Monday, January 05, 2009

No Resolutions...A Plan Instead

Since I'm not very good at keeping new year's resolutions, I decided not to post any this year. :) And I'm not really making them either. That said, there is one thing that has been bothering me - the organization (or lack thereof) in the house and garage. I'm leaving the garage to the husband because if I do it, it doesn't last - I don't know what has to be kept etc. :) But the house (sigh.), the house is my project and I dove right in on Saturday. For once, I feel like I have an actual plan for more than one area which is very motivational. So instead of resolutions, here is my organizational plan:

The Kitchen - clean out cupboards and drawers of all things I'm not really using, re-organize the cabinets including the location of many items.

The Boys' room - change their bedroom all together to the back bedroom so all three boys can share. Find twin beds for the the older boys and set up the crib for Ty. De-junk.

The Guest room/Craft & Sewing room - move to the front bedroom and de-junk.

The Master - donate, donate, donate clothing, re-organize & de-junk the bathroom. Put bassinet away and find a place for all things "baby".

The Play Room/Loft - move toy storage to built-ins using bins and baskets. Get rid of junky toys, broken toys, less than quality books, and broken toy bins & rack. Organize dvds, cds, and books.

I started on the play room and master and I'm coming along fairly well. It always looks terrible when you are in the midst of it, though.

I do feel like the above plan will help with keeping things organized - we'll see. I'm amazed at how much junk accumulates. We have a new Goodwill close to us, so I will be making a big donation trip there. I'm still working to convince Andrew that we need to find new homes for a few pieces of furniture. :) If we do, it will makes things even more organized!

I LOVE organization and have found this stage in parenting to make it quite difficult - to get organization done and to keep it in order. This week, my youngest sister is coming every day to help with the kids so I can accomplish more - I'm so thankful! I'll give you a progress report with pictures later in the week - okay, probably no before shots. :)

11 comments:

Jen said...

Yes, isn't it amazing how you create a even bigger mess initially when organizing? :)

Thad and Ann said...

I have the same goal for this year. I have to come up with a way to get & stay organized. It's amazing how much junk we have! ugh. Good luck!

Monica said...

I like the no resolution, but rather a plan idea. You're inspiring me here to get myself together. i just so dread the additional mess that is involved in getting things straightened up.

I'll look forward to pictures later this week. You really should do some before shots and give yourself the credit you deserve.

Heather said...

my new favorite work "de-junk!" Have fun organizing. It's hard work, but the pay off is huge when you look around and see your completed work! Very inspiring.

Heather said...

If I thought you had time. . . I would ask you to come and help me next - but I know better on that one! :) Did I mention I love the new look?

EmilyAnne said...

It is definitely the kids! That is what I keep telling myself anyway. I spent the entire day yesterday walking around the house putting things where they should go and directing the girls to do the same. I am POSITIVE no more than a handful of the items I touched had anything to do with me. They seem to lose a small trail of toys, clothes, and art supplies constantly as they move about, much the way Hansel and Gretel dropped bread crumbs to find their way home. I'm just not sure when they stop to reload.

Anonymous said...

we found a great bunk bed set (which of course can be set up as 2 twins) at Wal-Mart that was very inexpensive and decent enough material. Mark has one in his room and Adam will eventually get one as well. The whole set was around $200. Just in case you want someplace to start...

Micah said...

Ahhh! I'm dejunking too. It's my favorite thing to do. I made a Goodwill pile from the kid's new Christmas toys already - is that awful or what??? They just got some really junky stuff from the big stocking stuffer party - stuff they would never play with, so why keep it? I just went through their books this morning. I feel better already =)

Diane said...

I am cotinuing on organizing and decluttering my house. I started it last year and that partially is what my blog is about too. I pick a room and work on it till it is to my satisfaction complete. This summer was my daughter's closet, bathroom and kitchen. I worked on the livingroom over christmas and I am thrilled with the results. Pop over to my blog and check out the before and afters. I need to work now on my bedroom and the spare bedroom. I think mine is more important but hubbie thinks we should do the spare since most of it will be toss , toss, toss and donate too !
I am glad I found your blog and I will be following along daily.

Diane said...

Oops sorry as if my last comment wasnt long enough. Dont forget to post pics I love seeing the before and afters.

Andrew said...

For what it's worth, all you organizers should check out this book: A perfect mess [the hidden benefits of disorder : how crammed closets, cluttered offices, and on-the-fly planning make the world a better place].

The chapters: The cost of neatness -- A mess sampler -- The history of mess -- The benefits of mess -- Messy people -- Messy homes -- Mess and organizations -- Messy leadership -- The politics of mess -- Optimizing mess -- Messy thinking -- Pathological mess -- The aesthetics of mess.