When my daughter was sick last month I looked all over for the thermometer and couldn’t find it. I’d finally had enough: it was time to clean out the nether regions of my bathroom. I wasn’t even exactly sure I’d find it in there, but it was as good of a place to start as any.
Thankfully, it was. In fact, it was hidden right in here somewhere. Can you guess where?
Vanity Before:
Neither could I.
I began by emptying out the whole thing.
It’s amazing how much crap stuff fits into such a small space.
I didn’t stop there, but turned my attention to the areas under the sinks.
Under Sinks Before:
Okay, so not horrible at a glance? But completely unorganized. I didn’t know where anything was. And it was dirty, too.
So I took all that stuff out and overflowed a large container.
Can I say again? It’s amazing how much crap stuff fits into such a small space.
This container sat in a very convenient spot in the middle of the family room for several days. It was supposed to be in my face and impossible to ignore. Unfortunately, it turned into a fixture that everyone started walking around and ignoring like it was a table or a dirty pile of laundry. Until one day my daughter said out of the blue,
“I can’t believe we’re moving right after second grade.”
Um, she’s in the first grade now? And why, pray tell, is my poor, sweet little military brat daughter already thinking about our next move?
“Oh, I was just looking at that, and it made me think of moving.” She nonchalantly gestured at the container of crap stuff.
I wish I’d taken a picture of what I got rid of, but I didn’t think of it. I was probably obsessing over my daughter’s future therapy sessions.
After I cleaned everything out and re-purposed a few containers…
Aw. Much better.
Vanity After:
Under Sinks After:
For those of you Type-A’s super-analyzing, you might have noticed we’re having a wee-bit of trouble with our cupboard doors. Comes from having little urchins using them to scamper their way up to the sinks.
(You might also notice they do have a stool right there for them to use.)
The Thing About Storage Space
We’ve never, ever had this much space in our home before, storage or otherwise. Two sinks just in one bathroom? With storage underneath? And a vanity?
- The problem with so much space is you can so easily fill it up without thinking or being mindful of what you even have even more.
- The advantage of so much space is that you can spread out and finally take inventory of what you really have and cull out anything that isn’t functional or enjoyable. In other words – de-clutter.
Stuff-itis
I have already gone through so much of our stuff since we moved here, but I am determined to get through the rest of it before it’s time to move again. Precisely because I don’t want it to be necessary to have so much space again just to hold stuff! Stay tuned for future progress as I conquer it. I’d love to hear how you’re overcoming clutter and stuff-itis in your home as well. I’m going to need all the motivation I can get.
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{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
I had to laugh at Susan’s post because the beer stein was the first thing I noticed under the sink! Ha! So glad to see it’s been moved to a higher place of honor!
I salute your efforts! I am a declutter freak and go through all closets, bins, drawers, etc. 3-4 times a year. Even my junk drawer is divided into sections with a silverware tray . . . and it infuriates me when someone just THROWS something in there, for Pete’s sake! Can’t they see it’s neatly divided into categories?!?
And expiration dates on products? They’re there for a reason, folks!
I did NOT get this freakish illness from my mother. When looking through her medicine cabinet for something a couple of years ago, I came across some eardrops. Prescribed for ME. When I was THREE!!!!! (I’m now 46.) It’s not like my folks haven’t moved a couple of times since I was three. (She’s not one to actually believe in expiration dates, esp. on medicine, and thought someone might need them someday.)
Carry on, Jolyn! And keep writing about all your efforts so we can continue to be entertained! Happy Friday!!
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Jolyn, love the before and after pictures! So glad to know there is another blogger “boogieing” (a FLYlady term for de-cluttering) their stuff! Yay! I finally realized (after two and a half months into the year) what I want to do for this year as far as projects go – a deeper conscious effort to my 3Rs – more reduce, more re-use and more recycle! I will be posting all of the progress as I go.
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jolyn Reply:
March 11th, 2010 at 9:39 pm
Don’t forget, “re-purpose”! I love that word.
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What has me puzzled is the ornamental beer stein in the ‘before’ pic’s under the sink. What did you use it for? Because we have on taking up space on a shelf and I’d really like to put it to good use……
OH!!!! Just realized it’d be perfect for the loose change I need to get out of a bowl. The power of blogging – you just never know. Dare I thank you for the help?
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jolyn Reply:
March 11th, 2010 at 12:38 pm
Ha! So funny, leave it to the (pseudo) Schweizerin to notice the beer stein! I’m not sure which one you were referring to, but we were using one for q-tips, and the one with the lid for cotton balls. I do love re-purposing! Needless to say, most of the steins are lining a shelf in my husband’s office…
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I wrote a post a year ago on why we hold onto some of the things in our medicine cabinet. Why do we hold onto things that have expired?
http://melissa-ididit.blogspot.com/2009/05/motivational-monday-medicine-cabinet.html
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jolyn Reply:
March 11th, 2010 at 12:38 pm
I have no idea.
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We have NO shelf space in our bathroom and currently all items reside ontop of the washing machine…. I gotta get some storage sorted soon!
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jolyn Reply:
March 11th, 2010 at 12:38 pm
I feel for you! We’ve been there many, many times.
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Well done on the declutter!
I am so with you on the idea of not needing space just to put your stuff.
It is a process, but you sound like you’re making good progress.
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