Fun with Jane & Dick

There’s so much to go through that I decided I need to start at the place that annoys me the most and where I spend a lot of time. The master. It’s such a wreck right now.

Being that our house was made in the late 50s, the closets are tiny. However, the previous owner installed these Cali-style organizers inside which enables us to maximize space. Still, I have clothes overflowing and there’s clean clothes all over the floor because I can’t find a place for them.

Dick’s side is in the left and mine is on the right.

It’s gotten so bad that I can’t stand to even look at it…very energy-draining to see this mess daily and so that’s why I wanted to start with this room first. I love my house to be neat and clean but life just takes over and it’s obvious from the chaos that is my room. Ugh!!

My dresser has all kinds of crap on it and look at the stains from my lotioned hands.

The end tables have also accumulated stuff such as books, Dick’s newspapers, dust, etc.

I start with my closet and go through all my clothes…shit that I keep around because I think that one day, I may get fashionably creative and wear something different. Alas no, I’m all about comfort and sticking to the old favorites.

Check out these dress pants that I’ve had sitting in my closet for 10+ years. They still have the tags on them. $78 on sale. Dang, I used to spend way too much money on clothes. That was before kids.

And check out this corduroy jacket from the Limited. You wouldn’t believe this but it’s one of the first gifts Dick ever gave me. I showed it to him and he was like, “What is that? It looks so big on you!”. I had to remind him that it was HE who bought this for me and btw, the jacket is a size XS. “I bought that for you??!?!”

Yeah, I joked with him…“Yeah, I didn’t like it back then either.” I didn’t. (Every joke is meant to be half true. Remember that.) Totally not my style! So grandma-ish!!

I clear the shelves.

Refold and stack according to type of shirt…long sleeve, short sleeve, tanks, etc…

I empty my messy, cluttered and stuffed dresser drawers.

And refold everything that I want to keep, stacking them in the appropriate stack. Everything else goes into the SELL box.

This is the SELL BOX…the largest one I could find. It’s the box of the keyboard Thelma got for her birthday.

Same goes for my shoes. I love my shoes but they’re totally taking up my much needed valuable space.

I have so many great shoes that I never wear…BCBG, Guess, Brown Couture, Colin Stewart, Charles David…none that I have ever touched in the last who-knows-how-many-years. These days, I’m a flip flops in the summer and boots in the winter girl. My other shoes just sit there…collecting dust.

Literally.

And it’s causing me to sneeze up a storm.

And all the shoes are going in this other large box that our stainless steel trashcan came in.

Much better. Then there’s the magazines that sat forever in our side tables. I promptly threw these out. No joke, my mom has boxes and boxes of magazines in her attic so that one day, when she “retires” she’ll go through and read them. Some dating back to the 80s. It frustrates me so much because she would need 20 lifetimes to catch up on all the reading she thinks she would do. Lord! Help us!

The end tables are completely emptied out to make room for Benz’s diaper stuff, and clothes (once I fold them).

And room for future baby’s stuff. See? There IS space!!

Meanwhile, the keyboard box is filling up…

And spewing over...

I recruit a couple of helpers.

The piles are getting super high but the only way I can know where to put everything is to know how much stuff I have.

Even with all the clothes I’ve taken out, there still remains quite a bit.

Finally, I start to fold everything again so that they’ll fit into the drawers.

I organized my clothes this way instead of vertically stacking them so I can see what I need.

Tank tops, leggings, and long underwear.

Long sleeves and T-shirts.

Hats and swimming suits.

Scarves, gloves, and winter hats.

PJs, lounge pants, and sweatshirts.

Other pants and capris.

It was a long, full day of folding, folding, and more folding. However, I feel much lighter and I can’t help but bask in joy over my organized closet. Everything has been sorted, folded and organized…except Dick’s closet. I’m still waiting for him to tell me what he wants to keep and what he wants to get rid of.

THE FINALE

Let’s look at the before again, shall we?

And after.

Before.

After.

Dresser Before.

Dresser After.

Although it was tough letting go of some of this stuff (I can somewhat relate to hoarders), it feels so good to have a clean, simple, organized space with “minimal” stuff. Spring cleaning has come early and I’m on a roll. Hopefully I won’t run out of steam. I can feel the good CHI flowing already. Day two to come!

(Oh and BTW, the only way I was able to get all this done was because it’s the weekend and I have the best parents and babysitters in the world. Thanks Mom and Dad!!)

-Jane, Cleaning Crazed.

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