Project Simplify - Hot Spot #3: Kids Toys/Closets

Last week the Hot Spot for Simple Mom's "Project Simplify" was "Paper Clutter" and I did tackle that was the result being lots of recycle, shred and garbage boxes full, but the paper clutter made me really want to tackle my office overall and that is a much bigger job than I could accomplish in one week.  I do hope to show you an "after" in the next month or so, but I'm not sure if I'll be able to get it done by then or not.

Moving on...this week the Hot Spot is Kids Toys/Closets.  Despite having already cleaned out their closets pretty thoroughly a couple of months ago, there was still plenty to clear out and there are always toys to pass along.  A great friend was here today and helped me get started with sorting toys (her boys were our second set of friends over today to play and let's just say most all of the toys in the house were out and ready to be sorted).  Here are a couple of before pictures from Miss Em's room - I think we've just been tossing everything in that closet for the last month and closing the door as best we can!

BEFORE:

AFTER (big basket for Miss Em's dress-up clothes and little basket, aka Huggies box, is her baby dolls and their accessories):

McGee's Room After (toys separated and organized in those baskets/tubs in the closet cubes, dress-up clothes in the trunk by the dresser):

Project Simplify - Hot Spot #1: Closet & Wardrobe

I'm hoping to participate these next few week's with Simple Mom's "Project: Simplify".  This week our hot spot to tackle was our Master Closet and Wardrobe.  As instructed, I took EVERY. SINGLE. ITEM out of the closet and my drawers, wiped them down and vacuumed the floor.  Then it began. The tedious and not very fun task of trying on EVERY. SINGLE. PIECE. of clothing (except the sock and underclothes - who tries those on???).  It took me a night with expected interruptions from the kiddos, but I finally finished and was SO happy with my results!  I even decided to re-arrange my closet a bit too. :)

My Closet Before:

During:

Notice my little helper there on the bottom right?  She decided those shoes were keepers.

And After:

I moved a wicker trunk that used to sit outside my closet and hold piles of clothes on top of it that I had worn throughout the week or decided not to wear - now it sits inside the closet and holds toiletry items that I don't need access to very often.

At 4'11" (and that's stretching it a smidge), I was often frustrated as I would pull down one pair of jeans from the shelf in my closet (up above - they used to sit near that nice basket) and be covered in an avalanche of all the jeans that were sitting on top of it.  Rarely could I reach to put them back and thus, my big pile of items that often occurred on the wicker trunk.  To remedy this, I took two drawers out of my lightweight IKEA dresser and stacked my jeans at a much more accessible height and filled the drawers with other items I don't wear as often and found suitable spots for them.  I can't tell you how nice it was pulling out the exact jeans, and ONLY those jeans, this morning. :)

With all that was purged, extra space opened up that I quickly filled by moving extra pillows and all of our extra bedding into the closet so now we have more space for the children's art supplies and such in the hall closet.  Seriously - genius!

The Result?

I had too many clothes!  After two children and a plethora of body shapes these last 4 1/2 years to go along with that, I had clothes that were too big, clothes that were too small, clothes that were tattered and clothes that were just plain OUT OF STYLE & UGLY!

Many of my old "professional" clothes were dispensed with, I mean how often am I wearing a suit and button down shirts while chasing a preschooler and toddler around?  Um...NEVER.  Hopefully these clothes will be useful to someone as I donated them all today at our church's clothes closet.

I'm so excited about my paired down wardrobe and really hope to keep it organized and clutter free!  Also cleaning it out helped me realize those things I am missing and need to be on the lookout for when a good deal is spotted. Example:  New black flats because my old ones are scuffed beyond repair. :(

Clean Home, Calm Heart

As I was attempting to clear out the clutter of our computer hard drive this morning I came across this article I wrote a few years ago for my mom's group newsletter and thought it might be appropriate to share it all with you.  Any of you followers know I've already started my "Spring Cleaning" and de-cluttering, but hopefully this will encourage you to clear out a bit from your home as well.

Clean Home, Calm Heart

Another year has passed and here we are ready to make 2007 (insert 2010 if you're s stickler for dates) all it can be. What are your goals, or resolutions as some may say, for this year? Are you like most – hoping to lose weight, exercise more, eat better, be a better wife, a better mother, a better friend? What about hoping to have a cleaner house, more organized schedule or better overall time management?

The beginning of the year is the perfect time to start afresh in your household. As you put away all of those Christmas decorations and gifts I’m sure you realized how much stuff you probably have and sometimes all of our worldly items can be overwhelming. They can drag us down and cause us anxiety and frustration, as our home seems to become overrun with stuff. Now is the time to take control and get organized.

Start with something simple at first – a single closet or room you’d like to clean out. Set aside some time –naptime perhaps, or set a timer and give yourself a specific number of minutes to work on the space. It helps to have separate bags or boxes labeled “trash”, “donate” and “sell”. Next, go through and pull out any items you haven’t used in the last year, don’t have a need for, or plain just don’t care for and put them in the appropriate bag. If you’re unsure about an item, ask yourself, “Is this adding to my life or just taking up space?” Once you’ve completed an area, feel free to continue at whatever pace you can, through the rest of the house.

Don’t be afraid to get your kids involved as well. I’m sure there are plenty of clothes or toys that are no longer being used and could benefit some other child. Have each child choose 3 toys they are willing to part with. It’s also an excellent opportunity to discuss with your children how blessed they are for the things they have and teach them how they can help other children by donating some of their things.

Once done you can decide to donate your items to a worthy non-profit such as Salvation Army or any other number of Christian organizations that could use your old items for good.  You could also decide to hold a yard sale to sell what you can and donate whatever is left. Whatever you decide – you will be amazed at how liberating and rejuvenating it can feel to clean out those things in your home that were just taking up space. Oh and don’t forget to get a receipt for any items you donate – you don’t want to miss out on another deduction for this year’s taxes!

Hall Closet - Oh so nice!

It's amazing how much stuff you can accumulate - in your house and in a hall closet.  Despite warding off interested parties (read: curious 2 & 4 yr. old wanting to get into EVERYTHING), I cleaned out our hall closet and it felt SO good!  I filled a whole box with stuff for a future garage sale and even threw a few things away (gasp!).  A look at our newly purged and organized hall closet:

Thank you Crystal for nudging me along in my Spring cleaning!

It's time to shout - CLEAR IT OUT!

One of the blogs I have followed from very early on in my blogging life is Money-Saving Mom.  I appreciate Crystal's tips on frugality, coupon clipping and one of my favorites - organization!  This week she is hosting a "Clear Out the Clutter Challenge" and I couldn't help but participate (my house absolutely needs this right now).

This weeks assignment - living room, coat closet and hall closet.  I haven't had time to get to the hall closet yet (maybe this evening), but here are my before's for the living room and coat closet.  Now no judging please, I'm keeping it real with actual BEFORE photos that show the mess, you know your house can get messy and cluttered sometimes too - especially if you have little ones!

 Living Room

Coat Closet

A glimpse of my desperately-needing-a-clean-out Hall Closet (AFTER pictures to come soon I hope)

 
It felt great to dig into that coat closet and clear out some clutter.  I ended up with a large bag full of things for a future garage sale, some items that went straight into the garbage and some that were relocated (appropriately) to the garage (tools and such).


Overall items gotten rid of:  22 (including 2 jean jackets - I had 4 and I can't even tell you the last time I wore a jean jacket!)

Here are my after pics:

Living Room

Coat Closet

Those bags on the bottom may still look like clutter, but they hold my gift bags, wrapping and tissue paper.

If you want to see more about the challenge or see what others are purging you can check it out over here.