Sunday 1 March 2015

Organised Love #1

An area of the house that has really been bugging me for a while now is the general state of dis-organisation we bumble along in.  I feel like there are mountains of clutter building up everywhere and my head is just full to bursting.  Now the problem with clutter is that unless it has a home it just gets shifted from one place to another like a nomad.  Something always disappears as we are about to leave the house sending me into a mild panic, not only this but I am fed up being the only one who seems to know where anything is.  It is almost like everyone else has stopped looking and automatically just asks me.

I have found that when the house starts to feel like this it can become overwhelming and all consuming.  A relentless task of tidying up and moving the clutter about in the vague attempt to add some order to the house.  With Spring approaching and the idea of the traditional spring clean, magazines are packed full of ideas and tips on how to achieve the tidy organised house.

The dilemma I have is that our lives and expectations have changed dramatically since the origins of the annual "spring clean".  I don't know about most people but the idea of housework and spring cleaning definitely does not feature anywhere near the top of my to-do list.  In fact that is part of our problem it just does not feature on my list of jobs I want to do EVER.  I see it as a chore which I resent.  I accept however that we really need to try implement some form of structure and order into our lives whilst being kind and honest to myself.   I don't want the kids to grow up not knowing where anything lives and then having to deal with me stressing out because nobody tidies up after themselves or we cant find anything.

I need to acknowledge that it is a project which will take time and not happen over night but once sorted will help the house run more smoothly and free up our spare time to do the things we want to do.

Just like the article I am reading in Elle Decoration A Tidy Tradition I find even the thought of tackling our disorganisation and mess a daunting task  However as Lisa Messenger sets out in her book Daring and Disruptive I can choose to change my mindset.  You are never too old or too young to implement change.

My first organisation project is one of the kitchen cupboards which has been bothering me ever since we moved in.  In all honesty I am not sure what has been squirreled away at the back.  The reason I picked this cupboard first is because it is full mainly of cooking staples - tinned products, oil, pasta, rice etc.  I am constantly rummaging through this cupboard and shoving stuff back in again, stuff keeps falling out and I never know what I have in there.  This constant searching and rummaging is costing me both time and money.  I often end up doubling up on stuff or running out of bits and having to run to the village shop to pick something up.

I started off by picking up some curver medium baskets.  I got them from lakeland but they are on special offer at Ocado until the 17th March.

Then once the girls had gone to bed I literally tipped everything out of the cupboard.  I threw away anything that looked like it had past it's best or anything I hadn't used in months.  I re-filled the containers (one of my previous attempts at getting organised) and washed the cupboard out.

Then I allocated one basket to tinned products and the other one to bottles.  I also brought a smaller basket which I put the hot chocolate and tea bags in.  I used my label maker to label the plastic tubs.



In all it probably took me about 45 minutes to complete.  Just think of all the time it will save me by not having to look for things all the time.

I can't tell you how good it feels to open your cupboard and be able to see everything straight away.









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