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Tuesday, May 1, 2018

The Purge, Part 1

I've decided to start a series! Hurrah! I think if I write little blurbs and updates about purging the house, I'll be more accountable and less likely to slide into overwhelm despair. This decision might drive every one of my three readers away from this little outpost, but so be it. Last summer it was all pregnancy all the time. This summer will be organizing and getting rid of a mountain of things. So here's the first post. Right now, I am just thinking and deciding on a plan of action.

First decision: Should I tackle the kitchen again or head straight up the stairs for the kid junk?

Points for the kitchen: I am finicky about the kitchen and cannot function in it when things are not just so. As a result, I have not really spent any kitchen time since January 2017. Really. A meal here or there, but that's it. A clean and organized kitchen means I could maybe meal plan and cook regularly again. We eat out entirely too much because the kitchen makes my brain freeze. If I organize the kitchen first, the upstairs cannot be retrashed while I am working on it. Also, I've already purged it once, two years ago, so it isn't quite as out of hand. The stuff I got rid of didn't come wandering back.

Points for the kid junk: The upstairs is traaaassshhhed. It's hard to overstate. There is so much junk without homes. So much stuff that just needs to leave. Because of the overabundance, the stuff wanders all over the house. If the upstairs was purged and organized, the overall house clutter would decline significantly since that is a major source of it.

Opinions?

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Unrelated to starting the purge, I have a vision for my bedroom closet that doubles as the bathroom linen closet. I think it would be easier to keep up with items in stock if each had it's own little canvas box. I am thinking about those small 6in canvas crate boxes you might get at Target. I see a shelf with a dozen little crates, one with toothpaste, one with deodorant, one with contact solution, and so on. Is this an organizational dream or am I plain crazy? Is this too fiddly to keep up?

4 comments:

Joy said...

Those canvas boxes sound like a mess. Do you have drawers in the bathroom or only a closet?

Since you've already done the kitchen, I'd say start upstairs. Trash, toys, clothes.

Go you!

mandamum said...

For my bathroom supplies, I just started using a back-of-door shoe organizer with clear pockets. So far.... so good? I still have a box for some things, but yeah, I was having trouble keeping up with what was actually out, and for some reason no one else could (a) remember the old supply box existed, or (b) manage to check it, so we were always "ooooouuuuT!" of things we had plenty of.

If you have a place for crates, you could certainly try that. Or (perhaps, depending on how much visual clutter would be a problem) the clear shoe-boxes? I tend to only keep one or two of each refill on hand (cuts down on space needed, and on loss when a toddler - or an older who should know better - goes on an open-all-the-things rampage).

I'm all in for purge posts - maybe they will help me get up and get going on my own house, where we lost 800 sq ft in our move, and have no closets or wall space anymore....

Jenny said...

I have three drawers in the bathroom. They also need to be purged. Sigh. The bathroom closet is not really a bathroom closet. It's my clothes closet. I was thinking of clearing one of the closet rod shelves to put the crates. But maybe the over the door storage would be better?

The giant supply box is not working because stuff gets lost in it. Then I have no contact solution but 7 sticks of deodorant.

Meredith said...

Thinking on this later as I attack my bedroom pile (stuff that has no home)...

Marie Kondo, like her method or leave it, was on to something when she said to start with clothing first. The principle behind it is that you start with the easiest items to discern, those with which you have the least emotional attachment. This helps you build momentum and hone your sorting skills as you go. For you, I think this could be kids' junk and toys, the stuff you are sick of stepping on, etc. Clothes are quite a bit harder if you are still saving for future sizes. You do kind of get on a roll that makes the next area of attack a little easier.