One of my strengths is time management.  I am great at making lists of things to do and accomplishing them.  I am good at fitting exercise into my day and getting enough sleep.  I am not good at organizing my stuff around the house, cleaning out, and making sure everything has a place.  This is just not something I enjoy, so I tend to put on the back burner for things I feel are more important.

However, with baby number 2 on the way, I am thinking how will another person fit into our house?  Since my house isn’t getting any bigger, I need to make more room.  So, I’ve been cleaning out and looking around for inexpensive ideas on organizing.  When I first thought about cleaning out I was overwhelmed and didn’t want to get started, there is so much to do!  Then, I thought of my favorite saying for fitness:

Small Changes=Big Results

I”ve been trying to do small things on a regular basis.  For the past 6 weeks every weekend I”ve cleaned out an area in the house, I started with medicine cabinets, bathroom cabinets, pantry, toys, and kitchen drawers (remember only 1 per weekend so about an hour each time).  Last week my husband and daughter were out of town, so I stepped it up and did something each day, I set the timer on my watch and made myself do clean out and organize for 60 minutes.  I did my daughters closet, a chest full of towels, and our office space.  If you came to my house I am not sure you would notice a huge difference, but I have thrown out and recycled many items and taken several garbage bags to Goodwill.  This week I will do the pesky cabinet in my office that is overflowing.

I have to admit that it feels good to clean out and I feel like I am making space for all the new things that are coming into my life that come along with having a new baby.  It also gives me a sense of order and control over something during a time when things can feel rather overwhelming.  Cleaning out has also helped me realize that there is more space in my house, than I thought.  After I cleaned out about 60 kids hangers from my daughter’s closet, folded the blankets that were on the floor, and sorted her old clothes there was a lot more room in her closet!  Imagine that!

Now that I am making progress on cleaning out, I need to find inexpensive ways to organize what is left so things have a space.  I’ve been looking for ideas that don’t cost a lot and am still working on a game plan for that.  So I’ll be checking out blog articles out there for ideas.

What are your strategies for decluttering and organizing?  Do you do things weekly?  Monthly?  I know that once every 5 years (my current strategy) has got to change!  I’d love to hear your tips for keeping up with the clutter and organizing what you’ve got.

Live Well,

Laura

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