My weekend purge and organization challenge - the photos

[KrisM]

DH and the kids left after lunch yesterday. I worked all afternoon and most of today. I've made 2 trips to the Salvation Army and probably have 1 more to go.

I cleaned the master bedroom, which had become our dumping ground for things to sort through. And, the basement, which was more of the same. Neither are perfect, but the improvement is wonderful!

I have a bunch of stuff in the family room now to finish going through tonight. Most just needs to be put away or stored. I found it easier to just make a bin for things that didn't belong and dump it all in there and I'll sort in front of the TV.

Pictures to follow...

[KrisM]

Here's the master bedroom.

Before: my craft area that got moved in last fall, but never quite organized. I still need to go through the drawers, but it's not too bad now.

http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/aa81/khaselton/DSC00013.jpg



My pile that I make after kids outgrow something. I need a better system for this! The bins should be gone through again, but this is all fall/winter stuff that I'll sell at a mom2mom sale in Sept. Anything left gets donated and then I fill the bins with spring/summer. It needs a better home, but for now, the corner is where it is. I think the pile of bins will get smaller as I get more caught up on going through the clothes/toys.

http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/aa81/khaselton/DSC00012.jpg


And the after shots:

http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/aa81/khaselton/DSC00037.jpg

http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/aa81/khaselton/DSC00038.jpg

[KrisM]

The basement. A few months ago, I sorted through the storage area we have, but every time I tried to take stuff upstairs the kids followed, so I ended up just piling it to go through later. Finally, it's later .


The area at the bottom of our stairs - eventually we want a 2nd TV for this area:

http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/aa81/khaselton/DSC00030.jpg


http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/aa81/khaselton/DSC00029.jpg

The play area (why can't DH get the kids to clean up after they play here? He was down with them last!):

http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/aa81/khaselton/DSC00028.jpg

And the after pictures:
The drums on the table are DH's and I don't know his plan for them. And the bins are either empty or his stuff. I'm not sorting his things, unless it's obvious, but did contain it for him.



http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/aa81/khaselton/DSC00039.jpg


http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/aa81/khaselton/DSC00041.jpg


http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/aa81/khaselton/DSC00040.jpg

[KrisM]

And, just to make me feel better and make sure you all don't think my whole house was a total disaster, more befores.

The kitchen:
http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/aa81/khaselton/DSC00006.jpg

http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/aa81/khaselton/DSC00007.jpg

The family room:
http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/aa81/khaselton/DSC00004.jpg

These are fairly typical days. The family room definitely gets a played in look as the day goes on, but it starts and ends decent enough. The kitchen is finally pretty good most of the time. Of course, it does end up with play doh, snacks, crayons, etc on it at some point.

[trentsmom]

:yay:I am very impressed! Great job! I've never done a huge purge like that, but even after the little purges I do, I feel like the house is so much lighter. I hope your house stays organized after the rest of your family comes home!

[Tondi G]

You did good mama! Now when can you come to my house and help me with my organizational nightmare! :)

[boogiemomz]

:bighand::bighand::bighand:

Way to go!! You're an inspiration. :D

[KpbS]

Great work! I am totally impressed! I know your DH and DC will enjoy it too :) I really like how calm your kitchen is--great paint color and love the flooring.

[jgenie]

WOW - Great job!!! Can I just say I am so, so ,soooo jealous!! I think it will be another year before I get to really tackle ours.

[LisaMom2Allie]

Great job!!

Is that Butterscotch the pony I see in the kitchen photo? My DD got one for Christmas a few years ago and it currently resided in my dining room. Now that we have DS I feel like we should keep it for him well and even though DD is 7 I don't think she is ready to part with Butterscotch just yet.

[marie]

congrats! isn't it amazing what one can accomplish without the darling distractions around? :) (heehee, that's a new twist on DD - Darling Distraction!)

and what is that blue wall color? it's lovely!

[stinkyfeet]

Wow! That is great!! :love2:

I started purging this weekend too--I just need to get DH on board to help me out.

[SkyrMommy]

Wow!!! Great job... if only I could do something like that in my basement :innocent:

[swrc00]

Awesome job and I am glad to see somebody else's train table in the middle of their living room. ;)

[KrisM]

Thanks everyone! I was worried that I wouldn't get it all done because the bedroom took a lot longer than I thought it would. I still have stuff in my family room to finish up in the morning, but DH says they're staying most of the day tomorrow, so I have time. In any case, even if he leaves earlier, they won't be here until noon at the earliest.


Great job!!

Is that Butterscotch the pony I see in the kitchen photo? My DD got one for Christmas a few years ago and it currently resided in my dining room. Now that we have DS I feel like we should keep it for him well and even though DD is 7 I don't think she is ready to part with Butterscotch just yet.

It is Butterscotch. Although, DD calls her "Sparkles". It was my amazing deal last Christmas - brand new in the box from Salvation Army for $89.99. I stood in line on opening day for an hour before they opened to snag one! It gets a lot of play by all the kids.


congrats! isn't it amazing what one can accomplish without the darling distractions around? :) (heehee, that's a new twist on DD - Darling Distraction!)

and what is that blue wall color? it's lovely!

Yes, amazing how much can get done! The walls are Aleutian by Sherwin Williams. Number 6241. We have been very happy with it. It's in the neutral section and really is a neutral - we have no blue in any of our furniture and it all looks good!


Wow!!! Great job... if only I could do something like that in my basement :innocent:

Like what? It's not finished, except the area at the bottom of the stairs. The floor is the foam puzzle squares from Sam's Club, cut to fit the floor. It really helped make it a nicer place to be. An the shelf is Ikea Expedit, which just helps a ton!


Awesome job and I am glad to see somebody else's train table in the middle of their living room. ;)

Thanks! We are working on moving the train table. It's there because DS2 had been banned from the playroom. He's been recently allowed to play in there. But, we have another table in there that DS1 uses for marble runs and Legos and we need to move that to his room. But, having in the family room has worked just fine :).

[citymama]

Wow, that's impressive! You're inspiring me to do something about all our piles of stuff, except ours are mostly paper and kiddie art. We've moved often enough that the level of clutter is reasonable but still could use more work.

Want to share some tips and tricks - lessons learned - to help the rest of us who are now inspired by you to declutter?

Thanks for sharing the pics!

[Globetrotter]

You were really productive! It makes me want to spend dh and the kids away for a week :)

[niccig]

That look so great. You can tell me, do you go into the rooms to just soak in the organized zen-ness of the rooms? :rotflmao: I did that with our garage last week...it felt so good to easily find things...

[jamesmom]

You are amazing! That is really impressive! :thumbsup:

[BeachBum]

Kudos!
Organizing is so hard! We just moved and I'm opening boxes and thinking "what? , why did I buy this--and why did I bother to move it!)

I too have issues with the kids' outgrown clothes. What has been working for me is to promptly hang the items to sell (ours must get hung and tagged anyway) in one section of the closet and one plastic bin below it for "donate". So I make the choice right away to sell or donate, and when the donate fills up I take it, regardless of the season just to get it out of my way. I can do a quick scan as I tag for stains...but I have to do less ironing and most of the items will make the cut.
With my oldest son's clothes, I keep a bin in the bottom of his closet for hand-me-downs. When something seems to be getting to small I put it in there. The bin gets labeled with the season and size (so maybe summer 5-6) and then goes onto a shelf in the garage.

[KrisM]

Wow, that's impressive! You're inspiring me to do something about all our piles of stuff, except ours are mostly paper and kiddie art. We've moved often enough that the level of clutter is reasonable but still could use more work.

Want to share some tips and tricks - lessons learned - to help the rest of us who are now inspired by you to declutter?

Thanks for sharing the pics!

Paper, I am fairly on top of. I have my office space in the kitchen and it's easy to file, etc whenever because it's right there. The desk has enough drawers that each kid has one for their stuff. Some of it is school papers. When the drawer is nearly full, we go through it together. I am making the kids make the decisions on what to keep so that they're better than I am down the road.

Right now, all of this past year's school art work is in a bin waiting for me :). I am going to organize it into 3-ring binders. I have the binders and the page protectors and just need to get it done. Something like this: http://reluctantentertainer.com/2010/01/kid-memory-binders-organized-and-easy/

I started the whole organization project about 18 months ago and I love the Organizing Junkie blog (http://orgjunkie.com/). She has a lot of realistic tips and likes to shop at the Dollar Store, so many ideas are very doable. Last summer, I organized my kitchen cabinets and they still look good now! But it's because I made them work for us and not some other person.

You can do it! It just takes time.

[KrisM]

That look so great. You can tell me, do you go into the rooms to just soak in the organized zen-ness of the rooms? :rotflmao: I did that with our garage last week...it felt so good to easily find things...

Going in the bedroom last night for bed was just awesome. It felt much more relaxing and like the room was twice as big! Loved it.

[KrisM]

Kudos!
Organizing is so hard! We just moved and I'm opening boxes and thinking "what? , why did I buy this--and why did I bother to move it!)

I too have issues with the kids' outgrown clothes. What has been working for me is to promptly hang the items to sell (ours must get hung and tagged anyway) in one section of the closet and one plastic bin below it for "donate". So I make the choice right away to sell or donate, and when the donate fills up I take it, regardless of the season just to get it out of my way. I can do a quick scan as I tag for stains...but I have to do less ironing and most of the items will make the cut.
With my oldest son's clothes, I keep a bin in the bottom of his closet for hand-me-downs. When something seems to be getting to small I put it in there. The bin gets labeled with the season and size (so maybe summer 5-6) and then goes onto a shelf in the garage.

We have different sales, it seems. I get a 10'x10' space that I can use. I generally have 2 banquet tables, a garment rack, and a shelving unit. I make short piles of clothes sorted by size. No more than 4 items to a pile so people can go through them. I don't tag much - I make a sign saying all clothes $1, unless marked. I am responsible for selling all my stuff and only pay a $20 fee to have space there.

I do need to get a bin working for DS1's outgrown stuff that I'll keep for DS2. Maybe I just need one bin somewhere that all outgrown stuff goes into, rather than just tossing it in a pile :).

[MoJo]

Wow, that's impressive! You're inspiring. . . .

Want to share some tips and tricks - lessons learned - to help the rest of us who are now inspired by you to declutter?

Thanks for sharing the pics!

:yeahthat:

I have more than one room that looks like your first before pictures!

[essnce629]

Right now, all of this past year's school art work is in a bin waiting for me :). I am going to organize it into 3-ring binders. I have the binders and the page protectors and just need to get it done. Something like this: http://reluctantentertainer.com/2010/01/kid-memory-binders-organized-and-easy/


This is awesome, thanks for posting! I'm going to totally do this with DS1's art/school work. I have it all in an under the bed storage box right now!

I already do a similar binder/page protector system for all my recipes, take-out menus, and owner's manuals/warrenties.

[essnce629]

Last summer, I organized my kitchen cabinets and they still look good now! But it's because I made them work for us and not some other person.


Ooo, can you post pics of the insides of your cabinets?

I put a few bins in my pantry to keep similar items together and organized and it definately helped, but it's getting a little messy again and I need some more bins I think.

[mamicka]

Kris, you are an inspiration. Great job!

[KrisM]

Ooo, can you post pics of the insides of your cabinets?

I put a few bins in my pantry to keep similar items together and organized and it definately helped, but it's getting a little messy again and I need some more bins I think.

Sure!
The top shelf is too tall for me to reach and quicly became a disaster, so I found baskets that fit. In it are take n toss cups, sippy cups, and lids. I pull the whole basket down to reach them.
http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/aa81/khaselton/IMG_3219.jpg

Again, more baskets - one has things like chocolate chips in it, and another has cake decorating supplies (sprinkles, candles)
http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/aa81/khaselton/IMG_3221.jpg

This one holds a variety of things. On the bottom right is the school lunch section, above that is hair stuff for DD and a bin for Box Tops, on top is random bags of candy, gum. On the bottom left are labels for the freezer, can cozies, and bandaids (I have a 3 tier for bandaids - girl, boy, all - and dump the boxes right in), middle left is a cookie press, electric knife and pasta maker, and on top is cookie cutters in a basket.
http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/aa81/khaselton/IMG_3218.jpg
The baskets in the cabinets have helped a TON!

Also, on top, I found decorative baskets that fit and in them are extra school supplies, extra craft things, and very specific crafts that need adult supervision to use. It made that upper space useful.

My bottom cabinets are more typical - appliances, etc.

[SunCB]

The family room:
http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/aa81/khaselton/DSC00004.jpg

Where did you get the bookcase? TY!

[Momof3Labs]

Good job, Kris!!!

I keep a big rubbermaid bin in the boys' room, and DS1's clothes get tossed in when they are too small. When the bin is full, it gets labeled with size and season and taken to the basement, and another bin takes its place. Now that the boys are sharing a room, I also have two bins for each of them in their closet with off-season clothes that still fit. DS1's bins have blue lids, and DS2's bins have purple lids; both are see-through so that I know what's in them. When I buy something for the coming season, it goes in those bins, which helps me keep tabs on what we have for them and what we need. Which reminds me, need to pull up the boys size 5-6 winter bin to go through for DS2...

I've found that coats and such are best kept all together in one bin, rather than with the size bins.

When DS2 and the girls outgrow clothes, the ones that I am selling (most of them these days) go into a pile in the basement for our twice-yearly consignment sale. I also have to hang things for the sale, so I'm working on that now, and then need to make all the tags. It's a huge pile this year (due to our recent cleaning efforts) so I'm not sure I will get through the whole thing in 2 weeks (sale is on Aug 28) but there is always another sale in 6 months!

[KrisM]

Where did you get the bookcase? TY!

It's an Ikea Expedit (http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/50103086). Love it. Search here and you'll find a ton of posts about them.

[KrisM]

Thanks for the tips, Lori. I hope you had a productive week, too!

I'll use some of these ideas for the clothes. I have found, that for me, keeping clothes for DS2 works best if I stick all shirts together, all pants together, all pajamas, etc. I had a heck of a time keeping things sorted by size and if size 4 pants are outgrown before size 4 shirts, then I have to dig through to get them in the right bin. I guess I still do, but for whatever reason, it's working better this way for me :).

I had kept everything from DS1 and DD for baby #3. I've regretted that and now only keep the harder to find things from DS1 - jeans with no holes, outerwear, pajamas, and favorite tops. I buy most things used, so keeping a striped shirt that cost me $1 is silly to me. I get rid of it and will buy DS2 a new shirt for $1 :). It gives me a lot less to store. In fact, all of DS2's future clothes are under his crib in bags. He's a 24 months now and I have up through 5T for him.

[MamaMolly]

I too have issues with the kids' outgrown clothes. What has been working for me is to promptly hang the items to sell (ours must get hung and tagged anyway) in one section of the closet and one plastic bin below it for "donate". So I make the choice right away to sell or donate, and when the donate fills up I take it, regardless of the season just to get it out of my way. I can do a quick scan as I tag for stains...but I have to do less ironing and most of the items will make the cut.
With my oldest son's clothes, I keep a bin in the bottom of his closet for hand-me-downs. When something seems to be getting to small I put it in there. The bin gets labeled with the season and size (so maybe summer 5-6) and then goes onto a shelf in the garage.

This has to be the *best* tip I've ever read for organizing clothes for resale! Thank you, thank you, thank you! :bowdown:

And WOW Kris you are an inspiration. DH and I were going over a list of things to donate, sell and keep for our next move. (We have regular transfers with DH's job) I wrote it all down and plan to hold us both to it.

And P.S. your bed spread is really pretty! :)

[brittone2]

Way to go!!!!

[Mamma2004]

Kris, I am so impressed and so truly THRILLED for you. What a remarkable job you've done!!!! I admire your courage to post photos to help and inspire the rest of us.

Great job!

[maestramommy]

I am totally impressed! What are those square bins in the shelves? Are they from Ikea?

[KrisM]

I am totally impressed! What are those square bins in the shelves? Are they from Ikea?

Oops. Missed this. They're from Container Store and are deep sweater boxes.

[essnce629]

Oops. Missed this. They're from Container Store and are deep sweater boxes.

I love the Container Store boxes! I have 3 Ikea Expedit units (one 5 x 5 and two 2 x 4) and I have a ton of the regular sweater and shoe boxes in mine! I love that they are totally clear (lid and bin) so you can see everything that's in them. I think I need a few deep sweater boxes to store balls and dress-up stuff.

[KrisM]

I love the Container Store boxes! I have 3 Ikea Expedit units (one 5 x 5 and two 2 x 4) and I have a ton of the regular sweater and shoe boxes in mine! I love that they are totally clear (lid and bin) so you can see everything that's in them. I think I need a few deep sweater boxes to store balls and dress-up stuff.

The deep ones work well for us, too. DS has his marble run in one, we have tinkertoys in one, and we have dolls and clothes in one and MLP in another.

[PMJ]

Congrats!

Good for you :)