My Mission: Organization

For some reason, I’ve had the urge to organize.  It’s almost a nesting instinct, but it’s coming ten years after my last pregnancy.  What can I say?  My hormones must be slow to catch up with my life.

I actually walked into my closet with every intention of reorganizing the space to make it more useful and pretty, but after shifting around some clothes and scratching my head, I gave up in despair.  I don’t have an ounce of organizational fortitude.  I don’t know how to do it.  My mind thinks in colors and swirls, not in straight lines.  My thoughts aren’t even organized.  How did I expect to organize a bunch of clothes, shoes, books, linens, pictures, sporting equipment and a wedding dress (yes, those are really the contents of my closet).

Then today, when I was filling the dishwasher and wiping down the kitchen counters, all I saw was clutter.  I’m terrible with clutter.  I do throw things out and despite FringeMan’s long-held belief, I hate the random papers my children constantly bring home from school.  I admire other people’s order, but as much as I try to emulate it, chaos creeps in like an unwanted house-guest.

I’m going to bare my very soul mess to you in a desperate plea for help.  I need organizational intervention.  Is there a TV show for that?  I’m not a hoarder, so don’t even think about calling them and I really don’t have enough stuff to qualify for Clean House.  Believe me, I’ve thought of taking every single thing we own and dumping it all into the three rooms we most need redone.  I figured one call to Clean House and all our remodeling problems could be solved.  That plan might have worked if we lived in California, but I’ve never seen them come to NY.  Besides, I honestly don’t think we have enough junk.  I could borrow some though.  Keep that in mind when dishing out recommendations.

Example A, Kitchen Clutter

Originally I put this little wooden tray on my counter to collect the smalls.  I know I’m not the only with with smalls, but I may be the only who has no clue what to do with them.  I thought this was a step towards being better organized.  Turns out it’s a magnet for clutter.

What in the world does an organized person do with their bread?  That’s my question to you world.

First I removed the medicine and relocated it to a kitchen drawer.  It joined the vitamins, Advil, and other assorted medical type things.  Can you tell we have sinus problems?

Forget the Netti-Pot.  You can drown yourself just as easily with one of these giant size saline filled bottles, providing you’re into drowning yourself with saline.  I don’t want to assume.

I sorted and relocated.  I even threw away the garlic that began growing a new plant.  What I wonder is could that actually grow into a full plant if I just let it hang out on my counter until summer?  I mean, it’s easier than tilling a garden.  Know what I mean?

Where does an organized person keep strawberry flavored straws?  Better yet, where do you keep your bread?  I threw mine in a cabinet, but if my kids ever find it in time to make toast before school, I’m certain it will be green with mold.  I just don’t think cabinets were meant for bread, but I could be wrong.

At first I reduced my mess down to this.  Better, but not where I wanted to be, so I pushed through my thoughts of mediocrity and set my dreams on a clean counter.

Success.

But…oh, ya, there’s a big but, I’m a bit of a “closet slob”.  That’s what my husband tells me anyway.  I think I’ve become rather creative when it comes to hiding my junk, and there’s nothing wrong with that.  I’m a creative keeper not a closet slob.  Please understand that.

Until I look for a phone charger or the cord for my camera.

Please tell me you have one of these drawers?  Better yet, tell me how to clean it!

This is the face of my failure, a little cubby-hole under my counter.  It’s where I stash cookbooks, papers, the dust buster, a few bottles of Fringe Vanilla with crooked labels, and the pitchers I hate until I really want a glass of iced tea or lemonade and then I love them.  Oh, and the old irons are acting as bookends.  Can’t you tell?

Help me here.  Is this stuff even supposed to be organized?

Every time I think I’m making strides, I see something like this and realize I’m on the other side of the world from true organization.  It could take me more than 180 day trip to get organized.

At least my jewelry has stayed neat after this project.

So, how do you hide your junk?

Where do you keep your cookbooks?

Are you neat and tidy by nature or are you a recovering slob like me?

If anyone dares suggest I sign-up for the Fly-Lady program, I will be forced to clutter my counter back up.  I tried that once a long time ago and the emails telling me to shine my sink and put my shoes on almost drove me to insanity and beyond.  I wanted to email her back and tell her there’s more to life than a shiny sink.  I mean that!

I’m sure Fly-Lady is a lovely person, but I can’t handle her.  All I want to know is where to put my bread.  That’s all I ask.  Kay?

Anyone want to volunteer to help me tackle the closet?

I’m over at Life in Grace Girls talking about Fringe Vanilla if you’d like to pop over.  It’s a busy day.