Life gets in the way.....

We have all had it happen, life gets in the way. I had all these plans to start with the closet and other things got in the way. And isn't that usually the cause of why we never get it done? Which is why I have thought about all this. I think if you are like me you need to start small. See the instant results then more on. So that is where I am not starting on the small stuff. But more on that later this week. I am actually working on organizing all this. Just want to get it done then blog. No point in saying what I need to get done and it never get more than a thought on this blog. I will be taking pictures too so you can see. Hope you all enjoy it.

The Pre-Organization - The list

Do you know how many books there are for organization out there? I mean if you were to buy them all you would have a library of just organizational books. And I guess some people can find them useful, but when you talk in general terms. So if you are talking about a kitchen not everything in the book would apply. And like anyone else would do we skip page because we don't think they apply. Just because I have one in my kitchen does not mean you have one in yours. Or even better, just because the book has one doesn't mean I do. I have been reading these books for about a month in preparing to do this blog and my own organization. And believe me I need it. The one thing all the books have in common is rules. Really do you need rules to clean? Yes we actually do. 

As a pre-organization I have decided that there are a few rules that you can follow without even having to take everything out of the closet. We tend to keep things for the sake of keeping them; papers, recipes, clothes and even knickknacks. So as I am going through the house each day I find at least one thing to get rid of. 

But my real pre-organization is making the list. I started with a list of each room so that I could get it organized into a manageable list. The first challenge is where to start. You look at those piles of mail, clothes and just things in the wrong place and it is overwhelming. And when you do start to tackle those problem areas it gets worse when you are cleaning your closet and after an hour you find that your laundry rooms is a bigger mess. You have just moved one mess to another room in some cases. And you just give up. What we all have to accept is we have too much stuff. If you don't have a place for all your stuff then you have too much stuff. You want to get rid of it but you start to think about how much you spent on each item or who gave it to you or it has so many memories. We have to just get over that and move on. It's not always easy but you all get to go through with me on this. I am going to blog about my cleaning and organizing. I will set a time table for each task that I want to do. Nothing too much that way I don't spend all my time cleaning and not time enjoying. So it will be one task a day. Since the kids are out of school they will have to do the same with their rooms. It's time to purge all that stuff and start anew.

I have started with the first step….knowing I have to get rid of things. The garbage runs once a week. We have two garbage cans and have to pay for it so why not make sure they are full each week.

So my goal for June is my closet and the laundry room. I clean my closet out twice a year at least and before the end of the month there is more stuff in it than there was before. It is more of a storage than a closet. Isn't a closet for clothes? Has yours become a storage room? 

I made a bit of an outline this week. The list will change as I get to that room and look at it but these were the first things on my mind. 

There are a few things that I did like from the books and I will include them here. I am not saying this is the right way to get this done just saying it is going to my way of getting it done. I have my list started for each room. But first things first. Just because you have not gotten to that room yet doesn't mean you should add to the clutter problem. 

Junk mail - Just throw it away the moment you get it. Mine doesn't even make it in the house most of the time. I have a few helpful web address that I will be adding to this blog to help cut down the junk mail

Shopping List - Make a shopping list of things you need from the store - It will save time and money and once everything is organized you will know what you have and what you need in the future.

Don't Buy - Try to not buy anything else to add to the clutter. If you need it right then yes, but if it is for something a week from now or even a month you are adding to the clutter and may even misplace it between now and then in your mess (no I am not saying you are messy). We waste more time looking for things that we lose or misplace, imagine having all that time back. It could equal days at the end of the year. And think about the money we spend buying another one when we can't find the one we just bought. And if it is not being used, it is clutter. 

Rooms

Closet - Bedroom

Clothes

Shoes

Storage

Master Bedroom

Under the bed

On the nightstands

In the night stands

Your area (my personal area of the room)

Dressers

Shelves

Floor

Other area

Kids Rooms

Under the bed

On the nightstands

In the night stands

Your area

Dressers

Shelves

Floor

Other area

Bathroom

Closet

Medicine

Towels

Linens

Under the sink

Laundry Room

Shelves

Cleaning supplies

Kitchen

Cabinets - Dishes

Cabinets - Food

Dinning Room

Linens

Buffet

Living Room

Movies

Games

Paper

Change out pictures (I will explain this later)

Decision Made

I guess you can all see that I have decided to make another blog for just the Organize Me Series. I thought it would be easier here so that it didn't get lost in the Naked Natural Blog. So I hope this makes it easier for you all to follow.

I will begin posting soon.