So I put it in the only remaining closet I had available: our coat closet. At first I balked at this idea. After all, I liked being able to keep board games there, along with our coats. It seemed like a good idea, because it is close to our living room and therefore accessible at a moment’s notice. However, the athletic gear won out, and the few board games were designated to another storage area.

In the future, I plan to dress this closet up a bit and put matching organizers in it, including a storage shelf to go on the closet floor to add more storage and keep things off the floor itself. Until then, this is what I came up with:

… and ta-da! …

There was only one blooper I came across while in the middle of the process; our medicine ball wouldn’t fit, no matter how hard I tried to squeeze it in. *sigh* I’ll have to figure out where else to put it. Right now, it’s keeping Grandpa Mo (our ancient riding lawn mower) company.

(Hello, Grandpa Mo)

Where do you keep all your athletic gear? I’d love to hear other ideas!

Sorry I’ve been posting later than usual, lately. It’s been a crazy week! I hope you come back tomorrow, when I’m making an announcement about a new guest blog series that will begin soon!

After taking my shower this morning, I was getting ready for the day and I looked at the floor next to my shower and I couldn’t take it any longer. I’ve noticed it for a couple of days now and had ignored it to get on with my day, but this morning I felt a compulsion to wipe the floor and side of the tub down to get rid of the dust that had accumulated and gotten damp.

I had a compulsion. To clean.

I’m not sure how to explain how huge this is for me. I’ve been working for most of my adult life to get myself to have those compulsions. My childhood little messy girl had stayed with me for far too long.

I’ve said before that this journey to home organization is a lot like weight loss. It is tough, requires accountability and self-discipline, and there is some shame in admitting you have a problem. Well, in this case it is definitely like weight loss in a positive way, because while it takes awhile, eventually you start getting used to eating healthier. You start reaching for the whole grain pasta or the wheat bread over the white bread. Walking or working out becomes a habit instead of a chore. It does happen, and when it happens you wake up one day and realize you’re actually looking forward to your trip to the gym. Then you step on the scale, and you discover you’ve lost two pounds.

That’s what this is like.

Slowly, over the past year, I’ve been reaching for that sponge to wipe down the tub, or the broom to sweep the floor. I’ve tackled dishes before they became a mountain. I’ve purged the refrigerator before adding the new groceries to it. I’ve made regular trips to our local thrift shops to donate items I realize I don’t use. I’ve even kept the laundry to a dull roar recently. The funny thing is, I didn’t even notice it happening. It just happened. I’m not perfect–far, far from it–but I’m on my way, and that is a great place to be!

New to this blog? Here’s a quick overview of my organizational journey so far. If you like what you read, why not subscribe via RSS?

Right?

Yikes!

This blog post is probably all the things you shouldn’t post in a home organization blog. First, the photos aren’t my best. (Sorry, iPhone, you just didn’t cut it this time.) Second, all these shots begin to look a lot like the other ones after awhile. Third, well, I’m not Martha Stewart and while my cabinets and drawers are organized enough for daily use, they’re hardly drool-worthy.

Yet.

In the meantime, here they are. In the spirit of “keeping it real,” I’m holding nothing back.

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This one does.

I call it Use-What-You-Have-Organizing, a.k.a. Making Storage From Nothing.

I’ve been working on cleaning and organizing our third bedroom/my crafting and shop storage room. During the process, I came across a number of CDs (don’t judge. I’m old school that way. I like to keep the cases.) I needed CD storage to get them off the floor.

In the past, I stored them in a bottom cubby of our Expedit bookcase. Now, however, more of our books occupy that bookcase, so there is no longer room. I needed to find a place to keep the CDs all in one space. Then I realized I had some open-top elongated boxes that were just about the right height. I also had leftover kraft wrapping paper and paper doilies, plus a couple of rolls of washi tape from Japan.

That’s when the lightbulb went off, and my three boxes went from this:

to this:

here’s how I did it:

1. I eyeballed cutting the size of the wrapping paper to fit across the front side of the boxes. I just placed it against the paper and cut around it, leaving enough length to wrap from the bottom up and around the box lip.
2. I used packaging tape to tape it down in place.
3. I cut the paper doilies in half, taped them to the inside of the top lip and folded and creased them over the top, then cut off the edges that overlapped.
4. I taped the doily down with a small piece of washi tape on each side.
5. I filled in each box with Tetris-like arrangements of my CDs.

I gotta say, for a set of storage containers that cost, as my wonderful friend Joy says, “free dollars,” they ain’t too shabby.

In fact, I rather like looking at them up on top of the bookcase.

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{Top Image: Zenera via Flickr; Bottom Image: Room design via Polyvore}

{Image: Laura Chifiriuc}

Is it outside work? Is it exhaustion? Confusion? Frustration? Fear?

It can be overcome. I promise.

Room by room, closet by closet, cupboard by cupboard, drawer by drawer, you CAN get organized. Even more importantly, once you find an organizational structure that works for you, it will begin to be self-sustaining, provided you continue to follow it. Each time, it will require less effort, as things begin to have a place and you remember to put them in it. There will be fewer battles, freeing up your energy and mind to focus on the remaining trouble spots in your home and life.

Just like losing weight, the more you lose and maintain a weight loss, the fewer pounds (or, in our case, organizational trouble spots) you have to worry about.

But you have to be willing to let go first.

I’m a fan of the reality show The Biggest Loser. In it, contestants work with personal trainers and nutritionists to lose excess weight and become stronger and healthier individuals. Inevitably, some–if not all–of the contestants discover that the process is a difficult one. Their trainers talk to them and try to find out what from their past or present is keeping them from giving their all. Sometimes, they don’t feel worthy. Other times, they retain scars from past relationships or cling to excuses. Little by little, the layers of emotional baggage are discarded, even as the weight is, until a newer and stronger person emerges. By the end of the show, they have the skills and knowledge required to maintain their new lifestyle. While the last 10 or 20 pounds are difficult for them to release they are not encumbered by the rest of the excessive weight that had been on their bodies and they are at their peak physical condition. They have the knowledge required to continue being healthy and have built upon weeks of success.

But first, they had to shed not only their weight but also their self-imposed barriers.

It’s the same way with creating a restful, orderly environment for yourself and your family in your home. There will be some early victories. There will also be increased resistance from within yourself and outside forces as you continue to grow. It can get discouraging when you don’t see faster results. Stick with it.

So what is your barrier?

Mine is pure and simple laziness as well as a lot of pursuits that fascinate me more than cleaning my home (or working out to lose weight, for that matter.) I have to admit, sometimes I’m afraid I’ll give up and just call it a lost cause. If I fail, it’s going to be embarrassing.

I’m also afraid of not just failure … but success as well. What happens when I’ve got a completely organized home? Will I keep it that way? Will I relapse? Will family and friends who have read this blog be disappointed in me if I get lazy and start to slack off? What if I don’t want to be organized 24/7?

Oh, it doesn’t stop.

The bottom line is: keep on going. Don’t give up. Just like the contestants on The Biggest Loser discover every season, good things come to those who put themselves out there, do their homework, and just keep pushing, no matter what. Acknowledge what is holding you back; confront it; accept it … and move on. You can do it. I can do it. I’m counting on it.

I threw out some chili today I had forgotten about in the fridge. That was good. Oh, and I returned two overdue library books today. However, other than those two things, I’m hard pressed to find anything else productive I’ve completed for the home or from my to-do list in the past two days.

Well, forget to-do lists. Sometimes you just want to live life as it happens. Today is that day for me.

Also, yesterday I had an excuse. Yesterday was Valentine’s day, and while my hubby and I don’t celebrate it full-scale like some people do, he took my dog Zoe out for me in the early morning freezing rain and let me sleep in while he braved the weather again to get me a latte. Did I mention I love that man?

As for me, I did find the time to get a fun card and surprise him with some hot chocolate stir-sticks from Ticket Kitchen. We’re gonna try them tonight, so I’ll let you know the verdict, but just from opening the package I’m very excited for the taste test. They were delivered in adorable packaging and a red bow. Perfection.

{Image: Ticket Kitchen}

In other news, I’m excited to be participating in a shop item swap that was dreamed up by Danni over at Oh Hello Friend. In a lovely Valentine’s Day surprise, I got my shop swap partner assignment last night!

I’ve been paired up with the talented Megan who has the shop meganEsass at Etsy. Seriously, you should check out this girl’s lovely handknit apparel and housewares.

Since we had a February wedding, I would have loved to have found this one-of-a-kind knit lace bridal shawl two years ago!

{Image: meganEsass}

And how fun are these dog collars? Zoe would look adorable in one.

{Image: meganEsass}

And finally, anyone who knows me knows how I love mason jars. Well, check out these mason jar candleholders/vases she designed for her own wedding. They are sweet during the day and have a lovely glow if used as votive holders at night:

{Image: meganEsass}

{Image: meganEsass}

Megan and I are going to swap items from our shops and send them to each other. I’ll be sure to post again when I choose what to send her, and when I receive what she sends me! I’m having a lot of fun with this and just wanted to send a shout-out to Danni (thank you so much!) for coming up with the idea to do this. I mean, seriously, who doesn’t love getting a pretty gift in pretty packaging in the mail?

Now, back to my day. I’m doing something new today. I’m not cleaning house or organizing. Nope. I’m taking a mini break from that. So, for the past day or two I’ve been working on editing a novel I wrote several years ago. It’s been in the works for quite awhile and it is a labor of love. Fitting, considering the time of year it is right now. Funny how creative things haunt you, even years later. Well, today I’m chopping up bits of that novel and rearranging them in the best order I can. It’s a fun, if complicated, task that I enjoy now and then.

That being said, see you tomorrow, when I’ll get right back into the organizing swing of things!

So, I went on a laundry rampage over the past few days. I have one load of delicates/handwashables/possible dry-cleanables left but I got it done. This battle has been won (although we all know the war is never over. Eek. I can understand the aristocratic appeal of having a laundress on staff. Any volunteers? I pay in free dinner and crafts.)

While I was at it, I found an item or two I thought I was missing (funny how things disappear into the depths of a dresser drawer) but have yet to find the one pair of pants I wanted to wear.  The hunt is on. Perhaps one of the  few boxes yet to be unpacked in the garage contain the elusive pants in question? Hmmm.

In the meantime, I managed to fit more items into my dresser by utilizing a couple of tricks I uncovered via Pinterest and Google. And the peasants rejoiced! (Fist pump. Yeah.)

First, because Daniel and I share a single dresser and space is at a premium,  I removed all the items from our dresser drawers that we didn’t use on a routine basis. This included out-of-season items like shorts, as well as little-worn belts or articles of clothing. This freed up a significant amount of space. I simply purchased an under-the-bed plastic tub from Target to store those items in for easy access without taking up space.

Then, I filed our folded t-shirts vertically, like cards in a card catalog or recipes in a recipe box (inspired by this drawer organization example via sydoniah as found at Apartment Therapy) instead of stacking them. Brilliant. We can now see them all at a glance and access them more quickly and neatly.

Finally, I stored like items with like in the range most needed. Undergarments and socks went in the upper drawers, as always, while our t-shirts went in the second tier and our workout clothing (shirts, pants, etc.) went in the bottom drawers. Everything else was hung up in our closet. A separate trip to Target procured the additional black plastic hangers we needed to complete the task.

I searched in many stores for drawer dividers to keep our his-and-hers t-shirt “files” neat, as well as other items. Nearly every option I found was $15 or more. Like this one, at Bed, Bath, and Beyond:

Not satisfied (and wanting something even more adjustable/customizable), I recalled having stumbled across a solution for a kitchen drawer divider when browsing the Internet that I thought I could modify for our bedroom dresser drawers, so on a hunch I went to Lowe’s and purchased a $9 large sheet of corrugated white sign plastic, such as is used to make Yard Sale signs. I had to hunt through my browser history to find the link, but when I did I pinned it for future reference. Sometime this week I’ll take a ruler and an X-Acto knife and cut the sheet down to size. I have to figure out how I’ll attach the segments to each other (I’m thinking of hacking the original idea so it is more like this cardboard drawer divider, with notches that interconnect), but I am fully confident that when I’m done I’ll have nice, neat drawers with drawer dividers.

As a final touch, I am either going to use some  wrapping paper, as pinned here, or fabric, as pinned here, to create my own geometric-design drawer liner, as the current liner is pretty dated (I believe from the 70s, to be precise.)

I’m pretty excited to see how it will all turn out. Stay tuned!

p.s. As part of my “organize how it makes sense to you” campaign to simplify my life instead of add unnecessary extra work, I recalled a laid-back approach to the sock drawer that I saw in a book once. Sadly, I can’t remember the book title or author’s name. However, it really liberated me to not feel guilty about hating to pair socks. Daniel does it for me usually because he is wonderful and he loves me and he knows how I despise taking time to pair socks, but with this new solution, he doesn’t have to sacrifice for me. Our sock drawer … is just that. A drawer full of socks. Period. They are all in a single drawer and we take as we can. After all, so many of our socks are just multiples of the exact same style and color. (White.) This may end up being ditched if it adds stress instead of efficiency (in which case, I’ll  let you know), but for now I’m kinda loving it, to quote McDonald’s. And to quote William Wallace: FREEEEEDOOOOOOMMMM!

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