Organizing: My Drug of Choice
Hey guys.
Remember when I told you my weekend plans? We went a little crazy.
See, The Man bought me a king-sized mattress for our four-year anniversary and I was infinitely happy. (Even more so because he gave it to me the day I got home from my week-long work trip to Orlando, after which I was exhausted and wanted nothing more than to curl up and sleep for 20 hours.)
So after that we decided to keep our old mattress since it was in great condition. Besides, we figured our family and friends who come to visit us would appreciate the upgrade from the couch. (You’re all welcome.)
Anyhow, this weekend we decided to turn our office into an office slash bedroom. But once we started moving things we thought: Hey, while we’re at it, why not clean our entire storage closet and get rid of some of our clutter? Isn’t that what all married couples do on perfectly nice July Saturdays?
Right now, there are two things you should know about me:
1. I’m a neat freak.
2. Clutter makes me anxious.
So there we were, staring into a closet full of some stuff we didn’t use and some other stuff we couldn’t identify. What to do? Why, take the contents of the closet out and go through the boxes one by one, of course. (Don’t feel bad for me. I love this kind of deep cleaning and major purge. Feel bad for The Man.)
The former office looked like our closet puked junk all over. You’d think we just moved in.
Oh, and our living room didn’t escape the mess, either. Let’s just say that closet was pretty packed.
Oh look, my crutches. Ah, fond memories of my worst knee days. (Purging those memories, too.)
Then we organized. This is The Man organizing all of the nuts, bolds, screws, and other manly type things we owned into clear plastic containers.
Nicely organized beauty products. Yippee.
Oh, and sheets wrapped up by set. (Don’t get on my for the pretty ribbons. The Man already told me I’m a bit of an OCD nut for that. Whatever, it makes me happy.)
But not as happy as this.
And this.
And this.
(Yes, I know my house is white, white, white. But when you move every year (Every. Single. Year. As in, six times since 2004) it’s the only way to go. That’s also the reason I have zero artwork on the walls except for the five I tacked up yesterday. Not so fun to take down yearly. Just sayin’.)
Friends, we trashed or set aside for donation about half the stuff in our closet. Seriously, cleaning is like a cold swim after a run on a 90-degree day.
And. AND! My knees didn’t act up once. Go me. Honestly, that was a shocker considering how much I was moving around. And I’m so proud of them.
What are your thoughts on cleaning: Love it or hate it?
33 comments
King size mattress…Nice!! The new room looks great. I can love cleaning when I’m in the right mood, but I can also really hate it. It can certainly be a good workout!
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Tracey Reply:
July 12th, 2010 at 2:30 pm
Yes, it’s an awesome workout!
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I have a love/hate relationship with cleaning. I hate thinking about it but I love the results.
Speaking of results…I LOVE yours!
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I tend to procrastinate when it comes to cleaning/organizing, but like you, I *cannot* stop once I start! Organizing my closet turns into organizing my entire room. And when I lived in an apartment, cleaning the bathroom turned into cleaning the entire apartment. There could be worse habits though, right?
Oh, and I like your all-white house! It’s so bright and fresh looking.
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Tracey Reply:
July 12th, 2010 at 9:28 am
Thanks! The Man used to complain it was like living in a mental institution. Eh, can’t please them all the time.
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You’ve definitely inspired me to get organized!!! I absolutely hate cleaning and organizing, and yet I also get anxious around clutter…so basically I just need to suck it up and do it!
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Tracey Reply:
July 12th, 2010 at 2:31 pm
It’s definitely work, but it helps to set aside an entire day and just say you’re working. At least it doesn’t feel like there’s something else you should be doing.
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You’re like the pages of Real Simple magazine. The good think about your moves is I’m sure you’ve gotten rid of a lot stuff that would probably still be hanging around.
I love cleaning, clutter drives me absolutely bonkers.
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Tracey Reply:
July 12th, 2010 at 2:31 pm
You’d think we’d throw a ton away moving every year. But we’re so sick of moving that it’s more like box everything up as fast as we can to get this stupid move done with finally.
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YAY! I am so glad you were able to do all that without knee pain! That is awesome! Secondly, I want to introduce your husband to mine…because I NEED (yes need) a king-sized matress but somehow my husband seems to think that our Queen is perfect…size wise.
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Tracey Reply:
July 12th, 2010 at 2:33 pm
I always thought my queen was small but now, seeing them both so close, I can’t understand how we ever fit on that small queen. You can always do what The Man did: Buy one and surprise him when he’s away for a weekend.
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I usually really really hate organising until I actually do it. Then I feel awesome.
Wei-Wei
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Wow, that’s some major cleaning you did there – well done!!
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I’m so jealous! I really wish my apartment could be as clean as your house. I’ve been trying to clean and de clutter my apartment for a long time now but I find it hard for many reasons- one being that I barely have any time and I’m not home a lot (currently I’m at work…on a “break”) and also cleaning makes me anxious because I have to acknowledge the mess. If I shove stuff in my closet and shut the door so that I don’t have to see it, I can pretend that I am clutter-free and clean. But once I open the door and start taking stuff out, my tiny apartment turns into a giant mess. Not a pretty sight. Anyway, I’m working on it…I’ll use your pictures as inspiration.
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Tracey Reply:
July 12th, 2010 at 2:36 pm
Here’s my theory: It’s easier to organize or clean small messes than big ones. That’s why I hate letting papers or other junk pile up. I’d rather put everything away each night (or do a bigger cleaning each weekend) than come face-to-face with the overwhelming reality that is a full-on messy house. (Like, say, a closet full of junk you never use. Big project.)
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I’m so glad your knees went pain free! That’s great!
As for cleaning & clutter…. I can’t stand clutter… I get stressed out just looking at clutter. I enjoy cleaning to an extent. My problem is once I get in the cleaning zone… I become a bit obsessive
By the way… LOVE the ribbons around the sheets
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Tracey Reply:
July 12th, 2010 at 2:36 pm
Yeah, me too. The Man is ready to stop once the task is done and I’m on the floor cleaning the grout with alcohol and a Q-tip. (Which, by the way, is a fantastic way to clean grout.)
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LOVE this post. I got home Saturday from 10 1/2 hours of work and my little sister and her horrible boyfriend had trashed our house so I went for a nice long walk and waited for them to leave and then stayed in and cooked and CLEANED. And felt like my soul was pure and clean! Clutter definitely makes me anxious too.
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Tracey Reply:
July 12th, 2010 at 2:37 pm
Yes, that’s exactly how I feel. Or, oddly enough, that just-got-out-of-the-shower clean feel. We’re strange ones, but that’s so OK.
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I don’t mind cleaning, but hate all of the unpacking and organizing that goes into moving. I’m in the process of moving out of a house and into a 1,000 sq ft. apartment. I have no idea what to do with all of my stuff! Props for donating some of yours! I feel like I’m the kind of person who will hold on to something just for the sake of having it.
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Tracey Reply:
July 12th, 2010 at 2:48 pm
The Man would save a sticker he got at the dentist in third grade if I let him. I’m less sentimental, but I figure if I haven’t used something in a year, it should be thrown out/donated unless it’s really sentimental, was super expensive and it’s a once-a-year use type thing, or someone gave it to me and will notice if it’s gone. Try this: Put some stuff in a Maybe box that you’re considering getting rid of. If after six months you know you can do without it (or if you’ve forgotten what’s in there) then trash it.
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You have mad organizational skills! Everything looks so crisp and clean! Girl, I’m right there with you on the clutter=anxiousness part. My boyfriend jokes all the time that I need medication for my compulsive cleanliness. I wouldn’t say I’m compulsively neat. I think I just enjoy the challenge of cleaning and organizing–like a real-life version of the show Clean Sweep.
I heart the ribbons on the sheets idea–tres chic! Also, I reeeeallly heart the organizing tips in the comments–incredibly useful! Thanks!
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Tracey Reply:
July 12th, 2010 at 4:49 pm
I saw that ribbon idea in some magazine and I love it. It was much cooler when I had a linen closet and could stack them with their pretty different ribbons. Sometimes I’d just open the closet and marvel at it. (Fine, go ahead, admit me now.)
Also, I’m so happy to hear someone reads my responses in the comments. I always wonder if anyone reads them!
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I LOVE your place! It’s beautiful! I love the white!!
I am so not a clean freak, but those ribbons on the sheets…I love that!
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Maybe you can come and organize my 450 sq feet of space? No matter what we just can’t seem to find a way to neatly organize all of our belongings in our tiny apt.
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Tracey Reply:
July 12th, 2010 at 5:17 pm
Ah, gotta love NYC living, huh? I lived in a teensy place in Philly and getting something out of the closet was like playing Jenga. I often lost.
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I love the all white room! I also love cleaning and organizing. Seriously, I think we are identical personality-wise.
Clutter and mess make me SO anxious. Even when it’s not even in my house. The two slobs I am currently bunking with have made our tiny hotel room the equivalent of a disaster zone. Talk about anxious!!
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Tracey Reply:
July 12th, 2010 at 9:16 pm
Yup, I’m in deep trouble when I have a child. Unless, of course, it’s a girl who oddly is as much of a neat freak as I was as a kid.
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I love organizing, and your end results look fabulous.
But isn’t it scary, how often you have to do it, to keep on top of it? I find it amusing (but I’m sure we’re the same), that you have stuff which neither of you is quite sure what it is. Our Netflix queue is a bit like that, too.
And your comment about him saving a dentist’s sticker (which I assume was figurative, not literal!) is so descriptive!
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Tracey Reply:
July 12th, 2010 at 9:14 pm
I’m very, very glad I was only speaking figuratively. Those junk piles would be much, much bigger if he had kept that kind of stuff. Besides, I sneak throw out stuff all the time.
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I know what you mean about minimal decorating- I only recently decided to get serious about it because I decided to enter my second year in the same apartment. This hasn’t happened since… uh… I lived at home in high school. Sad but true. I feel your pain…
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Tracey Reply:
July 13th, 2010 at 6:45 pm
Come to think of it, high school was the last time I lived in the same place for more than a year. That’s pretty sad. Glad I’m not the only one!
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I don’t mind cleaning if the clutter is put away … but I hate putting the clutter away
I love organizing, and your place looks great!
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