Day 30: Panic Monster Time!

The title references a fun article by Tim Urban about procrastination.

http://waitbutwhy.com/2013/10/why-procrastinators-procrastinate.html

If you have a moment, you should read it. Really. I'll wait. :)

I reached day 30 and it's now or never.

I'm gonna post this stupid picture and then run like hell to create the After that will BLOW you away! Or so I hope. I'll probably stress eat a sleeve of Girl Scout Thin Mints in the process.

OH THE HORROR!

Wish me luck.

Day 29: Disorganized Anonymous

I have been holding out on all of you. There is one place I've refused to go on this blog despite my claim of "no filter." I've been showing all these real life pictures as a way to own up to what needs changing -put it out there - so I can stop whining about it and make something happen. And it has been working rather well so far.

We're winding up this 31 days thing, and I'd be remiss if I didn't attack the space that depresses me on a daily basis.

I have a problem. It's the Master Closet. It didn't get this way overnight. The closet has just been in a state of steady decline since we moved into the house. I'm pretty sure it's the worst in America. I dare any of you to prove me wrong.

Are you ready for some really real?

Day 27: Thank Goodness for Company

I say. If I never had company over, things might never get done. Here's the bar area. You might not recognize it being that there is nothing stacked in the corner or sitting on the floor. The lamp is a complete unexpected boon. I had bought it as a living room possibility (our living room is a cave and needs all the help it can get) but realized that it worked SO much better in here. 

If you look closely you'll see that the tags are still on. My husband teases me about tags - how I "never" take them off. It's kind of a split between commitment phobia and fear of buyer's remorse. I need to keep my options open as long as the return window is valid. But I'm pretty sure I'm keeping this one.

I was so proud of my house today. I mean it's not perfect, and there are still things to be done - namely, ALL the rest of the closets.

But to keep life in perspective, here is a glimpse of the screened porch. ;)

Day 26: Sometimes It's the Little Things

Any of you recognize this surface? Maybe not. Before, it was completely covered with mail and random papers. Now, it just has a few tech paraphernalia on it - which, if you are wondering, I have come to terms with. I mean, I am the only girl and non-gamer in this household.

This transformation happened as I attempted to create a home for the relevant papers that are CONSTANTLY arriving. Here it is:

The metal/magnetic board came from IKEA. I had them originally in my home office at the time when I worked out of the home. Once that ended, the office became the guest room and these guys were languishing in a closet.

Oh, and I hung them using Command Strips (the velcro type ones). I did this mostly because I was afraid of commitment, and I hated to use a bunch of wall anchors and then change my mind. ("Holy holes in the wall, Batman!)

I followed the weight recommendations, but I'm a little skeptical. I'll let you know if they keep working.

Day 25: I Shopped on Day 24!

I don't know (doubt it) if any of you are keeping track, so I'll remind you that my in-laws are visiting this weekend for the very. . . first . . . time. And I've been panicking a little.

As I mentioned two days ago, the house is a holy disaster, and I still have some "shared-space" organizational projects that need to be done before they arrive. . . the guest room closet, for instance.

If at the very least I can track down a spare curtain to hang in front of that abomination (ground zero for everything that's wrong with my household filing system), I will feel better. That should be priority number #1 (after changing the sheets and laundering the towels . . . and cleaning/sanitizing the bathroom).

But did I work on that yesterday? Nope. I got overwhelmed, and so I went shopping for home stuff.

I don't know about you, but I get this kind of high when I'm in a store surrounded by beautiful (dust-free/uncluttered) things. I did a little wandering and daydreaming while pressing down on that freakout fear that I should be "accomplishing something" instead. I mostly window-shopped, so I was able to give myself something of a pat on the back for not getting spendy.

I told myself I'd come home, feed my family, and then get back to work.

Didn't happen.

I ended up on the sofa with a glass of wine watching the current British Sherlock season (I loooooorrve it! -- sigh).

When I came up for air and gazed over the giant pile of clean, to-fold laundry on the sofa it was already 11:15.

Whoops!

I checked my phone and realized I never took a "real life" picture yesterday (convenient, eh?), but I do have a photo of one of the in-store items I wanted (but didn't) bring home with me:

Circles make me happy. Sadly, there is no room in my home for this lovely thing.

Day 23: The Opposite of Progress

I've decided that children are the very like those magical elves that come into the cobbler's workshop at night and make all the shoes for him. . . except in reverse.

This morning I got up (late, we accidentally slept in and my 5yr old nearly missed getting to school on time) with the express desire to clean up the general disarray.

This clean up effort is in contrast to the organizing of specific areas I have been tackling on this blog. They are important to the overall functionality of the house, but they have merely scratched the surface of our day to day detritus.

As I was cleaning, I swear someone was making messes behind me. My own little elf (or two). Of course, I can't blame the kids for everything (except for the matchbox car "parked" in the hallway waiting to commit vehicular homicide AND for the stickiness of the remote control), but today I only tread water. I am no more ahead than when I started.

I will try again tomorrow.

Day 22: More Kitchen Joy

I know I said I was going to work on the Mail Problem yesterday, but that didn't happen. Something else EVEN BETTER occurred. :)

I got to go to the Container Store [contented sigh].

I escaped the house (alone) ostensibly to go to Target for a handful of essentials (soap and stuff), but I passed the CS along the way, and I knew that's where I'd end up. I scored a couple of clearance deals at Target on some organizational items - one of which I'll reveal in an upcoming photo. Then having met my basic household obligations, I headed to the Container Store.

I'd been eyeing this one door solution online but hadn't pulled the trigger on it because I'd seen others in blogland achieve a similar result with cheaper items (like wire baskets for $1 at the DollarTree). However, after a couple of weeks keeping my eyes peeled for these items at my own dollar/discount store and coming up empty, I decided it was time to just lay down the money for the Elfa system. Upside, they're having their annual Elfa sale, so I got it 30% off. Here is the end result:

The only mishap was when I bopped myself in the face with one of the baskets at the store while trying out the fastening system. Fortunately, no one saw that and the bruise is pretty small.

Isn't it beautiful? They have a variety of basket sizes and depths to choose from that just simply hook into the holes that run the entire length of the bracket bar. Very customizable. You see I put all my spices in there, and I actually have empty space. [gasp]

That freed up a drawer for odds and ends. I used my clearance Target drawer organizer here:

The trick will be if I can keep this collection so spare . . . hmmm.

Which allowed me to dismantle the near permanent counter installation I pictured in a previous post. Here's what it looks like this morning:

Yes, my dirty dishes are there on the left.

It's like some amazing domino effect. I can't wait to try hiding something else on the back of another door or cabinet. ;)

And before anyone gets carried away thinking that my home life is nearing perfection, let me derail that assumption with is little picture: