Paper Clutter – Project: Simplify

Week Two of Project: Simplify

This week’s hot spot was a pretty boring one for me in that, well, paper clutter is not an area of weakness in our household. Has it been in the past? Sure, but right now we pretty much need the paper we have and it all has a home. Still, I committed to the project so here we go.

We have 3 areas where paper clutter accumulate: my dresser in our bedroom, a corner on the kitchen counter and the top of the printer in the office area/bonus room. The dresser is cleared off so there was nothing to declutter there and  the spot in the kitchen only has some papers related to an item of business we need to attend to. No reason to file it away as I would just have to take it right back out. I normally leave the items that we need to take care of in that area because it is an area we are always seeing so it is a constant reminder to take care of stuff. Once the item is taken care of, we dispose of it. The only area where I had any paper clutter was on the printer. It was all things that needed to be filed. So I took all of 2 minutes to file them away.

Before

After

 

Since I felt like I should do SOMETHING for this challenge, I decided to purge my files. I knew it had been awhile since I’d done this so I figured it was probably a good, appropriate way to complete this challenge. (She mentioned books but I just redid my book shelf last month.)

I went through each of my files and took out what we no longer needed. I filled up a grocery bag full of stuff. It didn’t take me too long (except for the fact I wasn’t able to just sit down in one sitting and do it because of needing to attend to children) and it felt good to get rid of those things that weren’t needed. If it wasn’t for this project, there is no way I would have taken out the time to do this because it never really feels like it HAS to be done.

Before

After

 

What about the rest of you? Is paper overtaking your home? A great way to manage paper clutter is by using FlyLady’s 2 minute hot spot clean up. It’s just what it sounds like – set a timer for 2 minutes and go to town on that paper clutter! No guilt when the timer goes off. Two minutes is a totally manageable amount of time to dedicate to it and you’ll chip away at that stack much more quickly than you thought you could, promise! This is what I do when a mountain of paper starts to overwhelm me.

Tell me how you did this week in the comments and I’ll come check out your post!

Advertisement

Closets and Wardrobe – Project: Simplify

Week One of Project: Simplify

I was excited to see that this week’s hot spot was one I was planning on doing, in part, anyway! We were assigned to clean out/organize our closets and wardrobe. My best friend just dropped off a big box of clothes, purses and shoes she was giving to me since she packed up her house and is moving out of state. I needed to go through that anyway so this fit in nicely with the week’s project.

via simplemom.net

My closet and drawers are pretty organized and cleared out honestly but the top of my closet has started to become cluttered so that is mostly what I’ll be focused on organizing. If I have time I’ll probably tackle the coat closet downstairs as well to see if I have any coats to get rid of. This is also where I keep my formal dresses so I’ll see if any of those should be donated as well.

Monday

Closet Before

I went through the clothes in my closet and took out some clothes I don’t wear/don’t like to donate. Honestly, I didn’t have a lot because I do this rather frequently anyway. Then I organized what was left into categories (like all the sleeveless shirts together, button down shirts together, etc.) Again, this didn’t take long since it was pretty much already organized. I put clothes away in the right areas most of the time anyway so there were just a few things here and there to move around.

I took the bag of clothes I had to donate out of my closet and filled it with the few things I had found that I no longer wanted. Then I decided to go through the box. I tried everything on and sorted through it all. Anything that worked for me I sorted for laundering and the rest I put in bags to donate. I ended up with 3 bags total to donate.

Tuesday

I washed everything I was keeping from my friend and put it all away. I also went through my drawers and got rid of things I did not want or did not fit me anymore. I was hanging on to pants that were too big for I don’t know what reason. I now have room for the pants that actually do fit.  I also went through and threw out old underwear that had seen better days. I have tons of underwear so it made no sense to hold on to the old stuff still.

Closet After

Wednesday

I went through all my shoes. I had done this recently though so I only found one pair to get rid of. I did straighten them up a bit, too. My daughter is fond of taking them out to play with so a couple here and there were out of place. Next I actually started tackling the shelves in my closet. They had started collecting random items so I put things that didn’t really belong in the closet where they belonged and straightened up what was staying.

Thursday

Since I finished the closet and wardrobe project a day early, I went ahead and straightened up my coat closet. I collected all the empty stray hangers, went through the coats and formals I have stored in there and got rid of some things. Then I put all of the coats facing the same direction and put some of the lesser used coats to the side and put the more used coats in the center. Not a huge change but it looks a little nicer now and I got rid of a couple things I no longer wanted.

Coat Closet Before

Coat Closet After

Hopefully I’ve inspired you to do some closet and wardrobe organizing of your own or maybe you’ll want to join me for next week’s hot spot challenge! I’m looking forward to seeing the before and after pictures from those of you doing this with me!

It’s Spring Cleaning Time! Project: Simplify

I’ve been itching to spring clean lately. My schedule has been pretty hectic lately and next week I will have out of town guests as well as my daughter’s 2nd birthday party but I still think I’m going to go ahead and dive in! (My husband must have the itch, too because he cleaned one of his drawers in the kitchen of the odds and ends for his bakery business.)

via monterey.org

I was surfing the internet and came across the perfect thing to help me with my spring cleaning – Project: Simplify from Simple Mom. I’m a little bit nervous about posting pictures of areas of my home that aren’t the neatest BUT I’m excited to get some things decluttered and having some blogging fun while doing it. Being entered into a giveaway every week is a pretty nice perk, too!

Wanna join me? I’d love to have some of you guys roll up your sleeves alongside me!

Related Articles

• Spring Cleaning Your Makeup Bag (amominredhighheels.com)