I am having a HARD time getting organized and getting rid of clutter. I know, I know, January is supposed to be the month where I get organized. So far it hasn't happened. My mom knows. She was at my house yesterday. It was a MESS! It's not that I don't clean and organize. It's just that it doesn't STAY that way. I know I can't possibly be the only one out there with this problem. So today while perusing
bhg.com, I found some ideas that got my mind moving and I thought I'd share (along with some inspirational photos). I am sharing this for my readers and for MYSELF. Maybe it will be the final push to get me motivated to take care of our messy house.
Problem: All the clutter by the back door.
Use baskets by the door for shoes and other clutter. Our shoes are always everywhere. I thought buying the bench below was a good idea, you know for sitting while putting shoes on/taking them off. Not so much. It just ends up being a catch-all. There are drawers but not big enough for shoes (I use them for cold weather accessories). You can even see the clutter in this photo (it's from Christmastime, no I still don't have my Christmas decor up)...
What would have been a lot more useful is something like this (from
walmart.com) so we could store shoes inside:
The shoe issue is not the only problem in the kitchen. I need to designate containers for the recycling and pop bottle/can returns. I think for now I can just use plastic storage containers. It'd be nice so if I need to "hide" it, I can just put the lids on.
I posted
here about my storage issues in the living room. I think this storage ottoman (from walmart.com) would definitely help to store games and other stuff that goes in the living room that I don't necessarily want "displayed".
When I posted about my DVD storage issue, my friend
Karol suggested using a CD/DVD binder to store them in. You know removing them from the plastic cases...duh. Pure genius! I definitely think this is in our near future...
Problem: The dining room table is so cluttered, it's hard to find room to eat dinner.
Not my dining room, of course. But it's lovely, isn't it? A little formal for us but still pretty. I would love to have that built-in corner cabinet. In fact, I *need* a corner cabinet. That is on my thrift store/yard sale list.
We don't have an office nor a craft room so everything gets done at the dining room table which leaves lots of clutter around, including craft supplies and homework/school papers.
BHG says:
Designate a bin for whatever tends to find a temporary home on the table. This can be permanent storage or a way to move things to their rightful room.
I suppose I could do that until I get some shelving/cabinets/buffet.
What I wouldn't give for something like this from
Pottery Barn.
Of course it's WAY out of my price range. If we did have this, it'd be filled with less dishes and more books and paper work.
Actually something like this would work well for the wall in my kitchen too. My mom said then I wouldn't have a wall to hang all my pretties on. I say pretty schmetty. I need storage and function!
Okay I have WAY more organizing issues than what I've talked about in this post but I think that's all for today. Next time...the living room coat closet. Eek!
So let me recap (this is mostly for me)...
1. Since I can't run out and buy a storage bench for the kitchen, I need to put a basket in the kitchen for our shoes.
2. I need to designate storage containers for recycling and bottle returns.
3. Look for a storage ottoman or some kind of storage that looks nice for board games, etc in the living room.
4. Buy a DVD storage binder.
5. I need a bin/basket for the dining table to put all of our clutter and papers in. Otherwise, it just gets stacked up and set all over the place. Then we can't find stuff when we need it. If the clutter is contained, we will be able to eat dinner at the dining room table!
I hope to be able to update with my progress by the end of next week!!!
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Edited to add: I had a question from Karol..."Do you have a place in your garage where you could put a shelf/rack for shoes?"
Sadly, no. We don't have an attached garage. I wish so much that we did! That would solve A LOT of problems!