My husband, Mike, and I live with our puppy in a roughly 700 square foot space. Between the two of us, we have a lot of books, several hobbies that require a lot of surface area and storage (okay...mostly those hobbies are mine. The sewing machine and the cutting machine are mine). We have few places to store the even these things that we do use.
With a puppy, our space has gotten increasingly limited. As he begins to teeth and chews more, he gets taller. As he gets taller, he has access to more things to chew. Items that we don't want chewed have to move upwards out of his reach. Some of the items that move don't look out of place (my sewing box is on the kitchen table, for example), however, at this very moment there are shoes sitting on the back of the couch.
I don't want shoes on the back of my couch.
I've been trying for a year to get the place to look a little less cluttered, and I'm going to get aggressive now. Send words of encouragement, because this could be a long and arduous process. If you need to declutter any rooms, please join in with me and we can have the experience together.
As a guide, I've pinned a few different decluttering strategy articles on one of my Pinterest boards. They insist that their guidelines will help clean my house. I'm rereading them seriously, and starting with the kitchen and "office" (the island that serves as my desk). We're going to see what this task takes, both in time and emotional investment. I'm starting with the easiest room so that I can warm up before tackling the harder spaces.
I pulled my chipped Cheshire Cat mug, and I am going to use it to make a succulent planter. It's a little bit bigger than the other one and I do love it. It's so whimsical. I'll let myself keep one item.
Okay, two items. I have a Yoda coffee mug that chipped, but didn't break. I'm keeping that.
I actually was very surprised at how little time this took.
I think half of the battle as I continue may actually be mustering the will power to get started and keep going.
The task of clearing out and rearranging my home to be less cluttered and dog proof felt daunting because I was (and still am) staring at so much stuff. I've started with the easiest space as a warm-up. The rooms will only get harder as I move forward. Send encouragement!
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| See? Everything moved up. I used to store the office supplies in a box on the floor. And this isn't even a bad day. |
With a puppy, our space has gotten increasingly limited. As he begins to teeth and chews more, he gets taller. As he gets taller, he has access to more things to chew. Items that we don't want chewed have to move upwards out of his reach. Some of the items that move don't look out of place (my sewing box is on the kitchen table, for example), however, at this very moment there are shoes sitting on the back of the couch.
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| I have added a filter for better viewing aesthetics. Now my shoe is art. |
I don't want shoes on the back of my couch.
I've been trying for a year to get the place to look a little less cluttered, and I'm going to get aggressive now. Send words of encouragement, because this could be a long and arduous process. If you need to declutter any rooms, please join in with me and we can have the experience together.
As a guide, I've pinned a few different decluttering strategy articles on one of my Pinterest boards. They insist that their guidelines will help clean my house. I'm rereading them seriously, and starting with the kitchen and "office" (the island that serves as my desk). We're going to see what this task takes, both in time and emotional investment. I'm starting with the easiest room so that I can warm up before tackling the harder spaces.
Step One: Sort and Toss
I make a number of different categories, and get to work sorting. I use the following categories:
1) broken items
2) items and projects I may use some day (but really won't...I've been saying I'll use the for a year or more)
3) projects I may finish some day (and just started working on in the last several weeks)
4) Mail
5) Tutoring supplies
6) sewing and craft supplies
7) Other stuff
As I sort, I decide if I should throw the items away or not.
What I tossed (or nearly tossed)
I got rid of a mug that I chipped that I loved about which I said "Maybe I'll turn it into a planter," but it has a vinyl sticker on it and honestly looks bad. I want to keep it for sentimental reasons only. Goodbye, mug.I pulled my chipped Cheshire Cat mug, and I am going to use it to make a succulent planter. It's a little bit bigger than the other one and I do love it. It's so whimsical. I'll let myself keep one item.
Okay, two items. I have a Yoda coffee mug that chipped, but didn't break. I'm keeping that.
Other Items that I tossed (sometimes sadly):
- A plastic water bottle I keep thinking I'll use but that I actually never use for a company my sister worked for years ago
- a soap and lotion dispenser set on which the soap ran out and I haven't refilled but kept meaning to (I never could get the lotion open and just broke it trying)
- a bag of candy corn I never ate
- A cute old broken misting bottle that I got for some plants...This one is a struggle- it's so cute!
- all of the plastic fork and knife sets that someone (the only other person who lives here) has collected that we never use
- a shoe shaped bottle opener on which the shoe top fell off, and I did not reattach it immediately and have now lost the top
- A sticky note portfolio from my first teaching job that is old and no longer sticks very well, and is thus only of sentimental value
- Old greeting cards and an invitation or two
- pens that don't work (I knew which ones didn't work. I just hadn't thrown them away. I surely hope I'm not the only one that does this)
What I kept
I kept a new long term project of making a basket out of magazine and newspaper. I always need baskets.
I sorted all of my piled up tutoring and crafting supplies into piles, ready to be stored wherever I find for them. They are no longer on my island desk.
I neatly stack up mail and cards, though I'll go through that more thoroughly later.
What else I let myself keep:
- fabric scraps large enough to use
- Those two chipped mugs that I just can't part with (I love mugs)...actually make that three chipped mugs I can't bear to part with.
- office supplies that are still in good working condition and store easily, even if they are more than I need now, because I don't want to spend the money on replacing them should I end up needing them. Those supplies add up!
- A stapler in questionable condition that I need to replace but will hold off on getting rid of until I replace
- A furniture top coat that I need to use on the dining table leaves I refinished but haven't sealed, and a note to myself to do that in the next several days
- all of my appliances and serving dishes; they were wedding presents that we did get in anticipation of eventually having more room, and I love them even if I have to be creative with storing them right now
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| I couldn't part with these, so I turned them into planters immediately rather than waiting indefinitely. |
Step Two: Organizing
Now that I have sorted, I need to actually get the things I am keeping stored neatly, rather than just piled about. What that looks like has changed quite a bit since we got Eddie, the puppy who gets into everything. Storage containers now need to be tall, or closed.
I note that I need the following to finish:
- a basket for my ongoing projects so that they don't end up dumped on my "desk" (the island...there is no room for a desk here), and one that Eddie cannot get into
- a basket in which to store electric cords for my machines that I cannot leave plugged in because of the puppy
- A place to store the puppy's toys (are you seeing a trend here?)
- a place to store my mail that is not just piled on my "desk."
- A neat place to store my tutoring supplies, again, in a way in which Eddie cannot get into it
- All of this taking up almost no space
- All of this at as low a cost as possible
I set to work making myself some new storage baskets, finding baskets to poach from other parts of my home, and making a mail holder for myself. This all takes several hours because I construct several new pieces myself, but you'll have to read more about that later.
Many kitchen items I am not able to sort into better places in the cabinets and kitchen with some simple rearranging that takes a matter of thinking for several minutes and moving things for several minutes.
How long it takes
The kitchen took me only about an hour to sort. I did the cabinets recently (that took an hour or two). Reorganizing takes longer, and I need baskets and places to store things that are out of puppy's reach still. My next project will be to get all of those, and to make as many of them out of materials I already have as I possibly can.
Organizing items from my "desk" (the island) takes longer because I have to get together the new storage pieces, and make some of them. That took me several hours, but could have taken me an hour or less if I had purchased baskets.
My total time commitment in the kitchen and "office" was about four hours, and could have been as low as two. Add an hour if you need to clean out the cabinets, and perhaps another 30 if you need to clean out the fridge.
Organizing items from my "desk" (the island) takes longer because I have to get together the new storage pieces, and make some of them. That took me several hours, but could have taken me an hour or less if I had purchased baskets.
My total time commitment in the kitchen and "office" was about four hours, and could have been as low as two. Add an hour if you need to clean out the cabinets, and perhaps another 30 if you need to clean out the fridge.
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| My much improved desk, although I still can't leave shoes on the floor and these are the ones I just had on in the foreground. |
What I've learned so far
Well, this has been an emotional exercise. There are a number of items that I struggle to part with that truly have to go because I don't need them and won't use them.
Many of the decluttering articles will tell you to get rid of sentimental items that aren't family heirlooms. I won't go quite that far, but I would recommend asking yourself what level of sentiment the item actually holds. Do you think of the memory every time you see the item, or only when you happen to notice it sitting there (which is, really, rarely?) Do you have other memories or connections to whatever the item represents? I'd weigh the answer to those questions as you make a decision.
I also am finding no reason to toss out perfectly good supplies and appliances that I may reasonably use in the future, even if that future is farther away than the next few months. These items can be expensive to replace. I've added these items to my office supply basket that is now on top of the fridge.
I actually was very surprised at how little time this took.
I think half of the battle as I continue may actually be mustering the will power to get started and keep going.
The task of clearing out and rearranging my home to be less cluttered and dog proof felt daunting because I was (and still am) staring at so much stuff. I've started with the easiest space as a warm-up. The rooms will only get harder as I move forward. Send encouragement!
 |
| This was covered in stuff we had to keep away from the dog just a few days ago, and now all that stuff is gone or has a new place! |
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