The To-Do List

I'm sure I don't need to tell you guys how awesome to-do lists are. Likely if you are reading this blog, I am preaching to a very organized choir about how awesome to-do lists are. Lists in general, actually. There is nothing more satisfying than making that list and then crossing things right off of there. Including, writing out your chores, finishing them, but then doing other chores that weren't even on the list, adding them to the list, and then immediately crossing them off too. Ugh. So good.

(I sometimes also draw little pictures of my family and I on our dry erase board.)

Ties

I didn't know my husband had so many ties. I didn't know this because most of them were scattered everywhere in our closet: the floor, a few hangers, the floor.

Before:

And that was even AFTER I had organized the closet. Here is the before before:

*shudder* So I did a few things. One, I bought a tie rack from Target for about $5. Two, I picked up/gathered all of the ties in our closet, and three, I hung them up neatly in a spot in the closet that wasn't so high traffic. My husband doesn't wear ties very often, so I moved them from the "front" of his closet over to where they would be more out of the way and wouldn't be constantly pushed aside to get at a shirt. ORGANIZATION!

Nice. Here's hoping this works, because after I hung up all these ties, I discovered this:

That's right, we already had a tie organizer. Sigh.

Ties

I didn't know my husband had so many ties. I didn't know this because most of them were scattered everywhere in our closet: the floor, a few hangers, the floor.

Before:

And that was even AFTER I had organized the closet.

The Nightly Routine

This is a pretty typical view of my house after I've put the kids to bed. I'm definitely a work before play type of person, and I can't relax at night until three key things are done: one) the dishes and kitchen are cleaned up, two) the dining room is de-crudded, and three) the family room (living room? What's the difference?) is picked up.

(things you may not be able to see in this picture: a pair of my old high heels that Story likes to wear, a piece of the newspaper under a chair, tons of crumbs and sticky spots at Story's place at the table, and lots more toys)

(poor Simba...)

And now, I can relax! I give you, ORGANIZATION!

Oh man, it feels so good. In short, toys were picked up, the dishwasher is running, a big satisfying pile of Story's books is stacked neatly in the family (living?) room, and the coffee is prepped for the morning. And now if you will excuse me, there is a pint of Ben & Jerry's waiting for me that I told myself I couldn't have until I posted something.

Stress!

I have discovered something about this blog: if I want to post something, it means I have to work. Yeesh. The bad news is that I feel so pressured to post because I LOVE before and afters! But the good news is that I am really excited about all the things (ALL the things) in my house that need organization desperately. Have I mentioned the basement? Trust me, it will be my Everest. Look out!

Vomit.

That's what I want to do every time I go into our closet.

(my side)

(Skip's side) 

Ugh, grossest. I have a really crappy shoe organizer (ahem, "organizer") that I was too lazy to bring back after I brought it home years ago and realized that it was, in fact, a piece of junk. It was like those rope ladders that you had to climb in gym class. Remember? The ones that were tethered to the ground were easy to climb, but the ones that just hung from the ceiling and you basically had you use only your upper body to try and climb this "ladder"? And there was always the one boy in class that was really strong and kind of a hick and he could climb it super fast? No?

Well anyway, here are more pics of our disgusting master bedroom closet.

(Skip's side)

(my side)

So the other day I decided that, hey, this closet is too gross. Way too gross. I am going to buy one thing to help me organize this closet, and I think I need to start with a decent shoe organizer. I bought one from Target, and really should have gotten it in white instead, but again, was too lazy to bring it back. And also too excited to get this thing ORGANIZED!

Oh man, it feels too good! I ended up being able to fit only my shoes in the organizer, and I had no idea I had so many freaking boots, but here you go.

Things I found and got rid of:
-an entire trash bag worth of hangers from the dry cleaners and that came from the store (like when you buy pants)
-a bunch of belts that I never wore
-lots of old shoes I never wore
-gross old flip flops for taking showers when we went camping *shudder*
-two big storage containers: one didn't have anything in it except for a lid that didn't even fit it, and another one full of old clothes we hadn't touched in years
-a bag of clothes that was in progress of being filled and sent to Goodwill
-two more bags of clothes that were bagged and sent to Goodwill (along with the bag of old shoes)

I also hung up our hoodies instead of slapping them on the weird, oddly angled shelf above the clothes rack and tried grouping together nice work clothes and, well, more hoodies. You guys, for the rest of the day I felt so much lighter and would periodically go upstairs just to look at my sparkling closet.

When Skip saw it, he gave the the slow clap, and I pumped my fists in the air like a champion. Champion!!

Junk-o-Rama

I love before and afters. Weight loss before and afters, makeovers, home makeovers, a raw piece of meat turned into a delicious entree, a junk drawer that has been cleaned out...

Ahhh... it feels good to even think about.

Today I was bit by the organization bug. This happens a lot, but often must go by the way side since I have the two small Kiddos that like to eat up my attention. Not a problem, my kids are adorable.

But today, I got it. I mean, I GOT it. That bug hit me hard and, well, I did something about it!

First, my letter holder/ junk collector/ pen holder/ where-does-it-go-I-don't-know-let's-shove-it-here. It was a mess.

At Target today I bought a partitioned organizer folder called (gag) Organizher. Gag, and sexist. But whatever, it was awesome and made my little organizing heart go pitter patter. Mine! I took out all of the mess to see what I had most of, and that would inspire what each section I would label in my new folder. After throwing away a lot of snippets, collecting all of the random keys that aren't even labeled (wuh oh, that is going to take a while to sort out), and deciding on my labels, I give you, ORGANIZATION:

I know, I heard the angels too. The labels are bills, coupons, things to file, recipes to try, invitations, gift cards (we get tons for Christmas and we always forget about them!), and stickers for Story.

I'm really excited about it! Now if I can just remember to check it periodically so I don't forget about our bills, this will really be a success.