Tag Archives: organizing

Works for Me Wednesday: Re-Organizing

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I’ve been on an epic re-organizing kick lately. We’ve been in our apartment for just about 2 years now, and it’s easy to get comfortable in that time period. You know, the stuff we moved in that was so nicely culled and organized has expanded, and the places where things live are slightly less defined. We’re not moving this year (yay! less hassle!), but I sort of mentally wanted to act like we were moving and sort through all of our stuff and get it into configurations that work well for every day use. Because, while being in one place for awhile can leave your stuff feeling cluttered, it also affords you the advantage of having time to figure out what your stuff-related needs are and what layouts work well for you.

I found a definition of clutter from Unclutterer that I think is apt: “Stuff that sits around serving no purpose is clutter.” It ties in nicely the household mantra I picked up from Gretchen Rubin’s Happiness Project:

Img source: http://lovechicliving.co.uk/design-quote-william-morris/

The “useful” part is easy. I have a pile right now to take to the thrift store that includes a blender, our George Foreman grill that I used to love but have since decided doesn’t do anything I can’t do on a skillet, an electric kettle that was made redundant by one of Andy’s Christmas gifts, 3 shirts, a lamp that was taking up space but never got used, and a rolling plastic cart with drawers. For an 830 square foot apartment, those are relatively big ticket items! We got a new stand for our printer, so it’s off the floor, and the stand ties in so nicely with our desk and book shelf! I was amazed at how nice I find that area now, and also amazed at how big a difference the small open space on the floor made in the feel of our living room. I stacked our games neatly out in the open in a Gretchen Rubin-esque shrine to fun and games (from her book Happier at Home). I’m also in the process of getting rid of the unused bike and bike rack that takes up a big stretch of wall right when you walk into the apartment and replacing it with some sort of bar or liquor cabinet. That will allow me to rearrange glassware storage and make better use of some of the cabinets we already have. Plus, I think it could be beautiful if I choose wisely! I’m not  through purging yet, and I have some thoughts on organizing the cabinet that I recently said was the bane of my existence that I haven’t carried out yet, but I’m off to a good start.

I’m working on the “beautiful” part of the mantra. So far I’ve been thinking about this in terms of added bits of whimsy. When you live in a small space, much of what you have has to be useful, so it’s hard to think of having things just for beauty’s sake. But little touches, like a bright ribbon tied around the bedside lamp or a candle lit in the bathroom, can make a big difference. So I’m keeping an eye out for places to infuse my utility with color, which is a big part of beauty for me.

I’m not 100% there yet, but I’ve found a household mantra that works for me!

 

I’m linking up to Works for Me Wednesday at WeAreThatFamily.com!
works for me wednesday at we are that family

 

Controlling Magazine Clutter

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I’ve been on a pretty major spring organizing kick lately, to the tune of all of this going to the thrift store:

(Actually, there ended up being even more than that: a file box that was too big for our bookshelf, a bag of Andy’s t-shirts, and a bag of miscellaneous picture frames and decor.)

I honestly have no idea where all of this was hiding in our little one-bedroom apartment. It ended up filling the entire trunk of my car! I say good riddance…the next time we move I will be glad not to have that trunkful.

As I sifted through our stuff, one major clutter element I had to confront was my magazines:

I love getting magazines. I get excited every month when they come in the mail, and I enjoy clipping recipes and coupons. Most of these subscriptions I’ve gotten either as gifts or for very cheap during a promotional sale. I always save them thinking, “Well, I might need or want to look back at that later.” But if I’m honest with myself, I never, ever do. Even if something piqued my interest, I probably forget about it and never try to find it again. I’ve taken to marking pages for action immediately and just clipping/scanning/pinning right away. So really this giant stack was unnecessary.

I tried to find someone to give them too, but alas, most of my friends are reasonable and admitted that they had their own stash of magazine clutter! I took a few to work, as we have a small pile of magazines that people will sometimes flip through as they eat lunch. Someone on Facebook suggested that I donate them to a salon or doctor’s office. We have several of each of those right around our apartment, but I just honestly felt like it wasn’t worth the effort. And plus, they might want 1 or 5, but probably not all of these! So, even though it hurt my heart, I walked them down to the recycling bin. It felt like I was throwing away money. But I rationalized it by telling myself that if I clipped one good recipe or got one good piece of advice from each of them, then it was not a total loss.

My solution to keep the stack from getting this crazy in the future was to buy a fun colored magazine holder. It conveniently fits right between our end table and the couch!

(Yes, the floor underneath our end table has become a de facto bookshelf. Hey, it works!)

My rule is that I can keep this holder’s worth of magazines and no more. So, when it’s full, I have to decide which ones go. I feel like I might be more likely to find people who want 1 or 2 than to find people who want my giant stacks. Plus, even if I do end up recycling them, it will feel less wasteful to get rid of a few than to get rid of all the ones I just did.

I’m all about having a place for everything and keeping everything in its place, so I think this system will work well for me. It has felt SO GOOD getting rid of all this stuff and figuring out ways to tame it in the future. Sometimes it just takes being a bit brutally honest with yourself about what you use and how you actually use it.

Have you done any spring cleaning lately? Do you have any ingenious storage tricks that you’re particularly proud of?