Being Organised
This should come as no surprise to me, but there really aren’t enough hours in the day for me to do everything I want to do, let alone those things I need to do but don’t really fancy (cleaning windows definitely falls into this category!).
The answer is simple, of course. Do fewer things. Or live in a underground house with no windows. Neither of these is particularly practical, despite my New Year’s Resolution this year. There is nothing for it but to be More Organised.
Being More Organised is something that fills me with hope, enthusiasm and optimism – until I realise that I’ve got to wade through my Unorganised Life to get there. No matter how hard I try to keep on top of them, there are always piles of paper, post, books, small daughter’s toys and the various other debris of family life either waiting to go upstairs or downstairs to be put away. It seems that as soon as I clear one space, there’s another one waiting. They pop up like those Whack A Mole games you
see at fairgrounds.
Don’t get me wrong, my house isn’t a complete tip and I like to think that I’m reasonably close to the Flylady aspiration of being no more than 30 minutes away from having a house ready for visitors, but I have to confess that cleaning and tidying isn’t my favourite thing to do and so I am easily distracted from these tasks.
My plan is to make a concerted effort to try to get through the tide of my Unorganised Life to reach the banks of a More Organised life. My Bullet Journal is still working for me and I’m very glad that I started it this year. It’s needed a little refining to get it to how I need it to be, but I’m very pleased with it. I need to jump back onto the “swish and swipe” bandwagon and most of all, I need to get rid of lots of paper!
I think my biggest problem is that I don’t like to throw something out that might be useful later. I don’t think I’m in any danger of becoming one of those people whose houses are teetering piles of yellowing newspapers, but I do tend to hang onto those spare packets of brackets and screws that you get with IKEA furniture, and catalogues that are past their seasonal dates. Cables are another thing; phone chargers, landline extensions, TV scart leads – they congregate together in a drawer, getting in the way when I don’t need them and becoming invisible when I do. It’s time to sort all these things out. What if I was to get run over by a bus tomorrow? How would my family cope? They would have to deal with my Unorganised Life without me being able to interpret for them. It is a concern, wouldn’t you agree?
Baby steps are required here. I’ll start with the place that’s going to make the biggest impact (so not the attic, then) and work my way around the house. Put all those unwanted things onto Ebay and put the money in big daughter’s Peru fund. Don’t even think about going into small daughter’s bedroom just yet, which is Beyond Unorganised. (“But it’s fine, Mum, I know where everything is. It’s in that pile in the middle of the floor …”)
Clearing out all of the clutter will give me so much more time to do the things that I’d prefer to do. Like gardening. Or baking. Or knitting. I’ll be able to work my way through my yarn stash and that will be tidy as I knit all the yarn into socks. In fact, that might be a good place to start …
Hubby has said that is sound logic from youngest daughter x
Indeed it is – until I step on something and break it and then the world ends! 🙂 xx
Children's bedrooms are really really scary, aren't they? As a rule we insist that there is access to the windows but that's as far as it gets. the last time Annie agreed to tidy is when she saw a mouse scurrying around in her room. I quite enjoy sorting through stuff but I find it overwhelming to get started. We do have several cable graveyards that are really annoying…. it is a good idea to start with something that has a big impact. You might find yarn you forgot you had, how exiting! xx
A cable graveyard! Yes, that is exactly what it is! Sadly, I've discovered several other graveyards as I've been opening drawers and cupboards. This could take some time …! 🙂 xx
I think that the first job of doing all the knitting to clear the yarn is a very good idea!!! I seem to remember that I was somewhat like your younger daughter when I was a child, I knew it was in the heap somewhere! That is what my desk is like right now – on my list to tackle tomorrow!!! Good luck with your new strategy!! xx oh and if you work out what to do with all the extra cables that we all seem to have do share! xx
Amy, I have to confess that my room was pretty much the same as well – it drove my Mum mad! Now, of course, I can see why! We should probably have a system for pooling the cables as I suspect that somebody somewhere always has the cable that we need – it would save a lot of emergency trips to the shops to buy one! xx
The phrase that jumped out at me was '30 minutes away from receiving visitors' That's scarily efficient! I couldn't even begin to aspire to that! However, one (small) thing I am on top of is cables. No mystery cables/chargers etc, all the current ones are in a drawer, and are disposed of when the associated piece of electronic kit is no longer in use. But piles of books, papers, notebooks, ironing, 'stuff' , oh yes, sooooo many of those piles! X
Luckily, most of my visitors tend not to need to look at the whole house! 🙂 xx
Decluttering starting with your yarn is the way to go. Happy knitting may then energise you for decabling! Joy x
Ooh, yes, I like your thinking, Joy! 🙂 xx
Cables, they drive me mad. There's at least one lurking in every drawer I open, and the jumble of wires in the drawer where they do live is beyond untangleable. I've knit a few pairs of socks with that Regia College yarn you've got in your stash, it's thicker than normal sock yarn and makes lovely squishy socks. It's discontinued now.
Yes, the Regia College yarn is lovely for boot socks – and the reason I have so much of it is that it was being sold off as it was discontinued! 🙂 xx
I hear you. My house is a never ending pile of things that needs to be binned, put away, tidied up and as soon as one bit's done, there's somewhere else to tackle. Hoarding, yes I could be accused of that especially in the wardrobe department. I really don't want to think about it. Do you think you could be someone with a capsule wardrobe? It would be too boring for me.
Anne xx
No, I am never going to be the one at the airport with the tiny handbag and the capsule wardrobe. Never mind too boring, I'm always worried about being too cold and need a jumper! xx
My son moved out about 2 years ago after we had lived in this house for 3 years. The deal was 'if I can't get the hoover in your room I ain't cleaning'. The room was not cleaned at all until the day he moved out. It was disgusting. It's now my very tidy craft and ironing room. Like you I keep the bits a visitor might see reasonable – sadly you have to go through the kitchen to get to the downstairs loo so that is all downstairs. The upstairs is a tip. And don't for a moment think they take all their stuff with them when they go!!!
No, I do know about the not taking all the stuff – my Dad still regularly appears with something of mine that I left at his house when I moved out – over twenty years ago now! xx
As a teenager my bedroom had 3 footholes to take me from door to bed. Now I sleep right next to the door so I don't have to worry.
I'm not sure whether that means your bedroom floor is tidy or not! 🙂 xx
De cluttering and sorting out can be hard but it is so nice when it is done! I had a spell of organising after Christmas, but now everything seems to be creeping back to how it was again!
Good luck with your sorting out!
Helen xox
You're right, Helen, and I know it will be worth it. I just get cross with myself because I can't do it all in one day – but of course it took longer than a day to accumulate all the paper in the first place! xx
This is where borderline OCD is a real positive in my life – I LOVE tidying up. I get distracted from playing if I see something in the wrong place… the impulse to put it in the right place is SO strong. Even so, we've had to wade through a great deal of lumber to clear enough space for our second baby to squeeze into our house. Selling stuff on eBay or music magpie is very satisfying, even when I barely make any money after postage and packaging!
That happens to me in the garden – ooh, look, a weed! – but in the house I have so many other things that I want to do that it's easier to turn a blind eye sometimes. I do love the feeling of sending eBay parcels off, though, knowing that someone else is going to get some use out of something that we no longer need xx
Your post certainly resonated with me, I really need to get more organised, especially with my craft supplies which seem to be taking over the house! I think I must try some kind of journal to organise my day to day activities as well. xx
The Bullet Journal system has certainly helped, Jan – I don't feel so overwhelmed by my endless to-do lists any more! xx
Haha you sound just like me Christine, I was determined to declutter this year because I'm hoping to move house sometime in the not so distant future, and I did start, the trouble is no sooner have I decluttered one space it's full up again before I even get started on another. As for those leads and things I have a box of those too, I haven't a clue what they are all for and daren't throw them any one of them out out in case it's for something important. Have a great bank holiday weekend. 🙂 xx
That's always the problem, isn't it – you throw something away and then you need it! xx
Hello Christine. I think decluttering is an ongoing task. When I moved five years ago, I cleaned out so much stuff. But my problem is paper. My husband's business hobby creates us getting tons of papers that need to be filed, replied to, etc. It's a never ending task. I dream of the day that it will disappear. Enjoy your weekend. Hugs, Pat
Hi Pat! Realistically, I don't know if there's ever an end to the clutter; perhaps the trick is to find the best way to live with it so that it doesn't drive you mad! xx
I see a lot of sock knitting in your future – and boy will they be colourful! Organization is hard, but so worth it if you gain a few "extra" minutes back in your day!
A lot of sock knitting? Don't know what gave you that idea, Bronwyn! 😉 xx