Friday, March 26, 2010

~ TOO MUCH STUFF ~

We have been in our house for a little over 3 years. Doesn't feel like that long, it still feels like we just moved in. We went from a house with 1895 square feet to a house with 3,400 square feet of space. When we moved I got rid of half of my things and let me tell you that I had allot of stuff! I love to collect stuff and working at Hallmark for six years didn't help the situation. Now that I have been living with half the stuff it still feels like too much stuff.

So when you have two guest rooms it's easy to fill them up with stuff. Mainly Christmas stuff, gifts and wrapping papers. I always made sure I had space for company to hang clothes and several drawers for them to use. The bottom drawers I would use for Christmas throws, gifts I would buy throughout the year and other little things.

So getting these rooms ready for my daughter and son-in-law was a challenge. One I really didn't want to face because let's face it, who really likes to clean out closets! But that didn't really matter because it HAD to be done.

After Christmas we bought some containers to make our closet look more organized. My husband worked on his section (picture on the left) and I took a picture of the MESS on my side of the closets. Whatever I had that I didn't know what to do with went there. The red containers are my Christmas ornaments, the boxes have plush and Jim Shore Christmas.

The one guest bedroom with the small walk-in closet needed to be emptied for our daughter & son-in-law along with the closet in the other bedroom which will be their TV room. We also cleaned out a hallway cabinet for linens and the guest bathroom. I would have to say that I think they have more space now then they did in their apt. closets.

So below you will see the finished master closet. We have moved most everything into the closet and even though it's pretty full it looks really organized doesn't it? I still have one shelf with misc. junk on it. (see Skye sniffing the dirty laundry in the basket)

Now I want to keep going and get the rest of my cabinets cleaned out and organized. My bathroom sink area has so much storage yet almost everything in it isn't being used by me anymore. (Yes, I buy way too many things to try on my face, body, hair, etc.) So with some help from my daughter I hope to get the rest of the house totally organized and with that comes freedom!

There is something very freeing about getting rid of the excess clutter and things you don't use. So why is it so hard to tackle these project when you know that the outcome is happiness?

P.S. Today we are going to tackle my bathroom cabinet !!!

42 comments:

Anonymous said...

Woo! Go Debby go!! Next up you can tackle my closets! :)

Andrea said...

I am impressed. WOW! We have over 20 years of stuff...I have purged a lot, but there is MUCH more that needs to be done.
GOD BLESS YOU for getting it done and so beautifully organized.
Blessings, andrea

McVal said...

Good for you!!! I need to do this myself... My MIL lives with us and the 3 car garage can't fit a single car. She's got so many boxes out there that she doesn't have the heart to go thru. Too many memories... so it sits.
I love the feeling a clean closet with just what you need in there. And not a lot of extra... I don't get that very often...
You've inspired me!

Kristie said...

Yay! That is great! I was able to get rid of a bunch of our stuff last year at a garage sale and it does feel REALLY good!

Brandy@YDK said...

wow. I'm really glad that something good has already come from the big move in.

purejoy said...

i went back to read your blog, because in my dark and twisty-ness earlier in the month i just had to quit visiting and reading blogs to focus on joy. i know what a state of flux you must be in. i am a new empty nester, but i've grown accustomed to my nest. and how it stays the way i leave it. and it's hard to adjust to sharing again (for me, anyways). i'll be praying for this time of transition and hope that this may be a sweet time for you and your daughter (and SIL). i hope these weeks are something that become a great treasure in your relationship. blessings to you, friend!

Randi Troxell said...

wow!!!

ya'll did a great job.. i truly don't care to clean.. but oh my! when it's done it feels so good!!

have a great wkend!

Kristin - The Goat said...

Your closets may have been cluttered but they were the neatest closets I think I have ever seen. I bet you knew exactly where everything was, too. The AFTER looks fabulous, too. Still neat as a pin.

Welcome to the Garden of Egan said...

Wow! Those are great looking organized areas! I want my closet, garage and entire house to look that way!

Stasha said...

Your closets look great! Y'all did an awesome job!

I agree there is such a good feeling about getting rid of stuff you don't need but I SO dread when I have to do it... I always get a great sense of accomplishment when I get it done though!

Rachel said...

wow, great job. I love how organized it looks. I agree...it is very freeing feeling when you de-clutter. As an ex pack rat, I do this all the time. Organization is a beautiful thing!

BALLET NEWS said...

it's exhausting isn't it ? But soooo worth it. I've been doing the very same thing and the result is worth all the hassle. Have a lovely weekend !

Katherine said...

That's amazing. I need to take lessons from you! I'm cleaning today...just the house, though. (Ethan is at child care and I'm off work, so I can actually clean my house!)

countrynmore said...

Congratulations. I need to do that. It has been a while since I went through the closets. Time to do it again. You are inspiring me. Thanks

Together We Save said...

Can you please come to Tennesse and help me!! They look great!!

Alexis AKA MOM said...

Wow Debby it looks great. I love all the bins and organization. I love my bins they have taken over Rick's garage ... lol

You're so awesome to do all that work!

Bathroom cabinet that one scares me.

Unknown said...

it looks great. i need an incentive to get me going. someone moving in would do it i think. keep on going!

Jenn said...

It looks GREAT! I have a hard time getting started too but once I get going things usually go well. Good luck on getting the rest of the house organized. It's something I have to do too!

Technodoll said...

Very, very impressive! It takes mojo to get that stuff done - wanna come tackle my closets? LOL!

I have shoved everything behind closed doors since we've moved here and am not proud of it... out of sight, out of mind kinda thing. But I know the mess is there.

Knowing that we have to move again this year gives me no incentive to do anything about it, either.

Oh well!

j said...

Isn't it amazing the way progress makes you want MORE progress? Way to go! You really accomplished a lot!

Tonja said...

Good for you! That is always the hardest job for me...cleaning closets! But, how wonderful it feels when it is all done!

The Red Brick Farmhouse said...

WOW! You did an amazing job! I so need to organize my home. I have been trying to do that little by little!

I pray that this change will add nothing but precious memories for you and your family!

Blessings~
Laura

Mara said...

I know how you're feeling! Recently I showed my friend a new coat that was still upstairs and she commented on the neatness of all the rooms. Easy to be neat when all the unneat is put in one room. A room I really need to tackle, because it's dusty and absolutely choc-a-bloc full of paperwork, junk and rubbish.

I wish you the best of luck with all the clearing and organising.

Janean said...

debby, wowzah! you need to get your own TV show!!!!

do you make housecalls? LOL.

great job.

Amy said...

Wow I want to join in for sure and do this stuff. Thanks for leaving me comments. For some reason either blogger, my computer or connection is going nuts and I can't get on. I am so sorry. I do love Skye how cute is that dog. Those rooms look amazing. I want to show this post to my husband so he can do stuff like that for us..

secret agent woman said...

I routinely go through and get rid of stuff. It's almost addictive - I love hauling stuff off to Goodwill and looking at the cleared out space.

Debby said...

WOW!!! Your closet looks amazing. You may have just put me in the mood. YEAH!!!!
Debby

Lynn said...

OK. Consider me inspired to thin my junk a bit!

Trish said...

Oh, it looks mahvelous dahling...now I need to do the same!

Sonya said...

very impressive! want to come to my house and work on my closets? :) I need to get what will be the baby's room cleaned out. It is now my computer room and I have no idea where I am going to put any of the stuff that is in there.

Kerri said...

very nice job u should go on hoarders and show them how its done haha

thanks for ur comment! im trying! lol :)

Elizabeth said...

WOW! Good job. I've been working on organizing my junk forever.

Laura said...

I think I need you to come to my house! :-)

Heather said...

Wow, it looks great! It's easy to let all that stuff accumulate over the years, but not so easy to clear it out and organize it. I have many areas in our house that need that kind of attention. That must have kept you busy a good portion of the day...but was, as you said, very rewarding in the end.

CB said...

Yayyy for you!
This is what I have been doing. We have been in our house for 18 years and although it is large we have filled all the spaces. Ugh!
So I am going room by room. Today I cleaned out my youngest sons room from top to bottom. It felt good to get rid of so much stuff and organize!!!

Stephanie said...

Oh that must have felt so good! Want to come tackle my place next? lol

Velvet Over Steel said...

Yes it is very freeing! I have been cleaning things out for the last 5 years. My older boys moved out and took their furnature and stuff. Then moved back with their furnature and stuff, now in the basement because this house is half the size of the house they grew up in. Now I would like a townhome in the city, but they don't have basements. Hummmm... hope they have big closets like yours. They are awesome and so organized. You gave me lots of idea! Thanks! :-) Hugs, Coreen

Kitty Deschanel said...

Geez, you really went to work on that clutter! You would be appalled by my closets...and guest room...and office...and garage.

:p

Lamb’s Most Recent Post: The Chalkboard Door is for Holiday Decorating!

Colleen - the AmAzINg Mrs. B said...

You are soooo organized- amazing..and the size of that closet? Wonderful. You know things are going to turn out OK, don't you?! Well, they are :-)

The Strawberry Mallard said...

Wow!!!!!!!!!! All I want to do is reduce from the 1900 to maybe.....1000......or 800...would like alot of land, but NO MORE ROOM ( in the home ;o)

Holly said...

I know I do feel better when I get things decluttered and more organized and when I get rid of things we don't need. You're doing great! It looks very organized!

Michele said...

WOW!!! I want to be that organized!!!

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