First Things First

I intended for my next project to be the filing of paperwork that is necessary in the dining room.  As I entered the room to plan my strategy, I realized that there was no place to work.  My granddaughter had completely converted the dining room table into her own personal art studio.  Of course she felt that every piece of art was a masterpiece and MUST be saved. (NOTE TO SELF: Clean when people are NOT home.)  I will have to come up with a system for saving the artwork neatly later.  Right now my focus was “finding” my table.

She and I “filed” her artwork in a neat pile into her closet for now.  The portfolio will have to wait until I hit up her room.  I had purchased five small plastic cases which were still on the table and my grandson had an Elmo hat out of place, so this mess clearly belonged to one person only.  Now that the table is clear, I follow my little artist around with the ever-ready threat of “If you don’t put that away, I will have to throw it away.”  So far it is working.

Clearing a table does not sound like it should take that long.  Actually, it didn’t.  It just led to A LOT of necessary cleaning.  Apparently my dining room table also served as my artist’s drop cloth.  The dining room floor was not safe either, as its purpose was to “save” any excess Elmer’s glue.  (I am so relieved that most of her supplies are still water soluble!) 

My table underneath my future Picasso's work space

Ironically, despite my clutter, I can't stand working in a messy or dirty space.  So before I could even think about starting to file the original target for the day (paperwork), I had to scrub the newly found space.  

I LOVE the smell of Simple Green!
 It works great and it does not smell like chemicals.

After quite a bit of scrubbing, I finally was satisfied that the table looked beautiful once again.  However, the cleanliness of the table did not lead to the warm cozy feeling of satisfaction from a job well done.  It did however highlight the need to clean the chairs.  

Clean me! Clean me!
screamed the chairs.

Isn't she lovely?  Isn't she wonderful?

Funny how one thing leads to another, huh?











So I heard my desperate chairs screaming for some attention, and I answered their cries.  All five of these supportive little friends got the attention they truly deserved. (Five, you ask...well THAT is another story!)

We feel much better now!

And then my glue-laden floor screamed, "It's my turn lady. Break out the mop...pleeeassse!"  And so I did. 

Looking gooooood!

Well, the plan for the day changed...but progress was made and I am pleased.  As for the children, they were very happy to see that there was once again space to do their "arting".  I am going to have to be the magic marker police if I want my table to remain clean enough to eat off of.

Here Fishy Fishy

When the temperature is over 90° who wants to think about chores?  This seemed like a really good day to choose a short task, one that I knew I could complete before the day got too hot to function.  As you enter my home, there is a 10 gallon fish tank on a wooden cabinet stand.  At one time there were fish in it.  I even bred mollies and guppies for the kids to watch and learn.  I also populated a 15 gallon tank and a fish bowl.  I was very proud of the tanks and I got great pleasure out of watching the fish.  One day, about three years ago, when I cleaned the tanks there was a problem with the quality of the water that I used.  Overnight, I wiped out my entire aquatic community.

After moving, I found that my fish tanks could serve quite another purpose.  My lovely tanks could hold anything and everything.  I could even see through the sides and find “stuff” if I needed it.  How convenient!  How creative!  How chaotic!  My small tank could have been used for one of those time capsules that they fill with whatever and bury for the next fifty years.  Some person in the future would have known that I

• like fish tanks
• have long hair and I wear pony tails
• am interested in alternative healing
• garden
• read
• have children, male and female
• was missing one wireless handset (which I am very grateful to have finally found)

It looked like this:

 So on this hot, humid day I had a choice…I could keep this journalistic peek into my loves and likes as is or I could return it to its natural state, that of a feng shui type aqua-therapy.  I chose the latter, kind of.  I invested about 75 minutes into cleaning out the tank and cleaning out the cabinet underneath.  I found several missing socks. (At one point in time I had stuck the singles in there to wait for their mates.  The joke is on me because the children have outgrown those socks!)  I found my missing scrunchies and a warranty to something I bought at Best Buy quite a while ago.  Have you ever noticed that they do not note on the extended warranty which item is covered?  THIS is why I need a better system.

Almost everything that I had thought was important enough to store in the fish tank for later use ended up in the garbage.  NOTE TO SELF: Be more careful when choosing to keep things.  Do you need it?  Will you use it?

A little while later my fish tank, which is now almost ready for fish, looked like this:

I must say that the children and I are all looking forward to decorating the “new” fish tank and getting some goldfish.  I am starting small this time.  One of the kids said we should buy five.  Why not?

Let the Games Begin

AAARRGH, the dreaded paper pile…or in my case, piles.  If the surface is flat, I will inevitably place something on it.  I have piles of children’s artwork, piles of mail, piles of receipts, piles of “I have to get to that” stuff, etc.  I do not think any countertop, table, or dresser is immune.  The problem with this “filing system” is that A) it is not very aesthetic, and B) I cannot find anything without rummaging for it. 

My goals for this part of my journey are to:

• File all important documents in one manageable file system.
• Put all unnecessary papers in the recycle bin.
• Frame the children’s keepsakes.
• Dump the excess children’s artwork (SSHHH! Don’t tell them, please.  They think that they are all keepsakes.)
•  Clear my surfaces.

This task is tantamount to moving a mountain.  Not only do I catch papers on my surfaces; I also bag the paperwork up really fast if I have company coming.  I have all good intentions to go back and empty the bag appropriately, but that does not seem to happen.  When I finally do go through an old bag (usually to look for something important that should have been filed immediately), I discover that most of the “stuff” in the bag should have been discarded, not saved.  So one countertop, one table, one bag at a time I WILL CONQUER THIS MOUNTAIN!!!!

Today I chose to tackle the countertop between the kitchen and the dining room.  (This was a good start because it naturally led to another chore that needed to be done, but I digress.)  This is where all the current mail, newspapers, and school memos get dropped.  It is central to all family happenings, so it is a convenient “landing pad”.  I also tend to leave all my receipts here after I unpack the shopping bags.  It often looks like this:

After about an hour of sorting and recycling, I ended up with this and a small pile of mail to be handled and a small shoebox with receipt. 

So now that I have shared this with the world, perhaps I will keep my resolution to not clutter this space again. 

This project led to another task that may amuse my readers.  The shelf just to the right of the counter was storing my Passover dishes.  Yes, Passover was three months ago.  If I did not start this blog, I may have kept them there until next spring.  So this is what the shelf looked like before I started organizing:

Oh, so you noticed that this is not a full set of dishes?  My bad…the rest of the dishes have been stored for the past three months here:

You mean this is not a cabinet?

I obviously do not use the dishwasher often.  The truth is it took my about half an hour to put the dishes and the silverware properly in the cabinets downstairs that are designated for seasonal or excess kitchen supplies.  Yes, I already have a designated location.  I just “never got to it”.

All sorted and ready to go downstairs until next Pesach

All ready for next year!

Wow, what a difference!  Paperwork and holiday dishes all in one day!  I wonder what I can conquer tomorrow.

The Unwelcome Welcome

The project I have chosen first is more symbolic than anything else.  This is what hung at my entranceway since shortly after Mother’s Day when I murdered my gift.  This is literally and figuratively a dead greeting.  When I look at this I see a warning:  STAY AWAY; STAY FAR AWAY; INSIDE YOU WILL NOT FIND THE HOSTESS WITH THE MOSTEST!

This is what hung to greet my guests! 

In clearing out my clutter, I am hoping that my home will be more of a reflection of who I believe I am and who I want the world to see.  So the first thing I did was remove this obvious witness to my lack of TLC. 

Transplanting something healthier (OK, alive) into this planter became a family event, a memory to treasure.

The children were happy to help with this project.  We removed the dead flowers and put them in the compost bin.  We then used the soil and the planter to transplant two small houseplants that were in need of more space.  Nothing went to waste.  This was a recycling project that made a great “first impression”.

This is the finished product!  It is fully decorated with rocks and butterfly clips. Now to choose a location.

The Purpose of a Public Pledge

In programs such as Weight Watchers they do it.  Members share their goals with the group.  In 12 step programs members talk to a sponsor and review their progress together.  These programs are based upon the proven knowledge that success does not happen in a vacuum.  If we share our goals, we are much more likely to follow through.  If we write down our goals, both short term and long term, for regular review, we are more likely to attain them.  So I am writing down my goals and pledges for my readers and for my own review.

The Invitation

Wow! What an overwhelming task!  Well, from what I have seen of th television show Hoarders, I am not alone nor am I the world's worst packrat.  So I send out this invitation to all who wish to downsize, organize, simplify to join me on this journey.  Together we will create open space and clear minds.  Together we will see each other through the process of throwing out, donating, and recycling.  Together we will have a few laughs along the way. 

complexity to simplicity; the journey begins

When I was a young girl, my grandmother shared with me her philosophy of life.  She told me, “In all things, Rosie, remember to KEEP IT SIMPLE, STUPID.”  This is simply remembered by its acronym KISS.  Grandma’s house was not cluttered.  The art was hung just where it ought to be.  She could find any utensil in the kitchen.  She did not have piles of mail on every flat surface.  Even Grandma’s spice cabinet was organized.

So what happened to me?  I have the desire to live simply, to know where everything is, to not feel overwhelmed by my belongings.  The truth is Grandma was wiser than the rest of us.  I come from a family of packrats (except Grandma, of course).  Grandpa was a packrat; Mom and Dad are packrats; my siblings and my children are packrats.  Even my grandchildren are packrats.  Most of all, I AM A PACKRAT.  There, I said it for the entire world to read.  If knowing it is half the battle, then I am well on my way to a cure.

And I humbly invite you to follow me on my journey to a clear mind and a clutter free life.  I will address this one project/area at a time.  I undertook the first step this morning.  Before I could start documenting my progress via photos, I actually had to clear out my SD card as it was completely full. 

Please note that all of these files represent two years of memories all lumped together in a way that made them useless and 1/2 hour of wasted time cleaning out my phone.

When I tell you that this will be a huge undertaking, I am not exaggerating, but I believe that there are many people trying to overcome the same problem.  I hope to help others along the way.