One of my activities for this summer has been decluttering and organizing cupboards, drawers, shelves, and closets for the whole house (with exception to others' personal spaces). The obvious advantage of doing this is less frustration when putting away or retrieving needed items. The bonus (which may or may not be greater than the organization part) is uncovering all of my forgotten supplies, often times in duplicate. A thorough annual or semi-annual clean-out is a necessity for keeping all of my family's belongings accounted for.
For example, I found 2 new rolls of clear packing tape. Packing tape is obviously good for sealing packages to be mailed. It also doubles as "scotch" tape for gift-wrapping, repairs torn freezer bags, laminates paper items (like recipes recorded on paper/cards), cleans lint and hair from clothing and upholstery, etc. We find this kind of tape so useful that I buy a couple of rolls per year.
I also discovered that I have enough pj bottoms for another winter season. I had thought I would need a new pair when one of my two current favorites wore thin in the seat this past winter. I also have enough sweat and fleece jackets to get through another cold weather season. And, I found that I had more socks than I need, so I donated 4 good-condition pairs to one grateful daughter.
I pulled all of the gift items together that I've acquired over the past two years and now have them in one spot -- the designated gift closet (where they should have been all along). I've got a great start on holiday and birthday shopping/gifting for the coming season.
In the kitchen I found several stashes of cleaned, gently used freezer bags. We now have enough freezer bags for all of our freezing needs this summer and fall.
I also discovered that we can stop buying hair conditioner now. I think I have enough hair conditioner to get through this pandemic and the next one.
And, we have not one but 2 ping pong balls for our table. I found each ball in a different cupboard. Go figure.
You may not know this about me, but I am not naturally inclined toward organization. When it comes to putting things away, my mind scatters in a multitude of directions. To give you an example of what I mean, I'll tell you about my recipe card file.
The sorting dividers for my recipe box are alphabetized index cards (with A, B, C, etc tabs). I can never settle on just one section for a particular recipe card. For instance, with my recipe for rhubarb custard pie, some days I think "I'll file this under R for rhubarb, so when it's rhubarb season again next year, I'll know where to find it." On other days I think, "this recipe is for a pie, so I'll file it under P for pie." And yet on another day, I'll find myself certain that the most logical place for this card is under D for desserts. Even if I had the kind of divider cards that said Desserts, Entrees, Vegetables, etc, I might still find myself conflicted over which section to place the card. Can you imagine what it's like when I need to actually find a particular recipe card? I was making salsa this morning and had to search through several sections to find that card. I ultimately found it under T, you know, for tomatoes. *smacks hand on forehead*
And if you think this sounds bad with me trying to organize a house, imagine what it's like when you throw a bunch of other people into the mix. No one here really gets my "system." So I may put item X away in the drawer with other Xs. Yet my husband will put item X in the drawer with Ys. Most of the time, we all just hunt around for whatever we're seeking. This really does make a good case for not packing cupboards and closets completely full, and instead leaving lots of air space around each item for better visibility. And that brings me back to my big task this summer -- getting rid of everything not truly necessary and organizing what is left.
I sometimes throw out something that I later regret. This used to really bother me. (You know -- "I just knew I shouldn't get rid of that do-hickey. Now I am do-hickeyless right when I most need one.") I now look at this as one of the "costs" of getting and staying organized. Just about everything we do has a cost of some sort, be it time, money, or effort. So I may have a regret or two after this summer's clean-out. But for the most part, the wee bit more of sanity we'll enjoy when retrieving or putting things away will out-weigh the expense of replacing those do-hickeys.
I would like to say that the flip side to my lack of inclination toward organization is that I'm creative and spontaneous, and loads of fun to be around. However, I'm sure my mother would point out that I can be creative and fun while still putting my socks away in their proper drawer.
Back to decluttering my drawers.
Are you the naturally organized type? What are your secrets?
