Organization

This post is more for my satisfaction than for others; maybe to record my progress, maybe to "say" it "out loud." I must admit I doubt I would read someone else's post on organization. So maybe its just a post to remind myself how to stay on track. I'm not offended if you don't read on.

See, I've never considered myself a disorganized person, exactly. I just had my own form of organization. Piles here were dirty, these piles were clean, these piles needed to be sorted, these piles needed to be put away -- that was my basic form of organization from the early years on. My room, as a child, was rarely clean.

I think I've learned to perfect my organization skills, just a little bit, and it is certainly making my life easier. I will admit, clutter is still a problem in my life. I think I can blame/credit some of my upbringing/background. I was taught not to waste, to be frugal, to re-use whatever I could and to save things that were important, whether for emotional or practical reasons. As a child, I was never at a loss for an empty paper towel roll for an art project, an empty cottage cheese container for my latest discovery, or a freshly cleaned Styrofoam meat plate, for whatever I needed it for. I still for the LIFE of me, cannot figure out how my mother kept such a clean house, yet still had ALL of these things available, ready, tucked and filed away, for whenever we needed them. I DON"T remember piles of clutter from my childhood, yet it seemed the house was always filled with exactly what I needed. Mom, how you did it, I don't know. I am in awe.

So now, in my own house, with my own children, I struggle to know how to keep the things we need, without having a house full of clutter. But I think I'm getting better. (And forgive me if I'm about to sound a little bit
"Good Housekeeping.") My refrigerator is no longer a mess of papers, calendars, lists, pictures. I've labeled my magnetic clips: shopping list, calendar, school lunch list, school papers (activities, permission slips, etc) for Owen, school papers for Lauryn, athletics/activities, etc. I still have plenty of pictures on the fridge, and the bottom half of the fridge is reserved for the letter magnets every child has, recent art projects and kids' papers/creations. It really makes a difference -- I know where things are, and know how to get to them. Maybe its anal. Or maybe its elementary. But it helps me keep track of my life.

In fact, I've taken to labeling a lot. A $1 package of sticky labels and a Sharpie marker go a long way to keeping my life in order.

I've switched many of my bills to "online only" so no longer get bills in the mail. No paper, no waste, no clutter. I've tried to live by the advice of a wise woman from my youth -- only touch papers once. So when the permission slip comes home, sign it right away and give it back to the child. When the bill comes in, put it where it needs to be right away, or better yet pay it and send it off immediately.

Groceries: I think I've always been pretty organized at this, but for new reasons, I'm becoming more so. If you haven't noticed the price of EVERYTHING has gone up. So I make my grocery decisions more organized, to save the most money. Aldi's one week -- for all the stock-up pantry items, Dillons or Homeland for all the fresh I can't buy at Aldi's. The day-old bread store usually once a week. And luckily the four grocery stores I shop at regularly are within a 3 mile radius -- so I don't waste gas (i.e. $$$) driving around to the stores. I try to reuse plastic grocery sacks, or use cloth ones (Aldi's requires it). I keep an organized list to know what I need. And I am religious about reading the weekly grocery ads. I buy what's on sale, stock up, freeze and save cash, and always know what I have on hand. Keeping the pantry organized helps me from having 15 of one thing, and none of another.

Recently we've tried to empty the house quite a bit. We don't have a large house, and we've tried to put too many things in it. We got rid of some unneeded items, large and small, (garage sale, Goodwill, recycling and trash) and have taken some items to parents' (larger) houses to let them store it for us. (Thanks guys.) We'll reclaim them when we have the room someday.

Nick-nacks: I try not to have them. I've never been a huge nick-nack person anyway, but in life, you tend to collect them one way or another. Now I keep a few of them on the decorative shelves on the windows in my dining room. Most other locations in my house are pretty clear of nick-nacks -- shelves have a few pictures (but I've pared down those as well) and plenty of potted plants, but few nick-nacks. (I do break this rule to decorate for holidays -- especially Christmas. )

The kids' artwork. Now this is a tough one. We've always had the artwork everywhere. I mean everywhere. Our walls look something like a child's art gallery. And I don't have a problem with that. But I've taken with finding cheap frames or large poster frames at Goodwill, taking out the ugly photos, spray-painting the frames black, and filling them with my own kids' artwork. It "looks" less cluttered, feels more like art, and makes the house still seem kid-friendly. And now we have many Rubbermaid containers filled with art. There are still plenty of pictures just taped to the walls (the ones we have NOT recently painted!) but I actually feel like I notice the framed pictures more, I appreciate them more, I love them more, because I can see them placed, so prominently and professionally, on our walls. And the kids love it -- because they think their art is just as important as the stuff we see at the art museum. (AND IT IS!!!)

The kitchen. That's one place where I've pared down. I have gotten rid of some of the wedding present kitchen items that we never used, or had 10 of (donated them to Goodwill). I've kept the things I use, and put them in prominent, organized places. I don't have 15 mixing bowls. I have 3 that I use often. I don't have 30 different kinds of Rubbermaid/Tupperware containers that don't have lids. I have a few, just as many as I need. And a large box in the basement holds all the empty cottage cheese containers, glass jars, and plastic trays needed for whatever project needs them. And a recycling overhaul by the back door has helped keep on track with that "waste."

Really, this post isn't about organization, its a reminder to me on what my outlook on life should be. I DON"T need a lot. It clutters my life, my head, my house. It only makes me want more. I can reuse the washed out pickle jar to store something, instead of buying a whole package of "containers." I don't need fancy/schmancy items to cook my food -- a few pots and pans do just fine. I don't need a laundry organizer to keep my clothes organized. I can MAKE DO with what I have, instead of running off to the store to find more. Once again it goes back to my upbringing -- we always had what we needed, but didn't seem to have extra/unnecessary/auxiliary items. I think I've spent too long forgetting those lessons. I've WANTED too much, I've thought that a new item, a new decoration, a new SOMETHING will somehow fill a void, or give me happiness, make my house better, make my life more fulfilled. Again, it's not about the stuff -- its about the outlook. Since I've learned to live more with what I have, I seem to appreciate more of what is already in front of me. I have enough. And that, right there is the outlook I am trying to remind myself to have, everyday.