This is serious (part one)

So serious, I'm not even posting a picture.  It's that serious.

This is about the BIG "O", people.  And I'm not talking about overstock.com, either.  (or that other thing.)

Organization.

There.  I said it.  (OK, I typed it.)  Whatever.  The time has come, and I am ready.  Since we have settled into the new house these past six months, I've been so revealed with the lack of clutter and mess we always dealt with at the old house.  The new place is a lot bigger, and when we moved last August, we did a massive, and desperately needed, purging of our personal belongings that helped tremendously.  I was seriously ashamed of overwhelming amount of junk we had accumulated the 6 years we lived in Norfolk.  Looking around at our new surroundings, I am hopeful - we are moving in the right direction, but something is still missing.  We have the space and storage to easily contain what we have now, but the organizational aspect is still eluding me. 

So, I got a book.  And I hate that. I don't like to think of myself as a person who buys self-help books, or more especially, a person who could actually be helped by a self help book.  I mean, what are they going to tell me that I don't already know?  But there it was, Organizing From the Inside Out, staring at me from thrift store shelf.  And I let go of my pretentious, self-serving attitude and had a mini breakdown.  "It is time for me to organize myself, from the inside out, " I pondered.

OK, that's a bit dramatic, but it really is a decent book.  Nothing earth-shattering, but there's something humbling about seeing all of your faults in print, in black and white.  Written out.  It sort of gets to you.  All of these sabotaging behaviors are so me:

• You go shopping for containers to get your clutter problem under control without having measured, counted, or examined what you have to store.
• You tackle the bits and pieces of your organizing problem without ever looking at the big picture. 
• You are easily distracted. 

The last one really hits home.  So many times, my attempts at organizing any specific area would go exactly like this:  "I decide to clean out the book case, I start pulling books out and putting them in random piles.  Oops, there's a cup on top, better take that to the kitchen.  I should empty the dishwasher while I'm in there.  Hey, that's my crochet hook on the floor, I'll just put that in the yarn box downstairs.  I really should finish that scarf I started, I'll just do a few rows really quick.  But first, I need to clean out my yarn stash...." 

Me to a Tee.  Five hours later I'd have started about 15 different projects and would never really finish any of them.  So sad.  But no more, I tell you!  I'm changing, and for once, I'm starting small.  I'm gonna ease into it so I don't shock my system.  I even took some "before" pictures so I can share my progress on the blog and keep motivated.  We are driving down to the new Ikea today to look around and pick up some storage containers (of which I have a carefully detailed list with exact measurements. ha.)  And I'll be sure to post more about my quest later.  'Cause I'm sure you're just all on the edge of your seats to see me organize my kitchen pantry!  Whatev.  This is a big thing for me, so deal.  Oh, and please post your favorite tips and tricks for keeping neat and tidy.  I appreciate any help I can get!  I just hope we make it back from Ikea in one piece. There is something about that place that brings out the worst in couples.  It's not just me, lots of other people have dubbed Ikea "the relationship tester."  Mike and I are so close to wrapping up our 7-year-itch....it'd be a shame to throw in the towel now, just for some crappy Swedish furniture. 

Comments

[Amber]

See with us, it's not going to IKEA that's the relationship tester, it's putting together the furniture when you get home. Happy shopping! Can't wait to see what you come up with. You know I love a good organization binge.

[deirdre]

I love being organized -- I enjoy throwing things away and keeping the clutter down. My husband, on the other hand, does not. I think we own every cable every made, and they don't actually go to anything, but he wants to hang on to the "because we might need them."

One trick I use is a chest of drawers, wherein each drawer = a subject. All my iPod stuff goes into one drawer. All my pens and pencils go into another drawer. Open the drawer, and it looks terrible, but close the drawer and the room is neat as a pin.

Plus all the stuff I need is together.

I used to get plastic bins to keep things organized, but then my house was filled with plastic bin and looked terrible. So I started buying proper furniture and that has made all the difference.

Good luck!

[kristin rose]

We've been working on organization too. Still just at the beginning of that task it seems. Oye.

I'm also having a call for people who might be interested in doing a weekly painting challenge. Thought you might be interested. If so, pop on by and lemme know. :) hugs!

Kristin
http://reclaimingthehome.typepad.com

[Ashley Pickin]

Amen, preach it sista!

[Eva Wallace]

I've been in the same house for ten years now. My longest stint anywhere. Ever. Having moved so many times in my life, I always thought I'd love being in one place like this. Don't get me wrong, it has its benefits. But boy oh boy, do I miss the fresh start of moving! Walls, carpet, every nook and cranny clean a a whistle all at the same time! And all the excess junk - gone! I so wish there was an 'easy' way to accomplish the same thing without the move.

Thanks for you post. :)

[Jennie]

The best thing that has kept me organized is making sure that I not only have a place for everything, but that it is beautiful to boot. I'm much more likely to continue a system that I've put into place if all the containers are beautiful and maybe I've even covered the shelves with paper I love or something. It ends up being a little more work, but then I tend to take care of it because of everything I put into it. Of course, getting my husband to follow suite is another story . . . have fun and make it pretty!!

[Caroline]

My biggest spouse-related Ikea problem is definitely being on the same page for why we are there... I go to browse and collect ideas for 3 hours, he wants to pop in for a dresser and run.
Alton Brown's Gear for Your Kitchen has some excellent suggestions for purging your kitchen of items you don't use and keeping everything else organized in the long run!

[Debbie]

I am exactly like you described. Easily distracted with 15 projects going at once. But I found Flylady and have been really getting things under control. www.flylady.com is for people who need to work on things in small bites. It has been wonderful - my house is company ready most of the time and I'm slowly clearing the junk. Don't mean to sound like a promo, but it has really made a difference in my life.

[Alanna]

Debbie stole my comment!
Flylady is great (and free!). One of the biggest things she talks about is how you can't organize clutter - because it's true, you can't. You can totally organize everything else, but clutter just has to go :)

Good luck at Ikea, it has tested my marriage on more than one occasion - but meatballs make everything better!

[rachael]

Hooray for organization! After four years I am still purging things we brought to this house from the apartment and just don't need. It's a long battle. When I was putting together room cleaning plans I used the info from Flylady.net. Good luck at Ikea!

[Marleen]

My house and me also needs to become organised. I do it in parts of 15 minutes and signed in on the mailing list of http://www.flylady.net
That works great for me.

[Asha]

I am one of those easily distracted people. My mind is cluttered and so is my life. My entire family is this way, it's probably genetic. My husband nicknamed me Piles because I leave piles of crap all over. I laugh everything I think of that. Anyway, I do try, I just now finished cleaning out my closet to make room for new spring clothes. I wanted to give up so many times but kept at it. I now have bags of clothes and shoes in the garage waiting to be sold at our annual garage sale. I can't believe I finished. I plopped down on the couch next to my two year old and said, "I'm so exhausted". Good luck, I know it's not fun!

[Ann]

Hi,

I have found this blog to be very helpful.

http://orgjunkie.com/

Take care~

P.S. Thank you for the bakery boxes. They will be perfect for the upcoming school bake sale.

[Dime Store Thrift]

Good Luck, IKEA does have a way of testing relationships!! Too funny. Sonya

[ashleyd]

"I decide to clean out the book case, I start pulling books out and putting them in random piles. Oops, there's a cup on top, better take that to the kitchen. I should empty the dishwasher while I'm in there. Hey, that's my crochet hook on the floor, I'll just put that in the yarn box downstairs. I really should finish that scarf I started, I'll just do a few rows really quick. But first, I need to clean out my yarn stash...."

OMG THAT IS ME TIMES A BAJILLION!!! every single day this is my cleaning style. i start something and then i'm back and forth through rooms. i never finish anything. when it comes to organizing it's even worse. glad i'm not the only one!

[Alison (from New Zealand)]

Do check out MyChores.co.uk. you can create your own tasks, set the frequency in stead of having to live with how often someone else thinks soemthing needs to be cleaned. You can allocate tasks to household members (children?) and reschedule easily. I love MyChores and have used for almost a year. Defintely worth a look. ANd its free. Ali. New Zealand.

[Kathy Jacobson]

I wish I had some great advice, but unfortunately I could have written this post myself...I too get soooo distracted when I start big projects.

I'm looking forward to hearing about your progress.

Good luck!