Sunday, January 10, 2010

True Confessions--Jan. 20


So, I'm writing the blog on home organization/decluttering....surrounded by boxes of Christmas decorations to be put away and piles of stuff from the cabinets and drawers I'm cleaning out in the basement--I just had to laugh! Those of us who tend to get side-tracked start by cleaning out one area and before we know it, we've drug stuff out from all over--this is very discouraging. Trust me--it's much easier to declutter if you haven't wrecked a whole room/house in the process. Luckily, our mess was in the basment so the top floor remained fully functioning but I'm warning you all of what can happen if you get carried away'! The good news is that I cleaned out cabinets/drawers that haven't been looked through in a long time and got rid of a lot of stuff.
Decluttering is great, but remember to ask yourself about what works/doesn't work in your rooms--maybe some things are not serving their purpose and need to be given away or stored somewhere else to make room for things that will improve the activities in that room. Analyze your space for the activities that happen there when deciding what needs to be in each area. Good luck and remember--only tackle 1 space at a time.

Organizer Tip- one of the best things I've done is to buy an over-the-door shoe organizer to hang on the inside of our coat closet door. The pockets are great for gloves, scarves, hats, rain ponchos, sunglasses, camera, GPS,and anything that we grab to go out the door. You could do this anywhere you need extra storage--in the bathroom over the door for toiletries, in a baby's room for storing little socks, shoes, undershirts, etc. You could even store some kids' toys in the pockets.

Family Economics-I'm trying to take my own advice on curtailing spending in January. My daughter and I traveled out of town a few days ago to see one of her friends. I hit a new low in spending on the trip, $1.50. I spent fifty cents on two books at the library book sale and a dollar for hot cocoa at the drugstore. My daughter was impressed. (I've always tried to model cheap entertainment for my kids) If you got gift cards for Christmas, remember to use them!

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