Project: Organization

Yes, it's been a while since I last posted. I'm not even going to go into that.

I'm instead going to try and attempt a LARGE-scale project. I don't even know if it's completely possible, but I'll try. No, I'm not going to run another marathon - I did that already, and I don't even know where my running shoes are anyway. I'm not going to go try and learn Spanish, become a better cook, find a man, write the Great American Novel, or start a business.

I'm going to get organized.

I've always had a bit of an issue with clutter. I keep things clean in the sanitation sense, and I do a once-over on the house once a week or so. I could have company over and have the place presentable in an hour or so, but I've found that what used to be a junk drawer has become every empty container and room in my entire house. Mail piles up til I throw it all away (thank God for automatic bill-pay), magazines and electronics cords/accessories multiply like the Duggar family, and I now own 5 pairs of tweezers because I end up buying another pair when I can't locate the others. Most of my storage space (the attic, interiors of chests, the crawlspace, and various other locations) has a "I need to go through that" label on it in my head.

What do normal, Type-A, or people born without this clutter-bug gene do? A day/weekend of cleaning. Go through it and purge, start over. I think I'm beyond that. No, I'm not a hoarder, at least not to where you need to call A&E documentary crews over.

I have what Drena calls "sentimental clutter" - things that I keep because they remind me of someone or a happy time. Cards I've received. Ticket stubs. Stuffed animals won for me by ex-boyfriends. Bouquets I've caught at weddings - I've caught NINE. Sketches of paintings. Every note written to me in high school. Happy meal toys.

I have "future-use clutter" - things that I might have a need for at one time or another in the future. Magazines containing one pretty picture I wanted to keep. Hardware for IKEA furniture. Warranty cards for the dishwasher.

I have "supply clutter" - supplies purchased for projects, art supplies, office supplies, beauty supplies, multiples of tools, leftover interior paint, cleaning supplies.

Finally, I have "investment clutter" - stuff that I can't get rid of because I spent money on it. Clothes with the tags still on them because I haven't gotten them tailored. Wrong-color makeup. Broken electronics that I need to fix or get rid of. Decor that doesn't match my new place.

The list is endless.

So I'm giving myself one mess at a time. Hopefully one a day, but let's be honest, it may be a bit much at times. Every day, I want to clean one box, one drawer, one "dump spot", one group of things, and purge the clutter and find everything I keep in a place. I have given up on consigning/ebaying/selling things I'm purging - either donate, give away, or toss.

Hope to do one soon - I worked on something today, but I can't find my camera to document it. Maybe that's item 1...