Sunday, January 16, 2011

De-cluttering

It's been almost a year since we redid the kitchen. Ever since we have owned the house , there is a corner of the kitchen that is my nemesis. No matter what I do, I cannot keep this area clutter-free. It makes me crazy. It is the place we throw keys, wallets, mail we don't want to throw out but don't have a place for ... you know the deal- every house has a place like this.



This is a picture taken last year, and it pretty much has looked the same but more cluttered. Every few weeks I would clean it out, only to have it get cluttered again within days. So, I decided I couldn't take it anymore.

We took a trip to Ikea this past week to look at stuff for the office (a work in progress). Ikea has such great organization items. It makes me happy. So we got these gord-like-pod-things and hung them on the side of the cabinet as a place to throw keys, pens, or whatever. I really wanted to get most everything off the counter. I also picked up these cute little tins which now keep tea and other hot drinks in easy reach, which is crucial this time of year.


It makes me much happier to have this space clutter-free. I have realized when you don't have a place to clutter, it makes you deal with that mail as soon as you get it, rather than add it to that corner and forget about it.

This year we have lots of plans for de-cluttering and organizing. The big one of course being the office that we are making in our old closet. I have to go through lots of stuff in the now guest room and organize everything to have its own place in the new office. The other project will be the basement at some point. We have done a lot of organizing down there already, but we want to invest in getting some shelves or other storage to help keep it organized.

And while we're on the subject of organizing, if you have kids, you know how difficult it can be to keep all their stuff organized. A constant battle for us is Aiden's toys. I like things to have a place and to be put away at the end of the day. We picked up these fabric bins from Ikea (did I mention how much I love Ikea!!) which are perfect because they slip right under the sofa for storing.


Do you have any organizing tricks or plans for 2011?

4 comments:

Unknown said...

Oh, you are speaking my language. Our house is small and it is so hard to keep things "in their place". Bins, bins, bins...that's our trick. Because if it doesn't have a place it doesn't get put away. And even when we have bins, it still gets cluttered. Maybe we just have too much stuff. Do you ever purge? Feels so good to throw stuff away from time to time. Good luck with the organizing, Jen! And keep sharing what you find!

The Jones' said...

Christy! I am so addicted to taking things to Good Will, it may be a serious issue. I always have an ongoing Good Will pile in the basement that I add to and take in at least once a month. It is like a high for me to get rid of things. Most recent thing added to the pile: a foot spa. Used maybe 10 times in the almost 6 years we've been married. I actually am not even sure how it made the move to this house. Maybe because I found out I was pregnant with Aiden right before we moved and thought I would use it- I didn't.

Rhi said...

Jen! I am so glad that you shared this de cluttering idea with us! I too am constantly trying to declutter. I too get a high from taking things to Good Will but the organization aspect really takes skill. You need insight into both your space and you function within your space to find the ideal way to organize something. We are moving to a 2 bedroom apt in our building next month and I look forward to purging and re organizing our life! The additional space will help too.

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