If you’ve hopped over from Org Junkie, welcome! You can read about my two decluttering questions here, where I explain why they work so well for my slob-brain! Also check out the other methods that I use in my deslobification process.
It’s drizzly today.
And a half-day of school for the boys.
Combine those two things and you have . . . the perfect day for a nap.
Buuuutttt, I felt like I should organize something. Partly because I have this keep-myself-accountable-by-blogging-thing going, and partly because I’ve been doing well at organizing SOMETHING each week for a while now.
Mostly, though, it’s because I like to participate in Orgjunkie.com’s 52 Weeks of Organizing.
And if a noble desire to provide a wonderful home for my family doesn’t motivate me on a particular day, I’m fine with ruthless ambition taking over the job.
In an effort to get myself in that darkened room as soon as possible, I searched the house for the very smallest disorganized space I could find. There are plenty, but I was going for speed here.
I thought about the silverware drawer, since it has been getting on my nerves lately.
I was afraid it would require too much energy.
I thought about the drawer in my china cabinet where I keep my table-cloths.
Pretty sure I haven’t opened it since the last time I purged in there. No, things are not folded to Mama Laundry’s standards, but I’m fine with it.
A random cabinet in the kitchen?
Yes, it obviously needs work, but would require floor-sitting and/or knee bending. I’m not in that zone today.
I slammed the door pretty quickly.
I finally chose this random drawer that is part of the built in hutch/cabinet/whatever in our breakfast nook. It’s not in an easily accessible place, so it naturally attracts rarely-used-random-items.
Honestly, I immediately removed the stickers and shoved placed them two drawers down, where there were more stickers. Wherever I would look first . . . that’s my rule.
This drawer didn’t take long at all. I pitched the vast majority of stuff I found. And the other things, like markers and a single cloth napkin, were easy to re-locate to their proper homes.
A few things I found:
Lots of flower doo-dads . . . bought with the intention of making hair bows for my daughter. I suffer from Delusions of Craftiness at times.
I found the instruction book for our video camera. I can GUARANTEE you that if I had needed this, I would never have looked in this drawer.
And lots of napkin rings. It became clear that this was my Napkin Ring Drawer. Not that I have enough of any one set of napkin rings (or even of cloth napkins) to create a formal table. I also suffer from Delusions of Fanciness.
I did choose to get rid of the badly tarnished set. I think that’s a good sign. At least I’m not delusional enough to think I would polish them.
I found two blue marble eggs . . . just in time to put out for Easter.
Delusions of The Ability to Handle Seasonal Decor.
And here’s my after:
Almost everything that was in this drawer went to the trash or its real home. I’m happy to have an almost-empty-very-small drawer.
Go check out more projects at Orgjunkie.com.
HA! I love the comment about driving traffic motivating you. Ain't no shame. 🙂
Hhmm…maybe I need to find a small space. Not because I want to nap (which I very much do) but so that I can say I accomplished something…without a lot of effort. Ah yes, there's my laziness rearing it's ugly head again. Perhaps that's why my house looks the way it does.
I'll ponder that over a nap. 🙂
Good job closing (slamming) that cupboard door that you decided not to go through. That's progress for you, right? I remember reading that closing cupboard doors used to be an "extra" for you!
Thanks for the reminder about those little jobs that need to be done.
great job! I have the same light blue silverware organizer, it looks like!
I went and checked out that website. Kewl!
Delusions of whatever!….rotflol…. that is sooooo me!!! THAT is why I have so much 'crafty' stuff, and baking stuff, and stuff, and stuff, and stuff!!! Good job, Nony! I love reading your posts & the progress you make. You encourage me to keep going. Thanks!
Me too!
Your "delusions" were cracking me up. Aren't most of us that way? That's why I cannot step foot in Jo-Ann Fabrics, Michaels, Hobby Lobby, etc. because all of a sudden I forget that I do not have the time, energy, skill, motivation to take on a crafting endeavor and I spend a chunk of money on stuff that ends up halfway done in the closet.
Thanks for making me feel better!
I suffer from the same delusion of craftiness and have all the 'stuff' to prove it. Thanks for sharing.
I love your delusions. Mostly because they're so similar to mine.
Oh snap, "Delusions of Craftiness"… I know it well! Perfect name for it!
I also suffer from Delusions of Fanciness, which is probably why I recently realized I had 30ish wine glasses. I guess I expected a stampede of wine-demanding guests to knock on my door.
You could aways just tie a ribbon around the napkin and be done with the rings altogether, or fold the napkin and go with nothin'.
It's nice to have some stuff though. I have the tarnished ones you just tossed. That wine demanding hoard isn't going to settle for paper napkins!
Whew! So it's not just me that has these various delusions?
And Carlyn, you're so sweet to encourage me for shutting that cabinet door. Yes, that IS something for me to celebrate.
I love the rule "where would I look for it first", I hope I remember that. I can so relate to trying to find the smallest area to organize at times, but hey it counts!!! Good job!
Thanks for letting us know about that site. I mentioned your site on my blog today. 😀
http://amazingsix.blogspot.com/2011/04/organizationally-challenged.html
Delusions of gracious living covers it all….hahaha! Great jb!
I have all my instruction manuals in a binder. I punched holes in them and everything! It's so easy to find what I need.
Except…I have no idea where that binder is right now and I always forget to remove the manuals for things we no longer have. Ooops.
Great work! I love to see the before and afters, motivates me as well, since I have so much which is not in it's real home. I also take part in the challenge, altho I skip a week or two (or more, lol) every now and then.:) Keep up the wonderful work 🙂
just curious…..why are you keeping the three tiny salt/pepper shakers that are missing their lids? 😛
Good job in your decluttering this drawer! I’d take it one step further and place the napkin rings in the drawer with the tablecloths, since most likely you’ll use them at the same moments. Or better yet, donate them. Fold your napkins in fancy ways without them. lol … But if you really prefer napkin rings then buy a matching set with enough that you need to set a pretty table.
Now that you have an empty drawer why not use it to unclutter some of the items in your silverware drawer that has been bugging you so much? I hope this helps. I really enjoy your posts. They make me laugh and recall the sloppy person I once was.
I’ve got all these delusions too. I think being a slob must have recogniseable mental symptoms in common. Anyway, should anyone have tarnished silver to clean, here’s the easy way:
1.Boil water, enough to more than cover all the silver in a sink.
2, Get aluminium foil: from a roll or better if you have only a little, a washed recycled foil food containter. Put it at the bottom of an empty sink.
3. Put the silver on top of the foil, or in the foil dish, not overlapping, each piece touching the foil.
4. Spinkle a tablespoon of bicarb, a tablespoon of salt and half a cup of white vinegar over the silver (amount may vary according to the amount of silver. I did this with a silver trophy.)
5. Cover with boiling water.
6. Depending on the tarnish, it will come off from 30 seconds to a few minutes, so use rubber gloves or tongs to keep checking.
7. Take out and buff with a rag.
8. Dispose of the now-blackened foil or dish.
Voila!
Delusions of fanciness! I just ditched the silver napkin rings this weekend.