Life with Dee

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Project of the Week ~ January 6, 2014

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Yeah, I know I said I was going to do these weekly and then didn’t. But it’s a fresh new year and hope springs eternal. I’m determined to thoroughly declutter and organize my house this year. I decided to start with the area that has been driving me crazy – my closet.

I have a walk-in closet which opens off our master bathroom. David has another closet so this one is just mine. However it’s also where I store our Christmas decorations, all of our suitcases, magazines I want to keep and, well, stuff. Because it’s not visible to anyone but David and me the incentive to keep it tidy isn’t as high as the public rooms of our house. It’s also poorly designed and since I don’t have a dresser all of my clothes are in there. Over the past year or two it’s become a bit of a dumping ground.

I took before pictures this morning and I’m going to set aside my embarrassment and post them here. They are already on Instagram so I might as well. 😉

Here goes (deep breath):

Okay, this one doesn’t look *too* bad. There is a deep shelf that wraps around the closet and that’s where I store my holiday decorations. I still have my Christmas decorations out and two boxes are sitting at the top of my stairs. But even when they are all put away I have room for them and they are organized.

A series of pictures depicting closet chaos (gulp)
The other thing I keep on that upper shelf is our suitcases. Well, theoretically. We did recently get rid of a few that were completely worn out and bought a couple of new ones. However, they are sitting on the floor of the closet instead of up on the shelf where they belong. 
Closet Chaos #2
Here’s where the real problems begin. Since I don’t have a dresser, folded items are stacked stuffed in these built in shelves.
Closet Chaos #4 
I have another one of these clear boxes which used to be on the top shelf but just before our last trip I was looking for matching socks and took the box down. It then remained on the floor and I began piling stuff on the shelf. 
Closet Chaos #5
This is a cardboard box with laundry in it. I’ve done a couple of loads today so it is now mostly empty. 
Closet Chaos #6
This set of shelves is just assorted…stuff. 
Closet Chaos #7
And here comes the truly embarrassing part. Brace yourself…
Closet Chaos #3
It’s hard to tell from the picture but there are three suitcases sitting there and I’ve ended up piling stuff on top. I can’t believe I’ve let it get like this but it is what it is. 
Today I sorted through five shelves worth of clothing. I threw some away and have a stack to take to our church which hosts a couple of huge garage sales a year. I also have some items which need to be mended. At this point I’m not being very ruthless about getting rid of things but when it’s all sorted, if it doesn’t fit easily and neatly I’ll get rid of more. 
I’m also making a list of some things I need to help me organize better, plus a real hamper to replace that cardboard box – ha! David actually designed and built  4 pull-out laundry sorters in our laundry room. They hold those mesh laundry bags and that’s where I used to put our dirty laundry. But then we had cats in there and they’d climb up the bags to get on the counter. Since it’s just David and me now I started putting our laundry in my closet. I think after it warms up enough to send the cats back outdoors I’ll go back to using the pull-out sorters in the laundry room. In the meantime, a hamper will look nicer in my closet.
My goal is to finish the closet this week. Wish me luck! And if you are doing any organization projects at the start of this new year, leave me a comment. It helps to know I’m in good company. 

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Comments

  2. Cherie says

    Thanks for sharing your struggles. 😉 It's a good reminder that most homes are real, don't look like the magazines (which I don't get anymore), and homemaking/organizing is a journey. Since I embarked on a full season of not buying anything new, I'm looking at everything with fresh eyes and plan to eliminate some clutter from our house. Nothing specific, just a general decluttering and thinking about what my real needs are. Less is more. 🙂

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  3. Deanna Piercy says

    Betty, thanks for the encouragement. I come from a long line of packrats and sentimental ones, at that. Fortunately I'm not much of a shopper or it would be even worse. Ha!

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  4. Deanna Piercy says

    Cherie, I enjoy seeing other people's "real" homes so I figured this would either make people commiserate or feel better about their own closets. The "public" areas of my home usually look pretty good but heaven help anyone who decides to peek in our closets. I'll be doing a lot of thinking about wants and needs as I organize my house this year.

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