By Caroline Bujold
How do you get started on being organized? By spending about 10-15 minutes per day decluttering one particular space.
This is the neat little challenge Peter Walsh has invited people to do for the second year in a row (I believe).
It’s amazing how little time can have such great effect. It’s fairly easy, so you get a sense of accomplishment as well as getting momentum to move from one challenge to the other and maybe even get more done than what is suggested ;).
You can follow along on Walsh’s Facebook Page.
But it’s not enough to tell you about the challenges, it’s good for me to complete each one and to show you the results.
So here we go.
First, I took down our holiday decorations and used this opportunity to change pictures on our mantel. I have one bin to house most of our decorations (except a few that are fragile and wreaths) and one for our lights.
Day 1 – Pick a drawer, any drawer and clean it out
It wasn’t quite a drawer but boxes I use to store my crafting and wrapping material. I’m not a big crafter, so I don’t feel like a need a lot of space. But all my material has previously been left in the (unfinished) basement and was not very accessible. Recently, I decided to trim down what I had and to bring everything upstairs, taking advantage of the space I have in my home office (where I actually work for my day job). But I hadn’t taken the time to sort and somewhat organize. So, I divided all I had in three categories and labelled my boxes: tools, papers (scrapbooking) and gift wrap. Now I know where to look.
Day 2 – Sweaters: get rid of sweaters you know you will no longer wear.
We sort our clothes twice a year and donate what we no longer wear, so this was already done. Since then, I realized I haven’t worn a particular sweater, so I will donate it. This is perfect since I just bought a new one I like much better. One item in, one item out.
Day 3 – What’s under your bed?
Do you use this space for storage? What kind of storage? We use flat boxes to store our out of season clothes.
Day 4 – Organize your luggage
We both have a small suitcase on wheels and recently bought backpacks. We also have a few day packs we use for hiking.
I also have an extra set of suitcases my Mom gave me that I keep even though rarely use. They are in perfect condition and great quality, just a tad too small and they would make a perfect gift. I have to say, I have trouble getting rid of bags – don’t get me started on purses. I also have multiple (read 8 or 10) duffle bags from events I used volunteer for (like the one on top on the picture below). I’ve used them to move, to store our winter jackets, our sleeping bags, and we also use them when we go camping. They are sturdy and practical, ans since we have so much space downstairs and they fold flat, I haven’t had to compromise on the number so far.
Day 5 – Wrapping paper
Hooray – This was part of my ”drawer” organization. Done and done!
Note: The challenges are not mine, but part of Peter Walsh’s 31Days2GetOrganized.
Also see 31 Days 2 Get Organized – Day 6-9.
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