Master Closet-done! (sort of...)

Well, I WE did it! 4 bags to the Goodwill, and 3 bags of trash later, we have a cleaned out and organized Master Closet! I took about 45 minutes on Saturday night while the kids were settling down to sleep (that Finnboo gets up and down for about an hour before he finally falls asleep, so I tend to linger upstairs so we don't have to go up and down to walk him back to bed) and started sorting through Johnny's dresser into Keep/Donate/Toss piles. I left all his clothes out on the floor of his closet for him to go through the next day. We attacked late Sunday morning in a united effort, and we were finished in about 1 1/2 hours. This also turned into a massive cleaning of the entire 2nd floor, with Finnboo and Kieksy doing an okay job of making messes and cleaning up afterward. It's been awhile since I've felt so productive on a weekend, and I was honestly ready to do more!

Without further ado, here are the after pictures. (You can see the before pictures here.)

As you can see, we didn't get to finishing the wall, or hanging the extra shelves/rods, etc. But, it's cleared out, clean, and organized. According to Johnny's "Lean Principles" (he's taking that class, in case you forgot,) we have completed the "5 Ss (wtf is the plural of the letter s?)": Sort, Set in order, Shine, Standardize, and Sustain."  Can it still be improved? Absolutely. (Johnny the nerd just informed me that continual improvement is the whole principle behind Lean, as well as "eliminating waste." He's fresh from another class today.) Will we maintain it? So far, so good. Here's hoping!

Enjoy your week!

PS-I'm choosing not to participate in Project Simplify this week, because it's about getting rid of Paper Clutter. My paper clutter is pretty much under control hidden. I'm in desperate need of a shredder, we have years of bills boxed up in the basement to shred. At this point, I think I need a "great shredder event" to get rid of it all! But, since it's out of sight and out of mind, I'm going to put it off for now! ;)

Project Simplify

If we've ever had a conversation about trying to keep up with housework, I probably talked about the Flylady. She has great ideas, great routines, but I always found the catch phrases (and since I've joined her facebook page, the followers) a touch on the hokey side. So I've 99% abandoned that flylady and her routines. (Sorry.) As I've been expanding my online reading, I've discovered a multitude of ideas for decluttering and organizing. Johnny has even gotten on board after he learned something in a manufacturing class (?) that could be applied to the workplace or home. He was explaining it to me and I told him that he was preaching the Flylady's message, just in a different language. Shortly after this conversation, I saw that Simple Mom was going to be launching "Project Simplify" as a countdown to Spring. It involves tackling weekly "hot spots," which she announces each Monday. You can find all the details here:

Again, non-mom friends, still check it out if you're interested in cleaning out and organizing, this has nothing to do with being a mom, it has to do with getting rid of the clutter and organizing things in a way that you can maintain. 

This week, Simple Mom (who does have a name, by the way-Tsh Oxenreider,) announced that the Master Bedroom closet would be the starting point. Oy vey! This is the absolute dumping ground in my house. No one ever goes in there, no one sees it, so it accumulates a lot of crap! Here's the worst part, I have to post pictures of it for all to see....Don't judge, people, here's the before....

I am glad that this is where I'm starting, because it's a huge, nice closet, and I don't think we have it organized in a way that maximizes all the space. The lovely drywall is a result of bumping out our bathroom into the space-2 years ago- we just haven't gotten around to repainting it. We also have extra hanging shelves to put up on that wall as well. 

I am not really going to be able to participate fully with Simple Mom b/c there's no way I can accomplish the organization/decluttering between Monday-Friday. However, I am going to extend my personal deadline to Sunday and post my after pictures here. The point, after all is accountability. 

Wish me luck......