Yeah, I know the Playfriends are all fainting from surprise at the title for this blog. Cleaning is my least favorite thing to do. Really, I only know a handful of people who like it. I'm a bit of a procrastinator which means if I don't like doing something I'm going to put it off as long as possible until I just can't ignore it anymore. I can no longer ignore the mountain of clutter that has become my house.
I've gotten spring cleaning fever, an affliction I don't believe I've ever caught before. Zilla has adopted an intelligent 'stay out of her way' policy. I'm organizing. I'm throwing things away. I'm letting things go that I'll never need/use again. It's liberating. And tiring. And damned expensive! Who knew organization could cost so much?
My project this week involves making an organizer for our mail so that I can actually see the end of our kitchen table. Currently, it's the repository for absolutely everything - mail, school papers, shopping bags, my bread-maker. And, frankly, I'd like to use the table for it's intended purpose - eating together as a family.
I've instituted a de-cluttering policy. My plan is to tackle one small area every day and one large project every week. I figure eventually I'll cover the whole house and might avoid becoming overwhelmed. We'll see. I have to admit that I've already missed a couple days this week because of PTO meetings, work, children commitments... But I figure any progress is good progress so I'll keep plugging along.
Do you have any tips for organization that you'd like to share? Any nifty gadgets/gizmos/whatever that streamline your life and help keep you in order?
Instigator
P.S. Here's a link to the mail organizer I'm going to make (in a smaller version since I can't find the folders she used).
3 comments:
I'm slow rolling spring cleaning. My mom comes every two weeks to do general cleaning with me and last week we did windows and blinds, which I do very rarely. This Sunday, who knows...
I'd like to start a huge pile of thrift store donations. I do that a lot, but this time, I actually want to take it to the thrift store! Progress!
There's a website called the Fly Lady and she has some good de-cluttering tips. The one I like is to the "27 Fling Boogie." You walk through your home with a garbage bag and as quickly as possible you throw away 27 things. Her method is one where you do a little something every day instead of letting things pile up til you can't face it and put it off forever (like my front closet).
One of the things I like to use for cleaning is microfiber cloths. I have them in various sizes and they clean wonderfully and then wash up to be used again. I also love my Swiffer WetJet. Swiffer Dusters are great for quick dusting jobs.
Happy cleaning!
As a rule creative people aren't the neatest people in the word. When I was working I had two signs over my desk-- "A CLEAN DESK IS THE SIGN OF A SICK MIND" and "NEAT PEOPLE DON'T MAKE THE EXCITING DISCOVERIES I DO". I presume these adages could apply to one's home.
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