold brooms and a Swiffer.

I also grabbed this scarf holder at Ikea a while back:

scarf organizer

While I don’t have nearly enough scarves to fill it (someday, maybe), I use it to hang camisoles and undershirts as well. This has been a huge space saver.

On Probation

Will and I started living together at the end of 2010. As we had both lived on our own prior to that, we both brought a decent amount of kitchen stuff into the cohabitation.

Some stuff was easy to pick off – one of us had a “better” version and the other was donated. Other stuff has just been stuffed in kitchen cabinets and not dealt with.

Until now.

Post-wedding, we went through all our cabinets to reorganize to make sure the stuff we used was easily accessible (and all our fun new stuff had a proper home). In so doing, we uncovered a decent amount of stuff we don’t need. We could keep it… it’s decent stuff… but we don’t use it regularly and need to seriously evaluate if it still deserves a place in our lives.

Will got up on our ladder and put this stuff above the kitchen cabinets. It’s now “on probation” – in six months or so we will re-evaluate whether or not we really need it. I even set up a Google calendar alert so we remember to review the probation items (rather than just letting them sit up there forever).

I love a good “stuff purge” and a logical system. I’ll let you know where we end up in six months.

Keeping (incomplete) Journals

My life, from Kindergarten on, is well-documented a series of several journals. It seems that some of my best thoughts occur outside of my head.

my current journal

Twenty-five years of scribbling. Naturally, not all of these entries are cheerful. I’d tear through journals every couple months when I was a teenager and let me assure you that I was as angsty and unsettled for most of that time.

So what happens to those journals now? Do I preserve them? I hadn’t given it much thought until I read this post on negative keepsakes on Small Notebook. Tear out journal pages? Interesting in principle but I’m not sure I could rip pages from my journals any more than I could rip pages from any other book I own.

One night, about a week ago, I couldn’t sleep. Actually, insomnia is a near-standard condition for me now, but that’s another story. This particular night is relevant because I grabbed my current journal and read it start to finish.

Oy. Beyond the standard early-twenties dabbles in dating, some entries made me heartsick. I was so hard on myself! Also, irritatingly repetitive. Yes, I was just hard on myself for being hard on myself.

I dog-eared these pages as I thought about perhaps removing them from the journal. Would anything be lost by getting rid of these pages? Would I ever want to return to the situations described in those entries?

No.

ripped out pages

ripped up pages from journal

Then I ~~burned them~~ put them in the recycle bin because I’m a green-mined pyrophobe.

It’s not that I want to sanitize my legacy or leave a neater historical record (because Lord help us if my journals are the only historical record of these times). I tore these pages out without thinking of anyone else interacting with what I’ve written (as that was never the intent). These journals are for me, so destroying entries is as well.

A journal doesn’t have to be a complete record. I’d rather focus on the pieces that bring me joy.

Thrifted Treasures

I was feeling kind of blah on Friday, so I headed over to the local thrift store to treasure hunt. The thrift store closest to us is not my favorite, but it has a decent selection of glass and ceramic items. Like all thrift stores, it’s hit-or-miss.

Friday, was a hit. I got two lovely items (for a grand total of $1.40).

I almost always pick up little trays like this because I know they will come in handy for something. This particular one was the right length for sunglasses, pens, keys, etc. Little trays help to make “clutter” look more ordered. Plus, orange.

Once home, I decided to use it for bracelet storage.

That’s my great uncle’s pocket watch. I like that it’s more on “display” now that it lives in the orange tray.

Honestly, I wasn’t sure what to do with this one but I loved that it was wee and lidded. It was like a tiny honey pot (a la Winnie the Pooh, keep up with me here).

It ended up joining some other small dishes in my supply drawer in the office. It holds rubberbands (which I don’t really use, so they may as well be hidden under a lid).

Spring Cleaning: My Mantra

I took a break for my birthday, but I’m still mad-focusing on decluttering our home. The donation site’s pick-up crew is coming to the condo on Friday, so my Spring Cleaning has a deadline. Come Saturday, I hope to only own things that are dear to me.

Despite my zest for a more minimalist existence, getting rid of things can be hard. When I’m having that internal “should it stay or should it go?” debate, I think to myself “could someone else use this more?” This is a non-starter, however, as the answer is always yes.

Odds are that the answer is the same for you, dear reader.

The better question is:

This is what helps me get rid of some of the “sticky” things: dresses that are a size too small (but I hope will fit again if I try harder!), something on which I spent too much money (but if I keep it I might get my money’s worth out of it!).

Understanding the realities of my body and the concept of sunk cost don’t always help. I have to really focus on the best use of the item in question.

For example, we are currently reorganizing the living room and in the process, it may lose this overstuffed armchair I’ve had since I moved to the city six years ago. While part of me has trouble letting go of something that was such a huge purchase at the time, I know that rooms evolve depending on the needs of their inhabitants.

Perhaps the armchair will have an amazing second life in the apartment of a new college grad. That person can definitely use it better than we are right now.

Spring Cleaning: Get It Out Of Here

Lately, I’ve been on a purging kick. Inspired in part by the necessity to make space for the lovely gifts we got at my shower last weekend, I’m hell-bent to get the excess stuff out of the condo.

The main offender is the second bedroom. As I lived in the condo first, my stuff takes up most of the closet in the master bedroom. When Will moved in, I gave him some shelf space there and we put the rest of his belongings into the second bedroom; transforming it from “useable space” to “enormous closet-room.” Now that we want to reclaim this room, I need to cough up more master bedroom closet space so we can even out where things are stored.

This past weekend, I took our box of Christmas decorations down to our storage space. To be clear, the decorations had been down since ~~Epiphany~~ oh heck, Valentine’s Day but it took me until Easter Weekend to haul the big red-and-green Rubbermaid storage tub downstairs.

I moved my DVDs (remember those?) to one big case so my box sets of the entire series of Gilmore Girls will take up less space. Don’t even tell me I can get rid of the DVDs and watch that stuff on Netflix. Baby steps.

In cleaning, I’ve noticed one odd thing that Will and I seem to store for some time of Nuclear End Times. Hard Candy. Apparently neither of us can pass up a bowl of peppermints at a restaurant or lollypops at the bank. However, neither of us eat them, either, so they sit endlessly in drawers.

Will and I have bags and bags of stuff to donate. Luckily, Brown Elephant – local charity of choice – will come by to take your cast-offs to their new home. I’m setting up an appointment for later this week.

Micro-Organizing: One Kitchen Drawer at a Time

I first read the term “Micro-Organizing” in Real Simple and, dear readers, it was a near life-changing moment. Perhaps my attempts to have a pantry like this have failed because I’m setting my sights too “macro.” Time to tackle projects one wee drawer at a time.

Will and I currently have a host of miss-matched food storage containers. They probably all came from me and were all purchased for some aesthetic quality (it has a green lid!) rather than actual functionality. Regardless, storing leftovers is a pain when you can’t find anything in which to store said leftovers.

On a previous (misguided) attempt to organize under the sink, I bought this lid organizer:

[Why was this misguided? Well, I didn't measure first. Always measure first. This was not the first time I've purchased some organizational tool for this misshapen under-sink area only to have it not fit. Nobody's perfect.]

So, I have a rack-like thing and a drawer full of oddly shaped lids. {light bulb!}:

Seriously. I’m a genius.

This tiny bit of organization has been so helpful. We actually use these containers now that their lids are locate-able.

Anyone else have tales of tiny successes?

Home Candy: Bookworm Chic

I have a lot of books. This is nothing new. I’m on Bookmooch and GoodReads and consider myself quite the reader. I’m also quite the aspiring owner-of-a-well-decorated-condo. The two don’t always mix.

{via}

I’ve actually Googled “styling a bookcase” because I’d like mine to look a little less like I’ve crammed every book I could find in there sideways. Unfortunately, most tips for beautifying bookcases involve getting rid of your books and replacing them with faux souvenirs or woven baskets. One decorator advised getting rid of “unsightly paperbacks.” If I did this, I’d lose most of my collection.

I am culling. I get rid of books (via swap or donation) as soon as I finish them. I just seem to acquire them at a phenomenal rate. Input is far exceeding output.

{via}

My life is not a magazine. I need my bookcases to hold actual books. Actual paperback books. I know. I dream of wall-to-wall shelving (especially with a sliding library ladder), but until that day, I need to figure out creative storage. My bookcases are full to the brim and books are currently residing there both horizontally and vertically – however they best fit.

In addition to two busting bookcases, I have one of these:

Thus, a stack of five or six hardbacks becomes wall art. I’ve considered getting several more (they’re cheap!) and making a floor-to-ceiling “stack.” I also love this herringbone bookcase, but I was indecisive and West Elm sold out.

Do you have a home full of books? How do you display them? Suggestions, please.

Upcycled Jewelry Organzier

Last Summer, on the day I was moving from my old apartment to my new condo, I spotted an old screen in the alleyway. Nothing fancy – about two feet long, 18 inches across, with a two inch black wooden frame. Why did I pull it from the trash? What was I going to do with it? I didn’t know at the time, but I had a feeling I could make this baby into something fantastic. That and yes, I was current on my Tetanus shots.

This past weekend, the moment of inspiration arrived. The screen would become an organizer for my necklaces. I went to the local beading store to get these pins:

They have a flat nail-heads on one end and are blunt on the other. Traditionally, they are used to make the dangly bits of earrings. I planned to use them to make hooks.

First, though, I put black electrical tape on the back of the screen frame. Some bits were especially sharp and snaggy, so I wanted to get them smoothed down.

I then curved the metal pins into hooks. I found my pinkie was the perfect width, so I wrapped them around my last digit and then popped them through the back of the screen so the hook was in front:

Once all the “hooks” were made, I hung my necklaces (in color order, of course):

Now, I can see everything I have and wear some of the ones that were previously forgotten and ignored. Plus, I think it makes my collection look like art.

It currently sits on the top of my bookcase and leans against the wall, but someday I may add sawtooth hangers to the back so that I can hang it to the wall.

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Extreme Couponing

Oh, TLC, you get me. You know just how voyeuristic I am and design your shows to let me stare, slack-jawed, at the strange lives of Others. My latest obsession? Extreme Couponing.

{via}

From the time I first heard about the show, I knew I HAD TO SEE IT. I searched in vain online for videos and wasn’t able to find more than wee snippets (come on, TLC, get with the program – full episodes online prettyplease). The past few days, however, I’ve been staying in a hotel with unfettered television access. As Extreme Couponing has been generating a lot of buzz, it seems TLC arranged a mini-marathon for me.

Many hours later, I can relay that the episodes follow the same narrative arc:

First, we meet the Extreme Couponer. Every Extreme Couponer shares some variation of this back-story:

Protagonist does not Coupon
Protagonist suffers Traumatic Life Event*
(Optional) Protagonist receives Personal Directive from Higher Being as to the Holy Merits of Couponing
Protagonist becomes Couponer

* Select all that apply: Protagonist and/or Spouse loses job; Protagonist and/or Spouse develops Un-Diagnosable yet Costly Illness; Protagonist and/or Spouse racks up Unspeakable Credit Card Debt.

Then we get a glimpse of the Extreme Couponer’s sacred Stock Pile. Said Stock Pile usually consumes the basement or garage of the family’s house, but has also been shown spread into every nook and cranny of available space (e.g., in the master closet, under the kid’s bed, in a makeshift “room” made by knocking out a wall that one hopes isn’t load-bearing). Here we are shown endless shelves of paper towels, more toothpaste than a family of four could ever consume, piles of microwaveable noodles, endless arsenals of deodorant and potato chips. At this point, you could be forgiven for thinking you are watching Hoarders. Except… we are supposed to be oddly proud of these thrifty shoppers (as they are clearly proud of themselves) whereas Hoarders handles mental illness and fragile psyches with a dose of public shaming.

I’m so confused, but I can’t look away (sidenote: Is this how people feel when they watch Jersey Shore? If so, I take back every mocking comment I made about your addiction to Jersey Shore).

We then learn that the Extreme Couponer is – for our benefit, apparently – about to endeavor on their “biggest haul to date.” We watch them Prepare. Said Preparations can involve up to sixty hours (sixty hours!) of clipping, filing, arranging, and strategizing.

Shopping commences. Three or four shopping carts are quickly filled with all manner of non-perishables. After what we are lead to believe is three to four hours of wandering through the grocery store, the Extreme Couponer approaches the checkout lane.

{Cue dramatic music}

Hearts race as items are scanned. Will all the coupons work? Oh, the dramz! One Extreme Couponer notes that the grocery store is “not a restaurant,” and, as such, she can’t “wash dishes” to make up for any amount not covered by her coupons. True, but she could just put the items back. She’s buying Cheetos, not Insulin. Perspective, people.

In the end, everything works out, and the Extreme Couponer leaves the store with enough Orange Soda to last a nuclear holocaust and goes on to live Happily Ever After.

Now, in several episodes, Extreme Couponers mentioned donating parts of their massive wares to charities. If this is the case, more power to them. However, we only actually saw such a donation in one episode. That’s not to say it only happened once… but I have my suspicions.

Let it be said that I love a bargain. I shop sales racks. Garage sales are my Happy Place. I’ve clipped a few coupons in my day. I’m in no way condemning others who want to save money. I am, however, calling into question the benefit of having a basement full of Corn Nuts. Of all the Stock Piles I was shown, I’d estimate that 5% were foods a pediatrician would recommend feeding your children. What good is a coupon for candy when you don’t really need the candy in the first place? What good is a Stock Pile that is eating into your family’s living space? It’s cost savings at the expense of mental clarity.

However, as an Extreme Couponer, you get to be on TV and you’ll never run out of Crystal Light. You got me there, Extreme Couponers.