In the Drawers

I've been having problems with Blogger lately, so I haven't posted for a few days.

Last weekend I tackled my sock and underwear drawers. Similar to many other orifices in my home, I don't think they'd been cleaned out for years! I took the opportunity to get rid of some of the shabbier articles of clothing and voila, much cleaner drawers! Here are the befores and afters (it's not every day that I show people my underwear drawer!!!):

Tonight Mike and I both cleaned out the drawers of our bedside tables. I found THREE smelly eye mask thingies, two gel eye masks, along with various journals and other things I never use. (I did not buy the eye masks for myself!! They, along with tons of bath products, have been given to me by family members and friends who clearly think I need to do a better job of relaxing!) I also cleared out the basket of books and other stuff that's been on the floor by the side of my bed ever since I was on maternity leave 2 years ago!!! (The contents have changed, but the basket has been there ever since!)

This weekend I'm tackling the top of my dresser...the WORST part of my bedroom.

Good night!

February, Week Two: Get to the Bottom of Your Closet

I was so excited to tackle my closet that I jumped right in before reading the chapter! It seemed to be the best place to start on our bedroom.

Previously, I had two hanging racks for shoes and sweaters...plus two two-drawered plastic containers, which contained swimsuits, nylons, belts, and scarves. My pajamas were piled up on the plastic containers, and the floor space (out of sight) had tons of purses and other paraphernalia. The top shelf contained sweatshirts and my wedding dress (in a box)!

After going through my closet and consigning clothes to Goodwill (Regina Leeds asks questions in this chapter about whether the reader has emotional or sentimental connections the clothing one keeps--and this is not really the case for me), I followed her suggestions and sacked the shoe and sweater hangers (which were COMPLETELY covered with dust on top!), and it really freed up the space in my closet. My shoes moved into the plastic drawers, and my sweatshirts, nylons, and swimming stuff are now in containers on the top shelf. I rolled up my pajamas and put them in a basket on the floor, along with my various purses and bags. And the scarves are all contained in a purse on the floor as well.

I got rid of all the cheap wire hangers (as Leeds recommends) as well.

Mike has still not gone through his clothes (or shoes--on the very top shelf), but has promised to do so. Although, I must confess, he doesn't have nearly the amount of clothing I do! On the other hand, most of my clothes in the closet are for work...and he can just wear jeans most days.



I am perfectly delighted with my clean closet!!! And now onto the dresser!

Closet Chaos

Sometimes I wish I had a nice, big walk-in closet. Our upstairs bedrooms have walk-in closets, but oddly, the master bedroom does not. I'm sort of a closet hog...I have two-thirds of the closet, at least, and poor Mike has a third! But most of it contains work clothes, so I suppose I have an excuse.

During the last two nights, I've been going through my closet, weeding out items to give away. I've identified several skirts I've had for years and have not worn much, and I've also discovered that I seem to have a preponderance of jackets. My most typical work attire is trousers, top, and a jacket...so there you go. I think, however, that I probably have too many...so I will go back and take another look. I did discard one of the two similar black blazers I own.

I followed Regina Leeds' advice and took down my hanging sweater and shoe dividers, which created a lot more room for my jackets! (Leeds does not like the hanging trouser holders, either, but I'm keeping those--I do find them to be a space saver.) I also got rid of all the cheap wire hangers that have come from the dry cleaners.

I'm putting away my swimming stuff to the very top shelf in the back, since I don't use them often. And I put all my scarves in a bag, and my nylons and tights in plastic containers. This freed up space in the plastic bins on the floor...for my shoes. Let's hope that puts Nicholas off the scent for awhile!!

I should be able to finish the closet by tomorrow and be able to move onto my dresser next. Already, the closet is looking better!!

In the meantime, I'm off to make chicken tortilla casserole for friends who are visiting from Washington DC...in my still-clean kitchen!!! :)

February, Week One: Bedroom Questions (continued)

My blogging friend Jennifer has very bravely posted photos of her bedroom. I'm not quite as brave of that. I'm going to wait until I have cleaned and organized areas of my bedroom before I post photos.

But I still have a bit of writing to do before moving on. I still have to make a plan. I'm supposed to list all the improvements and changes I'd like to make in my bedroom. First, I will list what I can do this month, and next, I'll list the things I will do over time. So here we go:

This Month:

1. Go thoroughly through my closet and designate which clothes to donate

2. Go through the dresser and do the same

3. Clean out my closet and reorganize

4. Clean and organize the inside of my dresser

5. Clean the top of my dresser

6. Clean the floor on my side of the bed (I have quite the collection of books and magazines!)

7. Clean out my bedside table

8. Clean the remainder of the floor

9. Help Mike go through his clothes (hint, hint, honey!)

10. Help Mike go through his side of the closet

11. Clean Mike's bedside table

12. Thoroughly dust the room, including baseboards and windows

13. Vacuum

14. Clean the closet doors

15. Wash all the bedding

And Later:

1. Buy a new bedroom set

2. Paint the walls

3. Rip up carpet and decide on flooring

Leeds asks the reader to think about the location of his or her clothing. Is it tossed onto the floor, or draped over a chair? (Confession: Sometimes I drape my clothes over my closet rod because I don't have enough spare hangers accessible to hang them all up.) What else besides clothing is stored in my closet? Shoes, pantyhose, scarves, purses...and clothes to take for dry cleaning or mending. Is there space in my closet or is everything smashed together? Smashed together. I'm already looking forward to applying organization principles to my closet!! Do I have multiple wardrobes in my closet because my weight fluctuates? Thank God, no...although I do generally store my out-of-season clothing in the attic.

And finally, Is the closet floor a shoe graveyard? Now that is indeed a very interesting question...

...Because this little adorable gentleman has recently developed a women's shoe fetish. I have one of those hanging shoe containers in my closet (Regina Leeds highly encourages her readers to reconsider the use of those things, because she thinks they take up too much space)...and Nicholas daily takes out my heels and tromps around the house in them.

Yes, a two-year-old cross dresser. Progressive parents that we are, this is not alarming to us. I mean, can you blame little boys for realizing that women and girls have much better clothing and shoes??? Boys and men's clothes are SO boring! And the shoes don't make nearly as much of a satisfying clomp on wooden floors as pumps do.

So at any rate, I am having a horrible time keeping my shoes organized...and even located in my bedroom. They are ending up all over the house. Yesterday Mike had to keep Nicholas from wearing my boots to go to the grocery store. (I thanked him profusely for that!)

So one of my goals in my bedroom organization will be to put my shoes out of reach somehow. Yes, I will be taking away all of his fun! I might still let him wear my shoes occasionally, but one pair at a time!

Okay, so enough pontificating. Onto the fun part: going through my clothes and purging!

February, Week One: Bedroom Questions

The focus this week is to diagnose my bedroom's shortcomings, devise a plan for transformation, and take a clinical look at my wardrobe.

Here are some of the questions Leeds covers, and my answers:

Childhood sleeping arrangements: This is an interesting point to ponder, as when I was a child, my parents felt it was important for everyone to have his or her own space. Even though we didn't have tons of money, I always had my own bedroom. Until I was 14, we had a four-bedroom house, and then in my later teen years we had a five-bedroom house. At one point, my sister and I shared a room to try it out, and we enjoyed it, but eventually went back to having separate bedrooms because we liked having our own space.

I have always wanted to give our kids their own rooms, too; however, then we ended up having three kids! In order for each of them to have their own rooms, we'd have to give up our study or family room. (During my childhood, people were less likely to have designated "office" rooms.) On the other hand, they spend a heck of a lot less time in their bedrooms than we did as children.

Control over bedroom decor as a child: Fortunately, I had complete control over my bedroom decor as a kid. My parents helped me with paint, bedding, and curtains. When I was younger, I had a red, white, and blue room--with flag curtains and a royal blue carpet. (To this day, I still like blue carpet!) Those of you who know me well probably find this fascinating--who would have thought me to be such a patriot?! :)

Then when we moved into our newer house when I was 14, I took the smallest bedroom in the house, and my dad built me a fantastic loft bed with a built-in desk and dresser. (Even though he'd never even made a drawer beforehand!) I LOVED it. My walls and curtains were yellow, and my desk and matching bookshelves were in green formica. I know...sounds very 70s/80s, but it was great.

Current bedroom: When we moved in, the bedroom was painted a wine color, and we haven't gotten around to repainting it. The color has grown on us, but the room is way overdue for a paint job and new floors. So I'm not that crazy about our bedroom, but it's okay. Leeds asks what I like and dislike about my bedroom, and the answer is (1) not a whole lot and (2) the clutter. The bedroom desperately needs a complete redecorating, and we just haven't put a lot of energy into it.

Can I remodel easily? Yes, I think that we could repaint and refloor, and it would vastly improve the room. Also, new furniture would be a big improvement!

Is the room filled with things from my past, and is the past heavily represented in my space? Our bedroom furniture is mostly hand-me-downs. Our bed frame (which we are not using at the moment) and my dresser belonged to my grandparents. We bought a matching cherry dresser for Mike. Our bedside tables are both hand-me-downs we got from my cousin (along with other furniture) when we got married. None of it looks new or nice; it's functional but nothing particularly pretty. I actually fantasize about having a four-poster bed (like Regina Leeds' childhood room), but it would probably take up too much space in our smallish bedroom. That's why we still have a full-size bed. Bedrooms in older homes are not usually very big.

Do I share this room with someone? Yes, my husband...and fortunately, we have similar tastes in decor. I probably do occupy a lot more of the bedroom than he does...most of the closet space is mine!!

The next step is to make a plan for the room--what I can do this month, and what I will do over time. That will be the topic of my next post.

February: Creating a Bedroom Sanctuary

In the introduction to February, Regina Leeds asks the reader how you would describe your bedroom. Sexy, comforting, nurturing, inspiring, etc.? Well, not so much. I would currently describe my bedroom as messy and cluttered! I am ready to tackle our bedroom using the same organization strategies as I used on the kitchen (which, by the way, is still staying clean--hooray!).

Leeds describes how her parents decorated a bedroom for her when she was a girl, and it was designed to be the type of room her mother had dreamed about when she was young...crystal chandelier, four poster bed, frilly dust ruffle, etc...but Leeds herself didn't like it at all because she never felt it was hers.

The habit of the month for February is simple: to put my clothes away every night before I go to bed. Should be simple, right? In theory...but I think if I create more room in my closet and purchase more hangers, it will be much simpler. Here we go: whee!

One Month Down, Eleven to Go! Kitchen-Check!

This is my last post about my kitchen...which I finished this weekend, with the help of my wonderful husband.

Friday night we actually watched a movie and I multitasked by cleaning the junk drawer--which I had been putting off! Here's the before:

And the after--yes, we have too much incense (and lighter thingamajigs). But we do use them (although lately our very sensitive 5-year-old complains that the smell makes him sick!).

On Saturday I tackled the refrigerator--which was chockablock with stuff!!

I chucked out quite a bit of stuff, including bunches of takeout condiments (as Regina Leeds recommends), clearing out quite a bit of space. I also reorganized the food into logical groupings and DEEP cleaned all the surfaces.

Finally, I followed Leeds' advice and went for the "bare" look for the front of the fridge. We both have decided that we like it! But we've decided that we'll put one thing on the front, just so it won't be so bare...we will select it carefully--either a child's drawing or a quotation. Doesn't it look much cleaner and neater than before (those of you who have been to our house will remember how cluttered it was before). Let me tell you how long it takes to remove magnetic poetry from a refrigerator: about 20 minutes of painstaking peeling!

While I was working on the fridge, Mike tackled the kitchen nook, which had become a clutter magnet. The nook was one of the things we loved about our house when we moved in, but we really have not kept it very well cared for. I would like to do some further work on the shelves, so they look a bit more artful. But at least for now it's cleaned up. Here are some before photos:






And the after:

It was nice to have a clear space to lay out drying valentines! Now of course we have to clear off the valentines so it looks neat again. A never-ending process...

At last, the corner of the counter was cleaned as well!

That yellow cup by the sink contains a growing toy soldier that my mother-in-law gave Kieran after Christmas. I had hoped to put it away until next Christmas, but Kieran rediscovered it and put it back into water again! I shall try one more time, so I can get it cleared off the counter!

I cleaned under the sink and was able to move our compost container down there and off the counter.

I also tackled the windowsill, which was looking cluttered and messy...washed the windows, dusted the tiles hanging above the sink and the windchimes...and scrubbed down the kitchen cabinets. As I was doing so, it was hard to keep myself from plotting about how to paint the kitchen. I'm planning on doing a Mexican theme--with yellow, red, and blue colors. After I do more organizing!

Now it's onto the bedroom next!