Organizational Frenzy

A sweet friend on Facebook invited me to join a "40 Day Decluttering" group.  The idea is that all the ladies in the group will encourage one another to work hard on decluttering and organizing our homes.

The stated goal is "one bag a day" -- which is to say, remove one bag of trash/clutter per day for 40 days.  I balked at that as I'm pregnant and tired, and knew there would be days when I couldn't find the energy to declutter and clean.  My friend assured me that anything I wanted to do, was fine.

I wasn't expecting to get excited, but I am!  I'm working on the "baby's room" right now -- the new baby, that is.  We have a weird little room between our room and our bathroom, a room that doesn't have any logical original purpose, but it has been the room for the new baby for the last 4 or 5 kids. 

This is it.  It is small.  And yes, that is a new counter top for the bathroom. 

I have focused on the closet in that room.  Here is the original state of the closet.

And this is now.  I was able to discard almost everything that was originally on the top shelf.  I even found homeschool records from 2007, which is ridiculous!  There were also a whole bunch of homeschooling magazines that I am never going to read, though they were good the first time through. So out they go!

The closet now is jammed with clothes that are usually in the little girls' closet, which is empty because the trap door to the attic is in there.  See previous post for our Adventures with Animal.  So that part looks a bit messy, but when the clothes go back where they belong, there will be room for New Baby's clothing.

I found a bajillion things that belonged in other places, so cleared those things out.  The top shelf now has lots of "baby stuff" -- oatmeal based infant shampoo and lotion, some formula, etc.  (In an ideal world, I wouldn't ever need formula, but if I make it 3 months breastfeeding this baby, I'll be pleased.  I have had milk supply problems with the last 5 kids.)  The boys' bathroom closet is now in pretty good shape too and I have all the spare toothbrushes there. 

It is much better organized and I am pleased.

The counter top is now where it belongs. Isn't it gorgeous?