Friday, April 15, 2011

Week 15: Organizing Closets

This week at Organizing Junkie it's closet week...yeah, I'm so not there...yet...

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Week fifteen questions:
1. Will you be tackling a closet this week? If so, don’t forget to follow the PROCESS to make it quick and simple.
NO WAY! I learned that I need to do my jobs in order and the ones that come before both our closet and J's closet aren't done yet. But I might tackle some of those so that I'm closer to cleaning out the closet!

2. Did you run into any road blocks last week?
Only that I wasn't feeling well, so I was tired, so I went to bed early, so I didn't do anything.

3. Since starting this challenge can you name one habit you’ve been able to develop that has stuck?
Remembering to do a quick tidy before bed. Even though I was going to bed really early this week, our living room and dining room still look like they did before our company arrived on Saturday...little things make a big difference!

So, after weeks of seeing people successfully cleaning out their plastics cupboards and thinking, gee, I should do the same, guess what I did last night? And I did it with J running around "helping." And it only took about fifteen minutes. So even though I went to bed at 8:30, I still got something done!

plastics cupboard before
To be honest, it's not all that bad...and that's because I haven't been feeling well this week, so the dishes haven't really been done since Monday. Which means most of the lunch stuff is on the counter waiting to be washed (well...it's washed now, I did it this morning before work because it was driving me NUTS).

plastics cupboard  contentsThis is what I pulled out...

plastics cupboard after
And this is the after shot. I tossed anything without a lid/bottom, nine yogurt containers (I kept five. We use them, but we also go through two or three containers of yogurt a week, so it's not like if I run out it will be a long time before I can replenish my supply), three Nalgenes full of BPA (why I still have these is beyond me...they told us to stop using them when I was pregnant with J - three years ago! and they've been in this cupboard ever since), four random lids with straws, two weird ice cub trays (they make ice cubes about 1/3 of a centimetre thick), and one random, empty Nutella jar.

There will be a follow up to this for sure because half of the containers are not in the cupboard. And my fridge is empty so there are two Tupperware fridge containers that are normally in the fridge. And I'm going to pick up a couple of bins at IKEA next week for some of the lids (I love the Rubbermaid containers that snap into their lids...they're great). We use the camping egg container for hard boiled eggs...it's great because they are contained AND the fridge doesn't smell like egg sandwiches!

I hope that once I get everything put back in the cupboard I will be able to get my large pot down there too. The new stove is millimetres wider than the old one and the pot doesn't like to come out of its current home now...and I don't really want to bang up the stove every time I need the pot!

I know this is going to be a challenge to keep tidy. Mostly because a certain small person has claimed this cupboard hers.

9 comments:

  1. I really want to start doing these challenges.

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  2. I'm so glad I found the challenge - it's been a great way to get myself motivated to do all those things around the house that I've been ignoring! I started late and so did a friend of mine...

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  3. Hope you are feeling better. I agree that small things make a big difference. Keep up the good job.

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  4. Looks Great! I have to start the challenges... got the lead abatement guys coming Tuesday morning so everything has to be moved away from the windows affected for the time being. And... I just have too much stuff... so I am trying to sort, pitch and put away by then... also wrap tarps around what I keep to keep any lead dust out... thinking I may start posting my before and after pics, too... may be way more motivational!!!

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  5. Very nice. Every little bit brings us closer to our being organized goal!

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  6. @Alexandra - I'm feeling WAY better, thanks!

    @WIWAC - I find before and after pictures (my own and other people's) hugely motivating! It's so nice to see a cluttered area miraculously turn into something tidy and organized!

    @Ally's Grandma - I find the small jobs more rewarding...probably because I can get more of them done in the same amount of time as a big job and because they're small it doesn't seem daunting!

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  7. Hi Shannon! I started late too, but I doubled up a few weeks and did two or three really small projects and now I'm mostly on track.

    What do you do with the yogurt containers?

    And tell me more about the Nalgenes being bad. I have two that are about 15 years old. Should I pitch them? Thanks!!!

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  8. @Iris - the yogurt containers are great for when we have company and want to send leftovers home. In a pinch (when I'm out of proper Tupperware/glass containers/Tupperware equivalents) I will use them for leftovers or to freeze soup or stock.

    Mostly though they get used for building towers. My daughter puts the lids on the and stacks them top-to-top and bottom-to-bottom. Five is enough for now - anymore and she can't reach up high enough without knocking the tower over and then she gets frustrated.

    The Nalgene bottles are made from BPA...the ones post-2008 are BPA-free and Nalgene has posted that they believe their bottles are safe (http://nalgene.com/PDFs/Nalgene_BPAStatement.pdf) but we decided we'd rather err on the side of caution on this one...we still haven't found bottles we like to replace them though...

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  9. Thanks Shannon! Yay - two more things I can toss this week, thanks to you! Buh-bye ancient Nalgene bottles!

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