Purge!

To you, this may look like a pile of junk. To me, it is the beginning of my 100 item purge. I came across this (old) link recently, and thought this was the best time to do it!

EDIT: Since writing this thread, I have joined a FB event dedicated to this. It gives me extra motivation to stay on track, and it's nice to see what others are coming up with.

New year? New house. Clean house. Tidy house. Organized house. CLUTTER.FREE.HOUSE.

Hopefully.

So I recently started piling things up as I tidied. I haven't put too much thought into it yet, just picking up the basics that I realized I hadn't used in ages. The next step (as I clean up after Christmas) is actively going through each room and seeing what needs to be tossed or added to this pile for donations. So far, this is what we've got:

1. Women's shirts (5)
2. Women's shorts (4)
3. Women's sandals, new with tags (1 pair)
4. Women's scarf
5. Toddler shirts (4)
6. Toddler dress
7. Toddler leggings
8. Toddler skirts (2)
9. Toddler shoes (1 pair)
10. Toddler mittens (1 pair)
11. Toddler pyjamas (1 pair)
12. Box set of 4 DVDs
13. Books (4)
14. Magazine (1)
15. Unused bottle nipples (12). I never got to use these, but they were free from the hospital after delivery.
16. Unused sippy cup
17. Unused baby sleep positioner, still in box
18. Baby blanket
19. Trivial Pursuit board game
20. Balderdash board game
21. Play kitchen
22. Little People barn
23. Doll
24. Teddy bear
25. Dinky cars (2)
26. Large toy car
27. Christmas headband
28. Play necklaces (2)
29. Unopened pack of temporary tattoos
30. Karate belts (2)
31. Large plastic bowl
32. Mismatched tupperware containers (about 20?)
33. Box of cutlery
34. Can opener
35. Shot glasses (2)
36. Coffee mugs (10)
37. Metal cookie cutters (2)
38. Grill
39. Bobbins (12)
40. Paint sponge
41. Ruler
42. Coin dish
43. Magnet
44. Candle
45. Christmas ornaments (8)
46. 1 unused plastic eyelash curler
47. Unopened mini perfumes (4)
48. Point-and-shoot camera
49. Unused cake decorating kit

We're on a roll. Wish us luck.

Resolutions

I know, I know. No one sticks to their resolutions. But dammit, I want to try! And recording it here makes me a little more accountable, no?

1. STOP BITING MY NAILS. I made it six months once, then I found out I was pregnant and I bit those bad boys off. Time to get back on track. To help motivate me, I've joined a nail polish swap with my girlfriends. Did you know that nail polish is not just meant for your toes? Hmm. Who knew? Hopefully this time next year I will be showing off my shiny new colours on some nice new finger nails.
2. Continue organizing the house. It makes me happy and it's so much easier to live in a well organized house. Our house is not messy by any means, but there is so much more potential laying in front of me. ABFOL has taught me so much. I plan on starting their 14 week challenge this week. I also just learned of Peter Walsh's daily organizational challenge in January, so I'm getting in on that too. Pictures to follow.
3. Run, run, run. Keep running until I want to pass out. Take a breath, then keep on running. I miss it so much. I ran daily for years, but had to stop due to injury. I took it easy in 2013, not knowing when I was going in for surgery. I didn't want to risk FURTHER injury. I doubt the surgeon would have appreciated that. Now I feel like a lazy blob and my knee is as good as new, so as soon as this snow and ice is gone, I am going back to my happy place. I have big plans once I get going, but I'll tell you about that later. For now, just know, that I WILL run again. Knee injury be damned.

Re-organized

Can you call it RE-organized when it wasn't really organized in the first place? No? Okay, so I guess a better title would be "Finally getting it together after three years!" Seriously. We both keep the house clean, but it's not exactly tidy. Certainly not as tidy as we would like. We found ourselves dumping things here and there, rather than giving everything a permanent home. For such a big house, we have very, very little storage space. Organization is key, especially with a toddler. Last week something finally clicked, and I found myself giving the house an overhaul, one messy place at a time.

It all started with the cedar chest Mom passed along to us. Our sheets and blankets had previously been thrown into the entire left side of the upstairs closet. They took up far too much room but we didn't have much choice. So now the blankets sit nicely folded in the cedar chest, which will soon live permanently in the spare room.

This clears up half of the upstairs closet. HALF! HALLELUJAH we have storage space! Once this shelves opened up, I was on a roll. The closet is not the most efficient use of space - just two giant shelves on the left side - but it will have to do for now. I went to Target for the first time last week (Nothing exciting to report) and picked up two five packs of these containers for just $6 each. I came home and whipped up some quick chevron labels in PS, and got to work.

I had scribbled down all of my ideas of categories and items to be kept in there. I started my mission with the junk drawer. Oh junk drawer. Good bye. Good riddance. I hope to never see you again. Having this drawer empty left me with space to properly store baggies, wax paper, foil etc. HALLELUJAH again! AND moving the cooking supplies left me with space to properly store my pot lids. An entire drawer, full of pot lids. HALLE-FREAKING-LUJAH organizing feels good!

Continuing on throughout my house, I gathered things from above the kitchen sink, beneath the bathroom sink, the pantry, the laundry room...Like I said, we were rather scattered. Then I went upstairs and filed everything nicely into the following categories: Rags, Sponges/Magic Erasers, First Aid (everything I could gather up), Flash light/Batteries, Candles/Matches, Tools (screwdriver, measuring tape etc), Paint Supplies (small brushes, paint sticks, can openers), Sewing Supplies (pins, thread etc), and Crochet Supplies. It's not perfect, but we're really happy so far. We'll see how it works for us and change it as needed in the future. Along with these ten new containers, I have a basket for general cleaning supplies that don't fit into a lidded box, as well as a nice wicker basket that holds paper towel and toilet paper.

It's a work in progress. I feel like I've made a huge dent, but there is still a lot left. The right side of the closet has to be re-done. I still need to find a home for a few things on Addison's dresser, above the kitchen sink, and in the laundry room. I plan on getting a few more containers and/or baskets and giving the pantry and bathroom cupboards a similar makeover. It has taken three years, but our house is finally getting the attention it deserves. Baby steps.