Final Update- 29 Day Organizing Challenge

Here is my last post in my participation of Laura's 29 Day Organizational Challenge.  It was well worth my efforts and I can't wait to start on my next project, which is TBD.

1. What space did you decide to organize and why?

I organized my extra bedroom in my basement.  I would use this room to throw all the things I didn't want to deal with right away.  Instead of dealing with things I would throw them in here.  When I would clean the house, anything I didn't know what to do with, went in here.  It go bad.  I wanted a space that I could have that was all mine with all my stuff, because I really don't like people touching my stuff.

2.  What steps did you take to ensure you completed the space within the 29 day timeline?

I worked on it as much as I could especially in the beginning.  At one point I was feeling overwhelmed, and that I wasn't getting anywhere.  I decided to more things around, which took a lot of work because it was still a mess, and moved things to where they would be in the end.  I liked to pile the items I wanted to deal with either on the bed or on my extra table and sort them off of there into piles.

3.  What was the hardest part of the challenge for you and how did you overcome it?

The hardest part was sorting through all the papers: kids papers, tax papers, art work, my old college work, scrapbook paper, etc.  I don't think I let go of a lot of things I should have gotten rid of but I am thinking of this as a work in progress.  I knew I wasn't going to go in here and be able to throw it all out.  I figure if I throw some out here and there and use the one in one out theory, things won't get back to chaos.

4. What did you do with the “stuff” you were able to purge out of your newly organized space?

I threw out and recycled a lot of garbage.  Some things were just put back to where they needed to be, like holiday decorations.  I have a huge pile of items I am going to donate to Goodwill and sell at a rummage sale.

5.  Tell me one of your proudest moments during this challenge?

My proudest moment was after I cleared out the clutter, and had things put where I wanted them.  I was sitting down there working on my blog, and I sat there thinking "I can now find a roll of tape in 5 seconds!"

6.  Explain any organizing “tools” you used to help you create additional space and to establish some limits and boundaries?

I used Orgjunkie's PROCESS.  If it wasn't going to fit in the space I designated for that group of items that some more items had to go to make room.  I know now that I was able to get rid of some items, it will encourage me to get rid of more in the future, because I don't miss things I get rid of anyways.

7.  What is ONE piece of advice you’d give to someone else to encourage them on their organizational journey?

First you have to find what motivated you.  It's just like anything else in your life and you need to find the motivation to do it.  Will it be a blog challenge?  An upcoming party at your house?  Someone breaking their leg over your junk?  Next, find the time.  Ask your husband to do the dishes so you can clean for 15 minutes.  Ask your sister to watch your kids on Saturday, so you can clean for a good 4 or more hours.  (You could always repay her the favor later., maybe she has unfinished task she needs help with.)  Make sure you share your progress with other, get some positive feedback form positive people and keep working.  Your life, your body, your household is a work in progress.

Now for the before and after:

It may not perfect, and I wouldn't say it is 100% done.  I read a lot of blogs when people redid a room, only to change it again latter because they found something that works better.  I still have that pile of items to go through but it is small and very doable.  I love my new space and will continue to improve it, and make it even better.  Cookie season for Girl Scouts is about to end and my son's birthday will be a week from Sunday so I will be able to focus more on household project.  It is really hard to not feel overwhelmed when your trying to do so many things at once.  I'm just trying to take things day by day and trying not too look too far in the future, because that just adds more things to my to do list.

I hope you enjoyed looking into my space!

For previous post on the Challenge:

Challenge Begins

Planning

Research

Work In Progress

Update 1

Update 2

Update 3 (a lot of details)

Thanks for those who encouraged me with words:

onenewhabit

Hundgestrickt

Frozen Pizza Mommy

SAHMmy Says

What You See

Prairie Home Therapy

The Leinonen Chronicles

Simply Organized

Extreme Saving Mom

Update 3 of the 29 Organizational Challenge

First I would like to start with how I woke up to a winter wonderland this morning.  It rained, then snowed last night, so the snow stuck to just about everything.

That top little sign is usually a posted sign that says no parking during snow removal.  The one to the right is a stop sign and a street sign completely covered, and the bottom is street lights that you could barely make out what light was lit.  I almost missed the turn for my son's school because everything looked so different.  Thankfully it warmed up this afternoon and melted a lot of snow.  It was dangerous standing under trees today since big piles of snow where falling from them, and it was a windy day.

Now on to the update for Org Junkie.com's Organizational challenge.  

I really didn't feel like I got a lot done this week.  I'm having a hard time feeling much accomplishment.  Before I could say "Well, I had to work!"  Now it's like: "Where does the time go?  What did I do all day?"

Northside

Since the last post I have added the Girl Scout boxes to shelves #2, and added my scanner/printer.  I 

organized shelves #5 by organizing pictures and scrapbook stickers.  I put the majority of the scrapbook stickers in a binder, and the longer ones are in an envelope.  I added my year books to the book area and filled the filing cabinet.

Details:

Shelves #1- sewing supplies, ice cream bucket with Lowe's patches and Home Depot pins, sewing books, and fabric, t-shirts bought for craft projects

Shelves #2- top shelf: container of my art supplies I don't want kids to touch, container full of misc tape, my items I need for my PTA school supply fundraiser

second shelf from top: printer/scanner, copy paper, framed not from daughter given on mothers day, cup with daughter's birth info, candle daughter made at camp, and heart jewelry box from my sister's wedding, as well as one speaker for laptop

third shelf from top: 6 drawer bin with magnets, googly eyes, floss, interfacing, chalk and chalk holder, and pipe cleaners; some foam pieces, freezer paper, star stickers, soft pastels set, lego molds, empty coffee can

fourth shelf from top: foam pieces, empty TP rolls, empty egg carton, craft glue, baby socks, glitter, ribbon, stamps, parchment paper, glue stick and gun, scissor sharpener, craft kits, styrofoam eggs

fifth shelf from top: paint of all kinds, sequins, toothpicks, foam penguin kit, my daughter's shoe boxes of items: dried out moths & butterflies from class, and ornament she made for her grandma

Desk #3- holds sewing machine and knitting needles inside, usually has my laptop, pencils, pens, scissors and ruler in a cup with calculator and not pad,  under is my file box and bag with items I need to find a home for as well as magazines I need to read.

File cabinet #4- bottom drawer has files for keeping, top drawer has books inside, top of file slots has knick nacks, and I still need to label others

Shelves #5- top shelf: paper trimmers, two iron weights I found at first house, box of photos, scrapbook stickers, die-cuts, and some stencils for scrapbooking

second shelf from top: CDs, son's medals, scrapbook double side squares, albums used and unused

third shelf from top: scrapbook paper, more die-cuts, and a few 3-D stickers

fourth shelf from top: yearbooks, and a few other books, picture albums

fifth from top: the container on the left hold mostly my daughters items from school and artwork, the container on the left has items from my childhood and college days.

Eastside

Today I went out and bought the bed skirt and bed risers for the guest bed.  I bought this duvet cover from Ikea years ago.  I love green, especially these spring shades.  It was a king size and I slipped it over the sleeping bag so it isn't a perfect fit but a major improvement.

bed skirt from Target $13.99

bed riser from Bed, Bath, and Beyond $24.99

Ikea duvet

This is what it looks like from the side.  I am going to try and find a 2" ribbon to add to the bottom of the bed skirt to cover the under area better.  Under the bed I have extra school/office type supplies, poster board and paper, recipe books, empty boxes to keep, and a yoga mat. 

Southside

By my elliptical I have a few items I need to give back to my mother.  In this pile by the door, I have a plastic locker full of movies, and piles of paper and misc items that need to find a home or be tossed out.  Hanging on the door is just an empty bag and an apron.

Closet

Last week Alana from Canada commented that I should cover up the closet with drapes or a sheet.  I thought that was awesome advice so I got a shower curtain rod from Target for $6.99 and I used a shower curtain I bought from Walmart on clearance years ago.  I bought 3 of these shower curtains and was using them as drapes in my living room for two years until I bought real curtains.  I plan to make some shorter curtains for the windows on the north side wall with the other shower curtains I still have, and add some insulated backing to keep out cold air.  I would like to add a boarder to this shower curtain to make it a better length and not use the rings.  The bulletin board next to this area still needs to be hung up along with the artwork.

Details:

Area #1- kids books of all kinds

Container #2- aluminum cans with scissors, glitter glue, paint brushes, pom poms, chalk, metal rings, rulers and pencil sharpeners, erasers, stamps, glass star beads, as well as giant pencils, note pads and an art smock.

Drawers #3- markers, crayons, and pencils/colored pencils

Container #4- old tax papers still needed

Shelf space #5- Tree House books, binders, box of cords, box of computer manuals and CDs

Shelves #6- board games and coloring books

Shelf #7- 3 drawer container with stickers, construction paper, and blank paper; boxes with beads and kids paints, plastic container with my son's work and coloring books

My son just walked into the room as I was finishing this post and said "Where did all the stuff go?"

LOL!

Next week will be the final posting and I hope to have some side by side comparison shots of the areas.

I also got this book from the library.  It is full of great information and has a section about cleaning up the clutter in your house.  The title is The Money Saving Mom's Budget by Crystal Paine.  She is the creator of the website MoneySavingMom.com.  I hope that with Org Junkies help and this book I can create a more organized life.  Reading books and blogs like these are the pep talks I need to keep me motivated.

Don't forget to check out Org Junkie's site for others who have linked up to the challenge.

Clearing the Bed- Update 2

Before the challenge started.

So I thought it would be an interesting update to show you the progress of the bed in my room.  I wish I would of taken more pictures and I could have done a flip book style post, but I was busy cleaning.

Feb. 5th.

In this shot I was able to take all the toys off the end of the bed, and the chair had since moved to the left.  The other end has paper and things I needed to find a home.  It is hard to make a bed that is full of stuff.

Feb 10th

After I moved the other items off the bed, I moved the bed to a new location and was able to make the bed.  It is no Martha Stewart decor but trust me you will want that heavy sleeping bag if you stay down here.  Don't you think the Dora blanket and Christmas throw give it the right touch?

Feb 12th

Here I have added more items to the bed.  The 6 drawer units on the back I decided to return to Walmart.  My sister showed me the awesome book she ordered from Shutterfly, and it was awesome.  It is so much smaller than the homemade scrapbooks but it is about the same as my layouts.  3-D sticks and layers look nice, but I seems to not have the time to spend on elaborate pages.  I hope to wean down my scrapbook supplies in the next year and use that space for something else (or maybe even an empty space- GASP!).

Here is the bed today.  Clean and ready for a sleepover.  I tried it out the other night and it is quite cozy.  My laptop fit right on that bin next to it too.  I'm loving the transformation this room has already gone through.  I spend a lot of time in here this last weekend.  I had space to sew on my daughter's Girl Scout patches and I made a Valentine's day box for my son.  He wanted a round shaped Valentine's box like a Bakugan ball, and it turned out not too bad for those who knew what it was.

Bakugan ball V-day box.  The head/opening is on the left.  It is kinda snake looking.

Here is the closet area.  I really wanted to buy shelves to put in here and make it all nice and fancy, but then I found out a simple shelf system would cost $200.  That is with the shelves being on sale.

I would like to get rid of more games because I also have more games upstairs in the closet.  I really need to start a family game night so we actually play these games.  The top shelf is all coloring books and we have way too many so I need to weed through those as well.  That cardboard box has some big poster boards from when I worked.  The back side is blank so I reuse it for my kids projects and for making patterns.  I will move these under the bed before this is all done.

At least this area is cleared for the most part, and I will have to come up with more excuses not to exercise.

I can't wait for this summer to have this space to relax when the temperatures are high outside.

To see more 29 day organizational challenge updates go to OrgJunkie.com

29 Day Challenge Update 1

Today is the day to update your progress in Laura's, at Org Junkie, 29 Day Organizational Challenge. It hasn't been easy.  I tend to like to hold on to things.  Sometimes it's because it reminds me of my past, or I feel I am wasting money if I throw it out.  There have been some hours this week where I have just sat in the room and looked at all the stuff.  Why do I need all this stuff?  I am really going to use this?  If I'm going to keep it, where does it go?

If you are just finding me here are the previous post on this topic of the 29 Day Organizational Challenge:

Starting Picture

Planning

Progress

Disclaimer:  I know it looks like I just moved most of this stuff around.  But I have gotten rid of one stuffed garbage bag and moved a lot of items to better homes.

Doorway

North side

West side

East side

South side

Closet

Saturday Flurries

Saturday I woke up to a wet and heavy snow fall.  I ended up clearing our driveway twice that day.  It didn't stop snowing till dark.  It was so heavy I was able to build this giant snow person, but it wasn't so cold as to freeze the creek water.  My kids played outside for over an hour, which was great.

Doorway to Challenge Room

I added to the craft area.

I also worked on cleaning the basement room.  I started with the area by the door, which held the books.  I knew I had some double of the Berenstain Bear books because I was buying them in sets off of ebay when my daughter was little.  The sad part was I had double of some other books and I don't remember how that happened other than forgetfulness on my part.

The back wall is looking better without the toys.

 I wanted to use the storage container I was currently using to store some extra socks and underwear, to re purpose for the kids coloring books.  First I had to shove the shoes from my husband's side back inside the closet so I could open the door to my side.  Then I put some items from my under the bed storage are into the rummage sale, and the rest in my dresser drawers.  I was able to empty the under the bed storage container, and put the items from the closet storage drawer into this.  I'm not sure if I really like this yet.  I might end up just buying each kid their own box for coloring books and paper.  It would be easier to quickly bring up my son's books to help entertain him while my daughter does homework.

My husband's side of the closet.

My side of the closet.

Here is the after of the books and kids art supplies.  I need to adjust the top of the book section, the cardboard box on the top I need to work in somehow because my daughter says she doesn't want to get rid of them just yet.  The drawer on the bottom was from my bedroom closet.  The other drawers we have had for awhile.  I sorted them into the following: blank paper, construction paper, stickers, colored and regular pencils, crayons and markers.  The top has two tin cans holding paint brushed and scissors.  The other bins on the side still need to be organized.  I kept all the cans from dinner tonight so I will be able to sort out more tomorrow.  I also put rubber bands around the tins cans so I can see where they are, and also took an empty small cardboard box from ready made rice and pinned clips and clothes pins to that as well as stick all the push pins I had into it.

This is the area after I took all the kids art supplies away.

Tape I bought on clearance, $.68 each.

On one hand you would think it was a good deal to buy tape at $.68 a roll.  But I also found three rolls when I was cleaning through the art supplies.  The really bad part is that I only wrap maybe two to three gifts a year.  Somehow I never get around to wrapping birthday gifts, so I end up doing it at my sisters house or have my sister do it for me.  Most years I also let them wrap almost all the Christmas gifts, which they offer to do since they like it so much.  If I am able to add a wrap station in this room maybe I'll actually wrap my own gifts this year.

I was looking around blog land and found some great inspiration:

The Thrifty Decor Chick has an awesome unfinished basement craft room.

DaNita @ Delightful Order had a link up for craft rooms, which is where I found:

Karen @ Sew Many Ways is absolutely awesome.  She has Tool Time Tuesday, which is lots of fun. Plus check out her craft room.

Don't forget to check back in on Friday where I will link up this weeks progress on the basement room.  See more about the challenge at Org Junkie.

Research

Since I plan on cleaning up my room in the basement, I decided to some research on organizing.  I went to the local library and found they had a ton of books on the subject of house cleaning and storage.  Unfortunately 1/2  or more were already checked out.  I guess this must be the natural declutter time of the year because the library even had a special display section dedicated with this topic for this month.  The funniest part of my search was when I found this book called Unclutter Your Life in One Week, unfortunately this book was overdue by a week.  I just don't think this person was able to unclutter their life in a week since the library checks out books 3 weeks at a time.

I find the storage books to be a lot pictures with boring text.  I just quickly flipped through these books and did really see anything too different than what I have already found through pinterest of other blogs.

I'm trying to read through the other books but I'm most likely to skim through them for the most part.  I did find the book Housekeeping Techniques that Save You Money to be interesting.  One part talked about the last person in the morning to shower plugs the tub, and you use that water to flush the toilet through out the day.  I might have to use that one and save me on my water bill.

I will update this post this weekend if I find any more revolutionary techniques as to how to organize my home.

http://orgjunkie.com/challenge

Planning Out My Challenge

I'm participation in Laura at Org Junkie's 29 Day Organizational Challenge.  If you would like to learn more you can visit her site for all the details.  

Yesterday's post I submitted pictures of my basement room I will be tackling.  Today I will answer the questions from Laura's site to help me be successful in this challenge.

1. What do I want the purpose of my room or area to be?
This room needs to house a guest bed and my craft supplies.  If possible I would like to keep my elliptical and maybe my husband's weight bench, but I would like to get the kids toys out.
2. What do I need in or near the room to serve that purpose?
I will need a bed with a nightstand and lamp for guest positioned near an outlet for an electric blanket for colder winter nights.  I also need a desk for crafting and I need better lighting in the room.  I will need some sort of bins to organize the materials.
3. What can I remove from the room?
I need to remove the toys, and clothes I haven't worn in a year.
4. What problems do I see with the room?
This room is cold and dark.
5. What organizational tools might solve those problems?
peg board, wall shelves, a murphy bed would be awesome, totes or baskets
6. What habits need to change to solve the organizational problems?
I need to put things back in place right away.  Everything needs a place, if I can't find a place something has to give.
7. What kind of a budget do I have to create the organized room of my dreams?
I really need to do this with less than $100.
8. What kind of a timeline is necessary to organize the room?
Since I'm participating in the challenge I have until the end of Feb.
9. What is my plan of action?
I plan on working on it every week, 2-3 times a week.  I will need to post updates every Friday starting on the 10th.
10. Who can I ask to help me with this?
I plan on having my husband get rid of this and help bring them to Goodwill.  My sister can come over and keep me company, and my kids can help me choose what to get rid of.


Last year I straightened up this room in a week along with a few other spots in my house.  29 days should be plenty of time to organize this space.  The prizes that Laura is giving away is a great motivation to get this space o so pretty.

Org Junkie’s 29 Day Organizational Challenge Begins

Warning:
If the show hoarders scares you and  leaves you in tears due to the conditions of those people's homes, this is not the post for you.  This  post will show pictures of an overcrowded disorganized room.


What could be lurking behind closed doors? Didn't I just clean up this room less than a year ago? (Yes) Is disorganization hereditary?  Is there any hope?

Hello, my name is The Absentminded Mother.  I am a recently laid off mother of two.  I have a daughter who is 8 and a son age 4.  I grew up with working parents, sometimes working 3 jobs at a time to put 3 girls through Catholic school.  Our house wasn't visited very often and we didn't have a regular cleaning schedule or chores.  The summer before my freshman year we moved out of a 4 bedroom 1800's 2 story home and into a 5 bedroom ranch home built in the 60's.  We had so much stuff to move I remember that we left a lot of this behind.  After I left for college and my older sisters had moved out my parents house has really gotten out of hand.  My mother likes to craft by quilting, crocheting and sewing.  She makes good money but she doesn't spend the time to get organized and has a lot of items.  The basement where I use to sleep and throw parties when parents were out of town, is now full of kids toys and misc craft supplies.  I tried to ask my overly neat Grandma how to clean a house, and she replied "I just clean."  I guess I was looking for a more a-ha moment where I would magically like cleaning and my kids and I would sing and dance like Mary Poppins does.

So here is the room:

A basement room where I stick everything I don't want to deal with right now.  I have never had a rug big enough to sweep these things under, so I assigned them a room.  

This is the view from the door, which I like to keep closed.  Last year I installed a door knob that locks to keep my kids out of the room.  Inside this room are toys that my kids would have spread all over the toy room area if I allowed them access.  I have also recently added two big boxes of stuff taken out of my daughter's room, one donations and one needs to just be out of here room.  This has kept her room neater but I haven't yet done anything with these boxes.

Under here is my guest bed.  This used to be my mom's room when she stayed with us, now I just end up throwing things off the bed when she visit. ( It may be bad to say, but it must feel like home sleeping in here.)

This is the closet with out a door.  To the left corner is old year books and empty video game cases.  The cardboard boxes hold extra school supplies and shoes.  The middle plastic containers are old tax info and kids artwork.  The shelving to the right is photo type items with a few extra items.  Also my teddy bear I got from my uncle at age 5.

Here is the main part of the room with all the toys and household supplies.  The right corner holds a lot of board games and the back wall has storage boxes of toys.

This is the side right in front of the door.  I mainly took this shot to show the book shelf that my kid have, and next to that is a bunch of art supplies for them.

I just wanted to show you my sad elliptical.  My husband would really like to use this room as a exercise room, but I took the computer off my elliptical since it doesn't work.  I haven't been able to justify fixing this machine since I don't use it as much as I need to.

This is to the right when you walk in the door.  This shelving unit holds all my sewing and craft supplies.  I think I could use some more bins to clean this area up.

This is my introduction and I will answer Org Junkie's questions on tomorrows post.  Good luck to everyone else who is doing the challenge and I would love any advice anyone has to give!