So, this morning, as my fabulous hubby was helping with some laundry, he turned around and screamed when he saw my "craft area".
Can you beLIEVE I just posted this picture?!? I can't. Considering how few people actually read this blog, I'm not too concerned, but it adds a dose of needed humility to my life.
He didn't scream like a little girl, or even like when he accidentally uncovered the hiding place of a milk snake ( I think) and then proceeded to "take care of it". It was more of a feigned terror that one might find on a kid's show. Needless to say, that was my call to action.
And what better action to take than clean up something that's hidden! Right?
RIGHT?
My justifications are few-
1) It's smaller than my craft area.
2) It's used frequently. "Honey,where's the ibuprofen again?" (wonder why my husband needs it so much-- no I don't keep a mirror handy, why do you ask?)
3) I have a thing with organized closets. Whenever serious organization needs to happen, like, we're drowning in toys, or can't see the table-top in the schoolroom, I go to the closets. I think it helps hit the root of the problem. Things are not put away, because they don't have anywhere to go. So, clean up the closets and create homes for the things on the schoolroom table, right?
4) There is something about opening cabinet doors and seeing things in order.
5) The kids won't mess this up within fifteen minutes of it being cleaned.
Here's the after:
And it didn't cost a dime.
I had previously purchased plastic shoe boxes from Target last week, just knowing I could use them. They were on sale for $1 each. I wish I bought more. I also re-purposed a box that was half empty, and an old tissue box. After that, I used copy paper, permanent marker, and packing tape.
The shoe boxes now hold sorted vitamins & supplements, Kid-focused meds, First aid, Remedies for common complaints (THAT'S where the ibuprofen is!), and hair clippers.
The half-empty box now holds Thank-you cards, envelopes and other mailing items, which sits conveniently next to the packing tape.
The tissue box holds photos that need to be "filed" in some way or another. (Hey, I need "holding" places sometimes).
My I-don't-know-what-to-do-with-it-pile (the bottom two shelves on the left side of the "before") has now shrunk to one shelf- and not because I managed to shove it all in there. Many items were thrown away.
I found I gained a shelf and a half! So, I brought the box of light bulbs from the dusty top shelf of the pantry (I need more dry goods space) and put it on the top shelf. I remember reading a woman's blog about organizing her pantry and how shocked she was to find so many light bulbs. She said it was probably because she didn't know where to find them, so kept purchasing more. I suspect this bin will get smaller, now that we know where to find them.
Speaking of finding multiple things, I found multiple containers of neosporin, aquaphor, and other similar-use items. They are jam-packed in my first aid box, which will slowly get smaller. Four children get a lot of use out of those things!
The glass items that were on the top shelf have found new, more reasonable homes. The cake stand and serving bowl are now on TOP of the cabinet, showing themselves off a bit. There were a couple other glass items that really had homes elsewhere, and I put them away.
I think I'll leave that open space open for now, because I really don't know what to put there, but will figure it out soon.
As for now, I'll spend a disproportionate amount of time opening this cabinet and breathing a sigh of relief.
If I can only get myself to attack my craft area now!
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