The Never Ending Story

And you thought that one day the whole house would be cleaned, never to be messed up again?  How I wish that was true for me.  It really does seem to be a never ending story, so I keep removing items from the household, avoid buying anything we do not really need, and I fortify my mind and body to do more.  Or, in simpler language, I psych myself up to clean an area I have let get out of hand -- Again.

While we have been doing the first week of the November 2015 Kitchen Challenge, I have been sorting out my dining/office/craft room.  I was working on the old kitchen, also known as the breakfast room, but it ended up being a repository for things I had to get out of the way in the dining room.  Actually, it started the other way around.  I have been in this process of throw away, give away, rearrange, and I am happy with what I have in the dining room right now.

I did not take a picture of the dining room before this time, but it was unpleasant.  I had sewing things out that were not being used, because I did not even want to be in that room.  My sideboard was piled high, because I kept setting things there.  I have a great word for it: Yucky!  It looked awful.   And, I couldn't dust, because there was not any point in dusting the mess that I kept walking by.  I felt overwhelmed by it.

Here are some pictures.  I haven't done anything special to the dining table other than dust it, because I need to cut out some curtains.

November, 2015

October, 2014

If you could see the plates, you would see that they have blue, orange, red, green, and yellow in the design.  I see a rolled up wall hanging in the left corner; but quite frankly, this is an undecided item for me, which I cannot quite bring myself to let go.  I keep thinking I may have someplace to put it someday.  I could bring myself to give it away to someone who really loved it.  So yes, I do have things I am undecided on giving away.  I guess I will have to put it in the cedar chest or a closet.

On the Left:

I am so proud of my craft corner.  It has been vacuumed, dusted, and reorganized.  My paints and other small items have gone into drawers.  I used to have other things in those drawers, but I threw away the things that have been there for too long, put some Christmas towels in a giveaway bag, and I put the Christmas hand towels I wanted to keep in a closet with other towels.


 On the Right:

That is my poor breakfast room table that got things piled on it again;  however, I have been setting my timer and it is almost cleared.

Here I am viewing the breakfast room into the kitchen.  Can you see I was dusting?

The picture below shows a work in progress.  I moved my coffee maker, and I don't like the way this looks.  However, the important thing is it is clean.  While I have been working on other areas, I continue to work on the kitchen.  I am keeping up with it.  How are you doing with yours?  Do it as you go along every day, and it will be easier than letting it pile up.

Finally, I want to say a word about older kitchens versus newer kitchens.  If you are anything like me, you admire the gorgeous kitchens in magazines, as well as those featured on the internet.  The house I lived in prior to this one had beautiful granite counter tops and everything in it was new.  It belonged in a magazine.  Due to circumstances beyond my control, I had  to move.  I missed that kitchen, but I was very sick when we lived at that house and it was hard for me to clean. As lovely as that whole house was, I did not enjoy it when it was messy and cluttered.

Simplicity is the key.  
If you have all kinds of gadgets and no room for them, it merely ends up being frustrating.  If your house is full of things you have not used for years, you are doing yourself a disservice by surrounding yourself with clutter.  





Finally, this week the November 2015 Kitchen Challenge continues.  We are building habits.  Each day, I will post a new challenge on my Facebook page.  Join me at Fatigue, Creative Decluttering, and a Better Life.   

The Tangle

Since today is October 31, it seemed that it might be a good time to come up with a "habit of the month."  It was my screen saver that reminded me, because that is what I see every time I turn on my computer.

This morning I was thinking about my problem areas in the house.  As you know, I am far from perfect, but that is alright, because I am going for reasonably clean.  My worst habit is that I am a piler.  I have little piles here and little piles there -- books, magazines, cards, mail -- you name it, it may be in my pile.

Some people call these hot spots.  However, I have come up with a new name, that fully describes the maxim of clutter attracts clutter.  It is like a spider web:  everything that lands there sticks.  Or maybe, it is more like briers   things get caught in there and stay.  Ooh!  Doesn't that sound painful?

We have a new term to learn, and our habit of the month for November will be to work on making these areas go away.  So, let me introduce to you The Tangle.  The Tangle is the clutter that attracts clutter. 

It is our little piles that seem to magically grow, as we put things down we intend to use but don't get around to using or we forget to put them away.  It is the books and mail that need to be filed, the medicine bottles we knock off the table--because they are in the way, and it is the rubber-bands or pencils that need a home.  It is the dust that collects, because it is too hard to dust there.

When we are truly organized, we learn to put items where they belong.  If we do not use, need, or love the things causing our tangle -- then, these things need to be donated, recycled, or thrown away.  

Remember, baby steps will get us where we want to go.  

The habit of the month for November will be to clean up your Tangle for 15 minutes a day.  Work at your own pace.  If you need to, divide this job into smaller segments, such as five minutes for three times a day.