Mission: Organization

Yes, I know that we just moved three months ago. But as anyone moving with two toddlers quickly finds out, the main priority is getting all the stuff they don't need to touch out of the way. And making usable living space for them.


Which is why, three months after moving in, Brian and I are at our whits end with clutter. We got rid of a lot when we moved, but now I'm just finding even more that I don't need in my way. My biggest pet peeve (by far) is this:
Mail. Things that we need to keep because of our impending 90 day punch list (when we send all defects to the contractor to fix). Bills that could be filed if there was any logical sense to be made of our filing cabinet. Fortunately, last weekend Brian started going through the filing cabinet and cleared up loads of space by actually tossing out old bills. Or rather, making a pile for me to shred. The other big thing taking up loads of space in our filing cabinet was manuals. Manuals to outside equipment (lawn mower, etc.), manuals to vacuums and other appliances. Blech. Why file them?
So I got these. They were cheap and on sale, so I figured I would get plain ones that I can cover with scrapbook or wrapping paper and label. Then I will have one for appliance and furniture manuals, one for outside stuff (to keep in the garage), and one for toy manuals. I'll probably keep the inside ones in my linen closet downstairs. It's crazy how many linen closets I have in this house. There's one in my laundry room, one in the hallway by the kids' bathroom and one upstairs by the other bathroom. The only problem is that the house technically doesn't have a pantry, so I ended up using the linen closet by the kids' room as my pantry (it's right by the kitchen too).

Brian and I are also spending the weekend going through our closet and dressers. I went through my closet last night and switched out maternity clothes and regular clothes. Brian actually has more clothes than I do, because he doesn't get rid of anything, and I'm totally the person who donates clothes every season. So his shelf is a lot more scrunched than mine!

I went through the playroom this morning and packed up the toys the kids don't play with, so that made a bit of a difference. We both have lists of things we want to get done (including some gardening) this weekend, so I better run! Hopefully next time I blog my life will be a little more organized!