House Organization: A Love Story

Scored this $50 wreath last week for $9.99. Apparently there was some too-good-to-be-true special going on at Hobby Lobby I was unaware of. This little wreath (and the wall project that followed) are what led to the massive organizing overhaul that took place at our house last week. Maybe no one cares...but I came up with five new organizing rules that I decided deserved blog post.

Last year when Jamie was busy packing up her apartment and moving into our basement, I posted this blog with all my favorite organizing rules...at the time it was the best, sassiest advice I had to offer. This week, we're back at it again as Jamie packs up her life in our basement and moves to a new apartment. So organizing fever struck me hard and I spent the better part of last week completing a few projects and going through every drawer, closet, shelf, bin, desk, rack we own...no surface or hiding places was safe.

And wouldn't you know...I STILL came up with stuff to donate to Overflow. How is that even possible?

I invented a few more rules for myself, because...if I'm being honest...most of the places I spent the past week organizing had gotten out of control. I'd reached the point where I was just shoving laundry wherever it would fit in Josh's bathroom closet. Putting groceries away in the pantry was more of the same...shoving stuff on random shelves wherever it would fit. I won't even talk to you about how the hallway linen closet looked. Just bad. Very bad.

Not like me at alllll. Turns out after a baby these kind of activities aren't exactly how I leisurely spend my free time. So I got my butt in gear to 're-set' everything before we head into the fall/winter. The whole house took me about a day and a half of pure focus.

Focus and occasional projects that side-tracked me...like this wall. This would be the fifth time I've re-vamped this wall and Josh thinks I'm crazy but I FINALLY think I got it right. ...maybe.

1. One thing at a time. One room at a time.

If I've learned anything from moving myself, helping others move, and constantly organizing rooms and closets...it's that things will take twice as long if you jump from one project to the next in five different rooms. I start at one side of the house and work to the other...one area at a time, one room at a time. Yesterday I started with Josh's bathroom closet, traveled through all the cupboards in the kitchen, worked on the island, then the buffet, all the living room shelves, and finished with the hall closet and my bathroom. The next day the bedrooms got hit.

If I find something that should be somewhere else...I just move it to that location and it will get organized and put away once I've finished what I'm currently working on, and eventually make it to that spot in the house. I feel like this is the biggest reason I'm able to get these kinds of projects done quickly without going crazy because things are strewn all over the whole house.

2. Do I love it? Do I need it? Does it work?

These are the questions I ask myself over and over and over again. I repeat them with every shirt I pull from my closet, every mismatched mug I remove from my cupboard, and every pair of hole-y jeans I force Josh to try-on before sending them to their final resting place (the trash or Overflow).

3. Is there a better place for this? 

I mentioned this one before...but even I fall back into bad habits after a few years. Does it make sense where I store those cleaning supplies? How could I organize the medicine cabinet better? I discovered the coffee filters were on the other side of the kitchen in my pantry cupboard, when they could have been kept in a empty drawer right by my coffee, coffee maker, and mugs. GET IT TOGETHER, MOLLIE. With as much decor as I have to keep track of and the limited square feet of living and storage space we have...there is no room for error.

4. Spring Cleaning is not optional. It is mandatory.

I skipped spring cleaning this year because I wasn't feeling super motivated after Christmas, and I'm paying for it now. I'm annoyed I didn't vacuum the dust behind all the beds and take all the shelves out of the fridge for a good wipe down. So those are just all things on my ongoing to-do list to accomplish before we host Maverick's birthday, fall gatherings, and Christmas parties. It's times like this I am thankful I only have 1,200 square feet and one level to clean.

5. Reward yourself.

My reward for finishing all that organizing last week? Picking a project to work on this week. If I don't have the billing done, the house clean, and the laundry folded, I don't allow myself to start sanding and staining the buffet. Because then I get carried away in project mode, ignore all my 'usual' jobs, and end up with a stressful house disaster. Everything is more enjoyable this way...and putting the house back together after a project keeps me in a nice rotation of cleaning up my mess, cleaning the whole house, starting and finishing a new project...repeat, repeat, repeat.


Maybe some motivation for your house organization...maybe not. In my experience, re-reading some of my posts and blogs on Facebook Memories has served as a nice little kick in the pants to get back on the Project Horse or deep clean a bathroom. If nothing else...I'll read this post next year at this time and feel convicted about how dirty my microwave is. Either way, happy turnover week (we have nice, new girls in our basement and our farm renters are staying for another year...YAY!) and happy organizing.

MmB