Last week, I did the Big Kitchen Scrub-Down.
I didn’t take a before picture, because I didn’t think it would make that much of a difference. The issue we were dealing with was grime, not clutter, and would that even show up in a photo?
I should have known better.
First of all, the difference is truly huge. I’m guessing it would have shown up.
Guessing.
Because I’m not about to go back and sprinkle dirt and dead bugs in my window just to see.
But I’m also frustrated that I didn’t take a before picture, because I have no idea how to put back all of the stuff that was displayed in my kitchen window.
My mother creates most of the little tableau-thingys around my house. Really, there aren’t a lot of them because most surfaces collect clutter quickly and the clutter swallows up the art.
But my kitchen window is different. It’s a rare place where it makes sense to have a display of breakable items. No one runs by and knocks into it, because it’s completely inaccessible. So inaccessible that you have to literally climb up on the counter and stand behind the sink to get to it.
Hence the dead bugs.
My mother had artistically placed quite a few pretties up there. But after I got them down to dust them (ok, ok . . . to scrub off the glued-on-by-kitchen-grease dust), I had no idea how to put them back and not have it look like a big mess.
I started by putting up my favorites, and then realized that I was ok with how it looked.
So, I stopped. Total unintentional decluttering.
But I’m not sure it counts because I didn’t actually get rid of the stuff. It’s under the kitchen sink.
Looking at the picture, it looks pretty awesome. You don't need your mom to do your decorating for you, you do a perfectly good job yourself!! 🙂
LOL. I love your writing. … and confessions of things we all deal with whether we admit it or not. … so you're not going to sprinkle dirt and dead bugs in the window just to see? Aww C'mon. ;P
This looks wonderful. You are doing a great job
"coming clean".
BarbaraG
I always take before shots of everything now that I blog. I don't always use them for a blog, but hey! If it's messy, why not get a pic in case I have an after shot a month from now?
Sort of dorky, but it works.
I love your honesty!
Come on over and say "hi" will ya? Maybe "like" me on Facebook? I recently set up a page, you can find it here:
http://facebook.com/MarnisOrganizedMess
THanks for the encouragement, everyone!
quick tip: an odd number of items (like the 5 in your grouping) gives a more casual feeling, while an even number of items gives a more formal feeling.
two observations: 1. you are definitely NOT a formal type person, so you did that JUST RIGHT!
2. you DID declutter, because you are ROTATING your pretties in and out of storage. you can take out the ones under the sink later on when you want to “change things up”.
GREAT JOB!!!
I LOVE this comment! Such a great tip about the odd/even thing. And how did you know I’m not a formal type???
just a lucky guess? 😀
I am just learning this method. Not all out at once and a freshen up sometimes. I have even learnt to put away the everyday ornaments when its Christmas and redecorate in a Yule theme. I am a fast learner – only took me a lifetime!
Happily getting my decluttering inspriation for today. THANKS!
I love blue glass also…..great way not always up and down…LIKE ALOT
you just inspired me to take before pictures
I love the idea of before and after photos. These are so encouraging to me! It’s amazing to me what I can see in photos that I just don’t see in real time.
I always try to take a ‘before’ photo of the backs of things that have cords if I plan to move them for cleaning or relocating. Not so much for a comparison of the dust factor before and after (which there is usually a lot) but so I can plug stuff back in correctly if I knock it loose while moving it around. This has saved me major frustration several times over the years!