Ship Shape

Six days into the new year and I finally made it to the gym. Surprisingly, it was not crowded. It felt good to walk the treadmill, read a magazine (okay, wasn’t going to over exert myself on day one) listen to some tunes and watch some TV in a pretty setting (seriously, the gym is pink). We actually have a treadmill at home but it is surrounded by so many boxes of stuff and items “worth saving” that it is impossible for me to go in there to exercise and clear my mind when I can not block out all the clutter – visual and emotional.

This year I am focusing on getting to the bottom of the clutter. I tend to save way too much and hold onto anything of perceived value, and after over a decade of raising children I now have not only my childhood objects of affection but all of theirs as well. It is too much. Clothes, books, toys, furnishings. I know I should have been getting rid of more of it as the years went by, but with four of the same gender it wasn’t unusual to hold onto a winter coat for a decade because it was going to be worn again. And again. And again.

But that is just the big stuff. Along with all of that there is the day to day stuff that just tends to pile up. Especially when we always have at least one room in the house that is under construction. We are constantly shifting items from their intended space to a temporary space. Not everything ends up back where it should be. But this year I am going to tackle all those small but hugely unorganized areas. I say year because it could take that long. It is that overwhelming. 

I have found a method to start dealing with the chaos though. Professional organizer and regular on the OWN network, Peter Walsh is hosting a #31Days2GetOrganized challenge on both Facebook and on Twitter. Each day for the entire month of January he is offering up one small 10 minute task designed to chip away at the type of clutter that most of us are hiding behind closed doors.

I’ve found that once I start in on the specific task assigned, I usually keep going. It feels good to over achieve when I only have to get past 10 minutes to complete the first goal. Hopefully by the end of the month I will be well on my way to getting this place back to how it was when my boys were little, I was able to spend more time at home, and hadn’t resigned myself to the fact that I am living in a virtual frat house. Wish me luck! 

It’s not too late to start getting organized – if you start today, you only have about an hour’s worth of organizing assignments to get caught up on!