It may be labor day weekend, a time to rest and relax, but I am hard at work cleaning and clearing all the crap out of the way. Part of my clearing was in my backyard where I let the yard go something terrible and the weeds are now rather large trees. I have most of it cleared off but had to take a short break so I could feel my hands again. That is tough work. Now I know why all those guys are skinny...sweating all the fat off. :)
I worked on my bookcases last night but only got one of them put together. Not the most stable thing so I was a bit peeved, but need to add some supports to the back and perhaps that will help. I am excited thouhgh because it looks good in the room and I am going to work on the other two tonight and get that room together. Hoping to have it put together by end of day tomorrow. We will see. And I know I haven't posted any pics yet but I will by the end of the weekend. I have to find my charger for my camera battery so I can actually use the camera. Sad, I know. But that is the life of a clutterer. We can't find anything and buy things 3 times because we can't find something. Wouldn't it just be easier to be organized??? lol. Yes, I think it would.
Headed to the craft room to work on bookcases...talk to you soon. Let me know what projects you are working on to "declutter" your life. Looking forward to hearing all about them.
Chelle aka The Clutter Queen
Sunday, September 6, 2009
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Declutter Surprises
I have found over the many years of decluttering, just to get cluttered again, that you find things you brought that you never really needed and never used. This means several things; one, I spent money I didn't need to; two; I spent money I didn't need to; and three, I spent money I didn't need to! UGH! Luckily though if the item is something I bought recently and I can find the receipt then I can return it and get my money back. I like the sound of that!
So I had several items that I had bought over the past few months; clothes, baseball bats/gloves, camera that sucked, more clothes, fans, and a straightening iron to name a few. I spent yesterday dragging Vincent with me to the various stores (Academy, Marshall's, The Avenue, Lane Bryant & Walmart) to return everything. I feel like I am leaving someone out but no matter. When all was said and I done I had thankfully recovered a little over $500. $500!!! That is insane. I don't think people realize in general how much money they spend on crap; especially hoarders like myself. As I am typing this I am looking aruond the living room to see what other riches I might find. So many things I see that I ask myself "Self, why did you buy that? Did you really need it?" The scary part is I tend to answer myself these days, "No Self, you didn't."
Vincent, my darling teenage son, is so good at keeping me on my toes about money though. And not just about stuff for me but for him as well. I'll ask him if he needs any new clothes or something for school and I will get the "I don't need it so it's ok." or the "You don't need to be spending your money on that." He is an odd teenager to say the least. His birthday is coming up and he has been really into this Christian rock band called Skillet. I rather enjoy them myself. So I found out they are coming to Tulsa in October and I was going to buy tickets. He didn't want me to spend the money! He was a total buzzkill. I am glad there is at least one level headed person in this family. :)
On the declutter side, I did get all of the clothes in the living room picked up and hung up and you can now see the couch. We gathered another two bags of Vincent's clothes and cleaned up his space so one space down and another to tackle today. I have to finish going through my cothes and bagging those up. That is my goal today and also to clean the floor in my room so you can actually see it. It is a mess! Ok, off to go declutter...wish me luck and talk to you all soon.
Chelle,
aka The Clutter Queen
So I had several items that I had bought over the past few months; clothes, baseball bats/gloves, camera that sucked, more clothes, fans, and a straightening iron to name a few. I spent yesterday dragging Vincent with me to the various stores (Academy, Marshall's, The Avenue, Lane Bryant & Walmart) to return everything. I feel like I am leaving someone out but no matter. When all was said and I done I had thankfully recovered a little over $500. $500!!! That is insane. I don't think people realize in general how much money they spend on crap; especially hoarders like myself. As I am typing this I am looking aruond the living room to see what other riches I might find. So many things I see that I ask myself "Self, why did you buy that? Did you really need it?" The scary part is I tend to answer myself these days, "No Self, you didn't."
Vincent, my darling teenage son, is so good at keeping me on my toes about money though. And not just about stuff for me but for him as well. I'll ask him if he needs any new clothes or something for school and I will get the "I don't need it so it's ok." or the "You don't need to be spending your money on that." He is an odd teenager to say the least. His birthday is coming up and he has been really into this Christian rock band called Skillet. I rather enjoy them myself. So I found out they are coming to Tulsa in October and I was going to buy tickets. He didn't want me to spend the money! He was a total buzzkill. I am glad there is at least one level headed person in this family. :)
On the declutter side, I did get all of the clothes in the living room picked up and hung up and you can now see the couch. We gathered another two bags of Vincent's clothes and cleaned up his space so one space down and another to tackle today. I have to finish going through my cothes and bagging those up. That is my goal today and also to clean the floor in my room so you can actually see it. It is a mess! Ok, off to go declutter...wish me luck and talk to you all soon.
Chelle,
aka The Clutter Queen
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Too tired to declutter
Well, this week has been a long one and not allowed for any time for decluttering. Lame, I know. But true. The week started out bad - relationship drama - and has been really stressful at work. It is midnight and I just got done working if that tells you anything. lol. I do have a plan for the weekend to finish the clothes and get the bookcases together for the craft room. And I have some items I bought for my son Vincent's room when we were in Chicago this summer. I bought some cool organizational items to get all his gaming stuff off the dog hair floor and try to get it from getting broken. Hoping it will help Vincent enjoy the process of organization too! :)
Perhaps I can get some pics uploaded this weekend so you can see the mess I refer to in my blogs. Be warned. You might want to sit down before you look at them. j/k It's not that bad. Did you see that show on A&E called Hoarders? Now, that is scary. I am not even close to that...but I could see where they were coming from. I love that show.
OK, going to bed...my brain hurts.
Chelle aka The Clutter Queen
Perhaps I can get some pics uploaded this weekend so you can see the mess I refer to in my blogs. Be warned. You might want to sit down before you look at them. j/k It's not that bad. Did you see that show on A&E called Hoarders? Now, that is scary. I am not even close to that...but I could see where they were coming from. I love that show.
OK, going to bed...my brain hurts.
Chelle aka The Clutter Queen
Sunday, August 23, 2009
Tip #1 - Don't be lazy
I found that part of my clutter and "stuff" everywhere is laziness. What I mean is knowing something is on the floor that needs to be picked up or thrown in the trash and I just walk by it over and over. Just pick the damn thing up! How simple is that??? lol It sounds so simple and it is so I don't know what my problem was. I say "was" because no longer will that be me. If something falls onto the ground, I will pick it right then and there. If I walk by see something on the floor I will bend at the knees and pick it up! What a concept! And when I go from one room to another and see something that belongs in the room I am going to I will pick it up and take it where it belongs. I have spent most of the evening doing this and it feels awesome! I love having a plan! I like exclamation points too!!!! :P
Clean 2 Clutter - Day 2
Today is my birthday! So not sure how much "work" I will actually do today but I was thinking about going to some stores and getting inspiration from the organizational items. I LOVE boxes and bins and organizers of all sort. I am a dork. This is my Virgo side for sure. The want and need to be organized shows from my Virgo traits but the Leo in me supersedes that all. :) Time for house of Virgo to emerge.
I was reading my horoscope fun facts about Virgos and it said "They are exceptionally methodical and do well in jobs that require organization. If there's anything out of order, set a Virgo to the task!" I had to laugh. Because it is so true - I do love jobs where I can take a mess and make it clean. It is just too funny how I can't do that with my own stuff. That is going to change I tell ya!
I was talking to my friend Georgeann (aka George) last night and she had an excellent idea. Well several of them actually. Along with the challenges I give myself to get out from under the pile, I should give my followers a challenge as well. I loved that idea so I am going to use it. And she suggested that I ask my followers (all 2 or 3 of you) what you need help with. I am great with coming up with ideas and would love to help my fellow clutter bugs.
So with that said - here is Week 1 Challenge to my followers: Find an area in your house that needs some de-cluttering help. Pull 20 things from this pile and discard them. Either donate them or sell them or trash them. Tell me all about it too...I want to hear about your successes too.
If you have questions about particular ways to organize something let me know and I will post the question and answer so everyone can benefit and contribute ideas they may have. You can post it on here or email me at mcbates@okstate.edu. I look forward to hearing from you all!
As for my challenge this week: I am going to continue working on the clothes, both mine and my son's and donating everything we don't need to the DVIS shelter here in Tulsa. I will take pictures of my progress from HUGE MESS to hopefully bags of clothes that will benefit someone else.
If I get done with all of that before end of week (wait, there is no "if" - it will get done) I will start to work on putting together some bookcases I bought months ago for my craft room. After I get those put together and my work tables together, I can start organizing my craft room! That will be fun!
Enjoy the beautiful day, wherever you are and come back tomorrow for more saga from my life under the pile.
Chelle aka The Clutter Queen
I was reading my horoscope fun facts about Virgos and it said "They are exceptionally methodical and do well in jobs that require organization. If there's anything out of order, set a Virgo to the task!" I had to laugh. Because it is so true - I do love jobs where I can take a mess and make it clean. It is just too funny how I can't do that with my own stuff. That is going to change I tell ya!
I was talking to my friend Georgeann (aka George) last night and she had an excellent idea. Well several of them actually. Along with the challenges I give myself to get out from under the pile, I should give my followers a challenge as well. I loved that idea so I am going to use it. And she suggested that I ask my followers (all 2 or 3 of you) what you need help with. I am great with coming up with ideas and would love to help my fellow clutter bugs.
So with that said - here is Week 1 Challenge to my followers: Find an area in your house that needs some de-cluttering help. Pull 20 things from this pile and discard them. Either donate them or sell them or trash them. Tell me all about it too...I want to hear about your successes too.
If you have questions about particular ways to organize something let me know and I will post the question and answer so everyone can benefit and contribute ideas they may have. You can post it on here or email me at mcbates@okstate.edu. I look forward to hearing from you all!
As for my challenge this week: I am going to continue working on the clothes, both mine and my son's and donating everything we don't need to the DVIS shelter here in Tulsa. I will take pictures of my progress from HUGE MESS to hopefully bags of clothes that will benefit someone else.
If I get done with all of that before end of week (wait, there is no "if" - it will get done) I will start to work on putting together some bookcases I bought months ago for my craft room. After I get those put together and my work tables together, I can start organizing my craft room! That will be fun!
Enjoy the beautiful day, wherever you are and come back tomorrow for more saga from my life under the pile.
Chelle aka The Clutter Queen
Saturday, August 22, 2009
Clutter to Clean - Day 1
OK, so I just saw the movie Julie & Julia and was inspired to do two things. Blog about something and finish something. It did not take me long to decide what to blog about - I had it figured out on the ride home from the theater.
I have spent the greater part of my adult life trying to get organized. Not to say I was ever organized and clutter free; I just didn't care when I was 16. :) The problem is I never figured out how to do it. Here's the rub; when you have so many things and need to organize where do you start? Everyone always says do a little a day. Well that doesn't work people. I will tell you why. I can organize one room and have piles of stuff "organized" but then what do I do with it? I can't put it in the room it belongs or the place it belongs because that space isn't organized and clutter free. So then I end up with piles of stuff everywhere, just like I did before I started, but now they are organized. Yipee!
Hence why I have never gotten myself organized. I can organize others and small spaces like my desk at work. My house on the other hand is overwhelming and personal. This makes it a difficult task at best. But I am on a mission to have my house organized and clutter free by December 31, 2009. I want to have a house I want to come home to, a home that I enjoy being in, and one I can relax in. Clean spaces are always more relaxing and allow for better thinking. This is important for me and my son.
I am applying to Law school after I take the LSAT in September and my son just started 9th grade so time is of the essence. Plus, I want my craft room to be usable. I need to be crafty. It is my therapy. And I want to have a space where my son and I can both study without distraction. Hopefully I can rub off some of my organization on to him so he doesn't end up like a cluttering mess like his mother. :)
Mission for today: Organize my clothes. All of them. Hang everything up. Put everything in the drawers. This sounds simple but trust me, it is not. If you saw the mess you would understand. I will take some pics later and post them and you can see what I am talking about.
I look forward to sharing my adventures from under the pile. I hope to reach the top of the pile and conquer the clutter. To those fellow clutter bugs, I feel your pain. To those who don't get it, just be kind and understanding. It is not just about clutter; it is about a life of confusion and figuring it all out from the inside out. Welcome to my blog!
Chelle aka The Clutter Queen
I have spent the greater part of my adult life trying to get organized. Not to say I was ever organized and clutter free; I just didn't care when I was 16. :) The problem is I never figured out how to do it. Here's the rub; when you have so many things and need to organize where do you start? Everyone always says do a little a day. Well that doesn't work people. I will tell you why. I can organize one room and have piles of stuff "organized" but then what do I do with it? I can't put it in the room it belongs or the place it belongs because that space isn't organized and clutter free. So then I end up with piles of stuff everywhere, just like I did before I started, but now they are organized. Yipee!
Hence why I have never gotten myself organized. I can organize others and small spaces like my desk at work. My house on the other hand is overwhelming and personal. This makes it a difficult task at best. But I am on a mission to have my house organized and clutter free by December 31, 2009. I want to have a house I want to come home to, a home that I enjoy being in, and one I can relax in. Clean spaces are always more relaxing and allow for better thinking. This is important for me and my son.
I am applying to Law school after I take the LSAT in September and my son just started 9th grade so time is of the essence. Plus, I want my craft room to be usable. I need to be crafty. It is my therapy. And I want to have a space where my son and I can both study without distraction. Hopefully I can rub off some of my organization on to him so he doesn't end up like a cluttering mess like his mother. :)
Mission for today: Organize my clothes. All of them. Hang everything up. Put everything in the drawers. This sounds simple but trust me, it is not. If you saw the mess you would understand. I will take some pics later and post them and you can see what I am talking about.
I look forward to sharing my adventures from under the pile. I hope to reach the top of the pile and conquer the clutter. To those fellow clutter bugs, I feel your pain. To those who don't get it, just be kind and understanding. It is not just about clutter; it is about a life of confusion and figuring it all out from the inside out. Welcome to my blog!
Chelle aka The Clutter Queen
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