Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Organizing - Weeks 2 and 3

Project: File Cabinets

Goal: Be able to add to file folders without having to use brute force to squish back surrounding files in order to get 1/2" space in which to open desired file folder and insert new materials

Progress: 1 complete drawer organized

Method: Pull each folder. Paperclip '09 materials, '08 materials, etc. Place each year's materials in decorative storage box to be kept for obligatory 7 years.

Entertainment Value: High

Most Interesting Finds: Checking Account receipt from 2003, Doctor report from 2005, collection of maintenance requests from old apartment

Sunday, January 10, 2010

Mission Organization - Week 1





The above photos are items added to our Goodwill pile this week. For 15 minutes each day, I chose an organizing project and got to work. So far, I have gone through my clothes, our DVDs, one of our kitchen cupboards, and our bookshelf to determine what we use and what things can be given to Goodwill.

It's pretty satisfying and liberating to be cleaning out like this. I oftentimes get weighed down by stuff. Each item I put in the Goodwill bag represents one less thing to worry about, one less thing to mend, and one less thing to dust. :) I like that.

Don't worry, I'm not going to have an empty house by the time I'm done with January. I'm making sure to keep plenty of things, some of which are unnecessary still.

Also, here is a picture of the shelf I organized last Saturday. The boxes contain my canning jars, ready to go for this summer!

Saturday, January 2, 2010

The Resolution

From Dictionary.com:
"resolution - the act of resolving or determining upon an action or course of action, method, procedure, etc."

I like resolutions. I like them best when I can keep them. As January 1 approaches each year, I carefully weigh each of my ideas and try to determine which is most worthy of being my New Year's Resolution.

In talking with a friend of mine in late December, I confessed my anguish over trying to choose from the many worthy resolution ideas I had been tossing around. Here are a few: practicing guitar, practicing piano, practicing Spanish, practicing yoga (I know, a lot of practicing), organizing the house, eating organic, and writing regularly. Well, this very wise friend said to me, "What if you resolved to do one of those things each month? You don't have to do the same thing for the whole year."

Brilliant. I don't have to choose just one thing, I can choose 12!

Well, it's not all set in stone for the whole year, but for January, I have chosen to spend 15 minutes each day organizing. It's one of my secret passions, and you can frequently find me organizing a cupboard with the same amount of satisfaction and guilty pleasure as a kid who locked himself in the closet with the cookie jar.

Today my task was organizing my canning jars and lids. I happily sorted all of them into neat rows based on capacity and lid size. Then, I packaged them up in cardboard boxes, clearly labeled the boxes, and stacked them back on the shelf where they previously sat. Now everything is in stackable containers, easy to access, and ready to go when I need them. I also managed to throw out some really rusty lids (why did I keep them?) and a plethora of those plastic containers that strawberries and blueberries come in. I saved 4, but threw away about 10. I don't think I will ever EVER have a need for 14 containers like that. It felt great.

I was tempted to start the next organizing project, but decided to stay strong and hold out until tomorrow. This is fun!

It IS almost tomorrow, though. Only 1.5 hours away. So, I could technically start tomorrow's organizing project before bed tonight...., right? :) It would only take 15 minutes...