Do you love it?
Do you use it?
Do you have the room to store it?
Those are some of the questions you need to ask about your stuff on a regular basis. If the answer is no to any one of those questions then it’s time to share that stuff with someone else or trash it. Otherwise it’s just going to pile up in your home, you are going to trip over it, you aren’t going to be able to find what you need, the pile is only going to continue to grow and you are going to get frustrated and overwhelmed when the weight of it becomes more than you can bear…physically and mentally.
Be on alert…I’m on pile patrol.
My mission? To eliminate piles everywhere and in the process create organizing junkies all around the world. Yahoo! I want you to take back your counter tops, your floors, your guest room beds, your dressers, your nightstands, your closets, your bookshelves and any other surface you can no longer see. It’s time! Let’s get excited about this.
Are you an organizing junkie wanna be?
About once a month I’d like to honor a deserving reader by presenting them with a special “I’m an Org Junkie too!” badge and perhaps a prize or two. I want you at any time to email me with your before and after pictures. I want you to be proud of your accomplishments and want to show them off. I’ll be particularly interested in stories of struggle and then triumph, of the organizational journey that led you to becoming addicted to all that living a life of simplicity and order has to offer. These stories then become inspiration to others that are struggling and perhaps need to hear a success story or two to encourage them along on their own journeys. It’s a beautiful organizational cycle you see 🙂
Note: You don’t need to have a blog to participate but please know that by sharing your pictures with me through email you are giving me permission to share them with others through my blog (although anonymously is fine). Only one entry a month will be selected to be featured.
In other news:
Two weekends ago I offered up a last minute challenge to encourage some weekend purging. Occasionally I will continue to do this. Thanks to all of you lovely ladies who were purging machines and emailed me with your purge pile pictures. I selected a winner at random and that person is reader Denise! She did a great job! Denise I’ll be sending you your Peter Walsh DVD as soon as I get your address. Thanks!
Tabitha says
Wahoooo!!! My husband and I are in the process of downsizing and simplifying, by moving out of a house we can’t afford and renting for 1 year in a smaller home. We’re storing the things we don’t use and are launching a campaign to simplify and pare back in all areas of life. I’m so excited!!
Laura says
Way to go!!
Handy Man, Crafty Woman says
I’ve really been organizing and re-organizing as our needs change. I’m going through closets, drawers, and the pantry needs work again, too! Right now I’m going through my son’s outgrown clothes as well. We got rid of SO much stuff when we moved here, but I feel like we have to stay on top of it so it stays decluttered. It’s a constant battle.
I’ll try to get a story and photos to you. Great idea!
Debbi Does Dinner Healthy says
I am SO trying to simplify!! I have a small house and no where to store anything! My desk area is the WORST. I’ve gotten rid of a lot but I still need to get rid of more. The hardest part is when you get USED to seeing it there, after awhile, it becomes normal. Until someone new comes over to your house and I’m seeing my office through THEIR eyes and thinking, “Holy cow, I really let this get out of hand!”. It doesn’t help that my desk/office is right in our living room!! So thank you for the reminder! I look forward to reading more stories about this!
Marcia Francois, Organising Queen says
Fantastic purge by Denise!
To other ladies – I find what helps is if you go around your home and take pics of the rooms and trouble spots.
Somehow we don’t see the clutter anymore and on a pic it becomes more real to us.
I did this recently in my bedroom (to show my sister my coat rack that I use to store bags) and suddnely I realised the bag thing was out of hand! Those bags have now been decluttered and the coat rack is looking normal again 🙂
Lain Ehmann says
Great idea! I love to see everyone’s progress. By the way, do you have a Flickr group? That would be fun!
Laura says
Great idea Lain! I just started one so it’s sitting pretty lonely right now 🙂
http://www.flickr.com/groups/orgjunkiefan/
Lain Ehmann says
Fun! I’m off to join the group now!
Anna B says
So fun! I’m a purger by nature – I hate clutter and will immediately toss something I’m not using, regardless of ‘future potential’. I actually had to stop myself from getting rid of a nice floor rug that I don’t have space for in my current apartment. But usually – away it goes! LOL! I better not marry a hoarder.
Question – this might be outside of scope, but what about food? Especially expensive food? I have 4 bottles of Smirnoff Ice sitting in my fridge that I can’t bring myself to pitch, but neither I nor anyone I know want to drink them. I bought the 6pack (for $8!!) awhile back and drank a couple, but the truth is I rarely drink and they take up a lot of space in the fridge!
How do you get over the guilt of ‘wow, I paid so much for this, and I’m tossing it’ when giving it away doesn’t seem to be an option?
Thanks!
Laura says
Unopened non perishables can go to the local food bank of course but not sure they take alcohol. If you don’t plan on drinking them then it’s time to cut your loses and part with them. The way I look at it is this: the space they take up is worth more than what you paid.
Betsy says
I have 10 years worth of stuff in my basement that needs work but this challenge is going to take much longer than a month. Just to have a challenge like that is worth it for me. I’ll take a before of each area, and send my progress in each area to you. Maybe by September 2011 I’ll be able to have it all done (maybe sooner) but I want to take your challenge!
heidi @ wonder woman wannabe says
I AM an organizing junkie too! So much so, I’m making it my profession!
http://www.operationorganization-mn.blogspot.com
cheers!
Laura says
Congratulations Heidi, all the best in your new endeavor!
Jennifer, Snapshot says
Oh I wanna be, but will I be??? I think not.
I am getting better at getting rid of things.
The principle that you’ve taught that has really stuck with me is to have “designated space.” If I don’t have room for it, I should get rid of it (or find a better place for it).
Laura says
Hi Jennifer!! I’m going to pull you over to my side yet LOL
Cindy says
I long to be an organizing junkie … it is like 2nd nature to me. However, my husband is a “keeper” and not organized in his keeping. Therefore I feel doomed to a life of clutter.
Jamie Cody says
I’m in the same boat. I used to keep a nice, organized home. But my husbands “hobbies” have taken over…. And spread. I just don’t know what to do anymore. I have gotten so stressed out over the years looking at his stuff, and trying to keep it clean without getting into trouble, that I’ve just gotten so depressed and have let myself become a clutterbug. I can’t even sleep on our bedroom anymore. There’s just no comfort, peace, or restfulness with a huge homemade loading bench, a fun cabinet, clothes, boxes, sacks and huge toy RC Cars everywhere!
Jamie Cody says
Oops. iPhone spell check mistake. That should say gun cabinet, not fun cabinet.
Amanda says
This blog has inspired me. I just wish I had taken before pictures it’s been a week and a half and I’ve organized my Kitchen cupboards, laundry room, vanity and bathrooms, and the last two days reorganized the two junk closets in the basement. Thank you for inspiring me. I’ll take a picture of the pile that is going to Goodwill and email it to you at least. I feel like I have a new lease on life. Before the mess just moved from one room to another when I cleaned but now I am trying to designate spaces for everything so that it doesn’t happen anymore. Thank you for giving me some simple tools to make the changes I have always wanted to.
Laura says
Awww, that’s awesome. So proud of you!!
Heather says
Once a month we receive donation bags to fill on our doors. I love that we get them, I have donated atleast one filled up bag each month! It was to easy to not do so, since they (the shelter’s volunteers )pick it up right from our driveway too.
I have got rid of ALL our old baby stuff this way . I only saved about two or three of my favorite baby outfits from each of my kids. These will be used to dress Teddy Bears that I will one day give to my Grandchildren.
Ally's Corner says
I’m in!! I will clean my 6 year olds room out for the 100 time but this time do it right. She loves cotton balls, paper and anything she thinks is cool. I have to get a handle on it or it’s going to be so much and over take her room. I will send you pictures before and after pictures once I get it done.
Karen says
I so want to be an organizing junkie. I’m overwhelmed with clutter right now. The more I read, the more motivated I get to take action against the clutter. I’ll stayed tuned for more inspiration.
Laura says
Yes! That’s what it’s all about!!
Nemo @ Daily-dabble says
This sounds wonderful!
I love your site and all the great tips. I had a new beginning on 1 September 2010 and have been working hard to put order into my home by decluttering, actually doing the housework and saying goodbye to all the junk. I have taken on one small task per day because I easily get overwhelmed with everything. Please head over to my blog to see some before and after pictures. It’s a work in progress, but I’m feeling so much better in my house and about life in general… it’s amazing what a difference a simplified life can make. I might just take part in this and send you the photos via email too.
Thanks for sharing all your great ideas!
s says
sigh…I so want to be but just can’t seem to get it going! I went through mail, got some containers I thought would work for me, and this week my kitchen table is a mess of piles again…
Laura says
Don’t give up! Try walking through the PROCESS steps and see how you make out. Containerizing is one of the last steps so that may be why you are getting frustrated.
https://orgjunkie.com/2007/06/how-to-get-organized-follow-these-process-steps.html
Susanne says
The pile that is the bane of my existence right now is my mending pile. Nothing to do there except just get to it and do it. I hate mending, but I can’t bring myself to throw out a perfectly good item just because it needs a button or a seam needs to be put back together. Yet there it sits.
Tessa says
I love reading your posts. I’m a label lovin’, clutter free kind of gal. You give such great tips and inspire me to keep it all under control 🙂
Shopper Gal
http://www.shoppergal.com/
Kerri says
I absolutely LOVE organizing and any kind of storage item! I get frustrated because my family (hubby, daughter, 11 and son, 7) don’t quite share my love for keeping things neat and orderly.
That is probably part of the reason I decided to finally launch my business, Functional Home Designs, in June. I feel a great sense of accomplishment when I help others get their homes in order–even if I can’t keep my own house that way. I guess it’s like the cobbler’s kids who have no shoes. 🙂
I’m so glad I found your site! I’m sure I’ll get some great ideas to use in clients’ homes as well as my own!