It seems I average about a blog post a month, huh? That certainly wasn't my goal ... sigh. Sometimes I feel overwhelmed and just can't figure out time management in my downtime ... which is nap time on the weekends and after 8 pm on the weekdays. I am NOT motivated in the evenings, lets put it that way.
In the mornings, while I'm getting ready for the day, I think of all the things I could do that day that would be productive ... like organize x,y or z at home (I have LOTS of areas I want to tackle). Or I think of things that are good for me to do ... like exercise.
I usually don't accomplish much other than work, come home and hang out with the hubs and play with Luke - all of these I love to do (ok ... maybe I don't love work). Today, I got a wild hair and decided to tackle the computer room / spare bedroom / former pantry and kitchen / don't-know-where-to-put-it-and-this-room-is-already-lookin'-crappy-so-why-not-add-it-to-the-pile-room.
I took the pictures below AFTER I had already hauled out a floor to ceiling storage rack that sat right below the fan and held our food/dishes/odds and ends since mid-August. So it looked much more cramped, if you can imagine. The computer was in there, and I hated to get online and blog or do bills. Not a good atmosphere at all.
I spent about 2-3 hours taking all the stuff out that didn't make sense to have in there and spread it out in the living room/kitchen and put back what I needed. I am figuring out where to store things and how best to organize things, which sometimes takes time ... but after moving and not using a few things for about 11 months, I know what I need and what I don't need.
I hate clutter. Growing up, my parents house was always cluttered - there were piles of papers sitting on the kitchen counters, as my mom would (still does) write things down she hears on the radio, watches on tv, etc to "remember". But she ends up with a bunch of stuff that she never goes through. I understand she has to write it down to remember it (I'm that way too), but there has got to be a time limit of how long to hold onto things.
There were piles of laundry that remained consistently on our floor from maybe age 8-16. We simply rooted through the dirty laundry piles to find our uniforms or something that wasn't too dirty to re-wear instead of waiting for it to be washed. My mom had to personally scrub every piece of clothing ON every stain with Lava soap. We didn't just throw the clothes in the Washer.
Needless to say, I have a ton more examples of how clutter drives me nuts, but the bottom line is ... it drives me absolutely insane after living in disarray for 11 months! As I type this post, I am sitting in the clean office/guest bedroom where I am thoroughly enjoying the clean space -- and I have a few cats who are enjoying it too, all curled up on the bed.
BEFORE - Look at all that crap piled everywhere! Now imagine a a floor to ceiling storage rack that sat right below the fan whose length came out to the cardboard boxes on the right and that would be the complete picture.
BEFORE - We had a pile of stuff just inside the doorway on my cedar chest - and look how little stuff is in the rack in the closet! Gah!
AFTER - I apologize for the shimmery texture on the walls - that is the globe of the (new) ceiling fan causing it. It makes the walls shimmery, which is kinda cool instead of it being just boring white paint. My brother found the ceiling fan for $30 and it is a much more updated style, along with the fact that it doesn't rock when you turn it on, so a definite upgrade. Hoping to sell the old fan on a local buy-sell-trade site, so maybe a $0 upgrade out of pocket! (fingers crossed)
AFTER - Desk is cleaned off, pictures hung above on a horseshoe picture frame my youngest sister made for us for Christmas. As you can see, the closet is stocked now - more things out of the actual room!
AFTER - Two of my four kitties enjoying the spacious new room!
(Pirate on the left (my girl cat) and Biker on the right (my boy cat).