Everything but the Skeletons (Revisited)

Mission accomplished!  I spent the good part of yesterday afternoon taming our linen closet.  I have to say, it looks great.  I didn't go out and buy any special organizing stuff for this one.  I just worked with a few random boxes and containers I had on hand. 

I learned that people do not need an endless supply of cleaning rags (grease-spotted shirts make great rags!).  This is all the more true for those who rarely clean.  I promptly threw out an entire garbage bag worth of rags.

Originally I thought this closet would take me days to get through.  But once the contents were spread out across my bed (I should have thought that through), I realized this was a one-day deal.  In and out.  And here it is before and after.

                                               

Everything but the Skeletons

Lest you think I am naturally an organized person, I bring you this.

This morning my daughter discovered the linen closet.  Don't get me wrong, she's known it's there.  But this morning it occurred to her that she could find all kinds of interesting things in there.  Her bathroom stool has given her the new-found ability to reach new heights...and she's taking full advantage.  I put a kibosh on that, but I'm afraid it will be a matter of only hours before she digs in.  Since it's a sliding door, and I don't know of any way to childproof a sliding door, something must be done.  The project in the bedroom is almost complete, so the linen closet will be my next area of focus.  Technically it's the linen/light bulb/gift-wrapping/art supplies/stationery/rag/iron/game/shoe closet.  And it's out of control.  Don't believe it's as bad as I say?  Take a look.

Yep, that's bad.  At least if it's cleaned out and organized I can attempt to keep the toddler damage to a minimum.  I'm going in.  And if you don't hear from me in the next couple of days, you know where to find me.

On a completely unrelated note, I started Jillian Michaels' 30-Day Shred yesterday.  I'll give you an update in about 29 days.

It's in the Mail

Image Source: D Sharon Pruitt

It's been almost two weeks since I've started this little project, and our countertops are still clean!  It's such a simple thing, but it makes a HUGE difference.  I no longer have a lingering sense of dread every time I am in my kitchen.  That's a major feat; I literally spend 80% of my day with my kitchen in sight.  And the few minutes here and there I spend keeping things neat don't even feel like work. 

One of the greatest sources of kitchen clutter in our house has been mail.  I do a great job of opening it right away and throwing out any junk, but some things just need to be kept around for a week or two.  And then there's the filing.  I know we probably hold onto more than we need, but every month we get mortgage statements, pay stubs, insurance documents, etc. that need to be filed.  Our filing cabinet is in our downstairs office, and I don't make a habit of going down there to file 10 times a month.  Instead, I keep a little stack and deal with it once it's developed a "critical mass," as they say.  The file pile used to sit on the corner of our counter.  I've always wanted something to hold this little collection of mail, but I knew I didn't want something that would sit on our counter looking cluttered and taking up space.  So where is our mail and filing now that our counters are clean?  After giving my husband an idea of what I was looking for, he came home from Target (yes, Target again!) with a great solution called a Post-it Pocket.  It is now stuck on the side of our refrigerator and holding our Netflix envelopes, a couple of bills, and our filing for the week. Problem solved!

While we're on the topic of making the side of the refrigerator useful, last summer I picked up some super-strong magnetic hooks similar to these at Digs, my favorite store in town. There are probably some more attractive options out there, but I like the strength and functionality of ours.  I love that they hang (I'm beginning to see a trend here) and that I didn't need to drill any holes in our walls.  I've got one holding up our calendar.  They've also been great for keeping our car keys handy.  We even remember to use them...at least 50% of the time!

Sibling Rivalry

Apparently my little project has inspired my sister. She's kept her countertops clean for amost a week now. That's impressive in her house, trust me. Here's proof:

So feel free to stop by her house anytime to check her counters. Just don't look at the rest of the house. Oh, Snap!

Saving Money and the Environment One Load at a Time

Image Source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/laurenprofeta/ / CC BY 2.0

It seems like everywhere these days I'm hearing that Americans are using too much soap.  Seriously, I think I've read at least three articles in as many months.  Alina Tugend's New York Times article is full of tips for prolonging the life of your appliances.  The number one rule?  Use less detergent.  Apparently most of us assume using more soap will make our dishes and clothes cleaner, but excess soap actually prevents our clothes from rinsing clean and can cause build-up that damages our appliances. In fact Tide is now marketing a product that is designed to be used monthly to clean your washing machine and remove the residue often cause by using too much detergent.  I am aware of the irony.  Tide is making money off of a product designed to fix a problem caused by people using too much of their product--I'm trying it tonight.

Incidentally, we can take it easy on the dryer sheets too.  My plan (thanks to a rash my daughter has developed since she's been out of diapers) is to forgo the dryer sheets altogether.  I've learned that vinegar is a great inexpensive and natural alternative to fabric softener when added to you washing machine's rinse cycle.  And no, your clothes will not smell like pickles.

Of course for the truly budget-conscious, you can always make your own laundry detergent or skip detergent altogether.  Those options aren't for me.  I'm not ambitious enough to make mix my own, and I'm a little too skeptical to leave it out altogether.  I have, however, recently started using half the recommended amount.  It's a small change that requires zero additional effort, and I've noticed no difference in the cleanliness of the clothes.  I'm pretty happy to be saving money and producing less waste.  And some day my washer and dryer will thank me!

What about you?  Any great laundry tips?  I'm still waiting for that answer to grease stains!

You Know What I'm Talking About

There is no better encouragement for keeping a toilet clean (inside and out) than having a toddler.  I'll just leave it at that.

In other news, I've adjusted my comments settings, so you no longer need a special account to leave a comment.  Have a great day, everyone!

I'm Going to Read Them, Eventually

Image Source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/indi/ / CC BY 2.0

There is a towering stack of books currently sitting on our dresser.  It grows every time my mother visits or my husband steps into a bookstore.  His stack is composed mostly of big, thick, hardcover history books like The House of Morgan, The King of Vodka, and Supreme Power *yawn*. My stack is made up of literary fiction and memoirs *yes!*.  What my books lack in girth, they make up for in quantity.  I currently have 8 books in my to-read pile.  Throw in a couple Bibles and we've got ourselves some impressively tall stacks. Eight books will sound like a lot to some of you.  But I know plenty of people who could get through my pile in just a few weeks (Mom, Grandma, Traci, I'm talking to you).  That's part of my problem.  My main supplier (my mother) has a lot more reading time on her hands.  I can't keep up. (If you're curious what sort of books are in my pile, click on over to my Goodreads profile.)

So why must they sit on our dresser?  Good question.  I like my stack.  I like seeing it every day.  It give me something to look forward to, something to plan.  What am I going to read next?  I don't necessarily want these books out of easy reach.  I've decided a new nightstand will be my next purchase in the name of decluttering.

Our current "nightstand" is pathetic. It's one of those $10 three-legged plywood round tables a college kid might pick up for a dorm room.  That's our nightstand.  We don't even bother to throw a cheesy round tablecloth on it (hence the water spots).  Nope, it's just a very unstable, ugly plywood table, steady enough only to hold a lamp (don't get me started on the lamp) and our cell phones.  When our dogs are particularly playful they have a tendency to knock this table and the lamp and the phones onto the floor.  Often the legs come apart at that point.  It happens every couple of months.  Eventually I'd love to get a new bedroom set.  But our bedroom is small--large enough only for our bed, one nightstand, and a dresser.  So a new bedroom set will wait until we move, some day far in the future. Our current dresser, by the way, is from the bedroom set my parents got when they married in 1969.  It's showing it's age, but it's got modern clean lines and I like it. 

Other than our two bathrooms, our bedroom is the only room in the house that has not gone through some serious decorating since we moved in 5 1/2 years ago.  It will happen.  Maybe once the project is complete and we've been living in a clean house for a while we'll finally see the potential in this room and get the job done.  Until then, a new nightstand will have to suffice. 

PS I will be looking for a new lamp as well.  Isn't this one just lovely?

PSS If anyone knows a high school senior, I've got a fantastic dorm room table available!  And a lamp!