Out with the old...

I'm on an organization quest. Overhauling my cluttered house. Looking at spaces that have been harboring the same things practically since we moved in and clearing them out. Oooh, does it feel good! Today I started with our bedroom- completely cleaned out the closet, bagged up a pile of clothes that have been taking up precious space, went through dressers, emptied the trunk full of things that haven't been worn in an embarrassing amount of years, and dusted corners that hadn't seen daylight for way too long. By the time I finished, I had removed a full bag of garbage and two bags of clothes. In fact, was able to empty an entire four shelf cabinet and happily moved it out of our room and into a much better utilized space in my craft room. More storage in there, less floor space taken up in my bedroom.

After that, I stared at my rather boring walls that just never quite got decorated very well because- after all it's just a bedroom. Who sees those walls? So I rounded up a few things I've had hanging around and started pounding nails. When it was completely finished I realized I no longer had the urge to paint the walls in there as much as I did before and the whole space looked rather calming. The way a bedroom ideally should be. It doesn't take much to make a place feel softer and more pleasing to the eye!

And, oh, did that clean, decluttered, and redecorated room inspire me to keep going! After dinner the kids and I went through their bedrooms (although not as well as I could have without their watchful eyes checking out everything I tried to sneak in the get-rid-of-bag). They were excited to have clean rooms again and I was happy I'll be able to walk across the room in the dark morning to wake them without the fear of twisting an ankle or stepping on random legos. I'll just have to do a little more tossing when they're not around and it will be good.

The point is- after nearly nine years of marriage, eight years in this house, and four kids, we have accumulated altogether too much stuff. It's ridiculous, really. We need to simplify. Let some air into our lives and give us some nice spaces to breathe. Clutter gets to me, makes my skin crawl. Really, it gets to all of us, kids included. I'm not a person that keeps a neat and tidy house (although sometimes I really wish I was), I don't mind the messes that children make when they are playing or doing projects, I love a good blanket fort spread across the chairs in the living room, and I don't even care about play-doh all over the kitchen floor if it's keeping them happy. But I do get really fed up with clutter. The piles of stuff that get transferred from this surface to that because none of it really has a place.

So, I've been pouring over pinterest, searching for creative storage ideas. For so long I've fallen back on the excuse that because we have very limited closet and cupboard space in this house, it's impossible to have much organization. But I'm finding some creative and fun ways around that. It's actually a little addicting to come up with new ways of rearranging little spaces so everything fits and flows better. I'm ready to keep right on moving tomorrow!