I came and I conquered!!!!

Okay let's face it, if everyone was a carpenter or if everyone had mass quantities of money or if everything in the world was free, all our houses would be organized and pretty or cluttered as all get out. In my case, if I had mad carpentry skills and the equipment needed, I would build some AWESOME organizers, shelves and the like, problem, I have tried and I suck. Next if I could afford buying the "perfect pantry" from The Container Store it would cost me roughly $663 without the shelves. Soooooo, yeah, I am NOT paying that much. Over the last few months I have been buying containers here and there. Most of them have been the same type since I want it to be pretty. Although I still need more containers, that way all of them are the exact same, I think I'm okay with it.... Well for right now. So what did I do? About a year and a half ago I tried placing everything in cardboard boxes and labeling them, well between Husband Doodle and my little helpers things have gotten out of hand. See?

A lot of the things we had were either brand new or had such a small amount we should have tossed it awhile ago. Did somethings go bad? Yes. Did I fall for the free items, cheap items and promotional ones? Yes. So after getting rid of these items I have made a new rule: I DO NOT buy anything we don't already know and love. Don't get me wrong, it is wonderful to try new things but I won't buy any new products unless I have sampled it because I do not want this mess to happen again. So for a grand total of $138.72 I bought 12 plastic bins all of them came with lids but I couldn't use lids on some of the containers, 3 sets of different plastic ware, 6 cereal bins and 1 can organizer. I do still need a spice rack and I bought a dry erase board and attached it to the door and wrote everything we had and how much we had so I can keep track of all this fun stuff. I also need to label things but that will have to wait until A) my label-er reappears or B) I buy the ones for my printer. You ready to see the beauty of an organized pantry Ronnie-style? 

Very bottom of the pantry: Cans, sugar, tomato soup, left bin is the snack bin, right bin baking supplies. 

The snack bin has snacks already divided and ready to grab. Granola bars, Goldfish crackers, fruit leather, Auntie Annie fruit snacks, just yum yums.

First shelf: Pastas, tomato paste, tomato sauce, enchilada sauce, assorted sauces (aka Manwhich) PB and Jelly.

Second Shelf: Cereals, chips, flours, rice, oatmeal, brown sugar and beans.

Bottom shelf: Left bin: just bread stuff. I hope to start making my own bread soon. Middle bin: Salad dressings, other liquid things like vinegar and oils. Individual containers of chocolate chips, trail mix, nuts. Too the far right more cereal. 

Top shelf: Left bin: can chicken, dried fruit, seasonings. Both white baskets: different spices Right bin: Assorted Asian-y goodness. 

I came. I decluttered. I conquered. 

Declutter the fridge!!!

When we moved into our house we didn't have a refrigerator and we needed one CHEAP! Well the one we bought was suppose to be complete. Well it was missing the baskets in the door, the top split shelf, the bottom shelf and the crisper. To replace all these missing pieces it was going to cost over $500 to replace these pieces let alone to ship it to us. I have bought some of the pieces like the top shelf and the missing baskets. We still need the crisper drawers and the bottom shelf which will cost me about $350, which once again, we don't have. So thanks to my gracious Mother-in-law we were able to buy things to straighten out our fridge. Here's the before:

I have to keep the meat in the bags to ensure no yuck yuck gets anywhere. We also had to keep all produce in Debbie Meyer's Green Bags, which FYI are the BEST at keeping produce fresh. We had strawberries fresh and hard (Silly lady strawberries aren't hard.) for almost 13 days. Totally the best $10 I ever spent.

Since I can't really stack things without damaging my produce I have to use the baskets. So after about an hour of washing, drying, emptying, cleaning and filling THIS is the result!!!

Very top shelf apples, oranges, broccoli, cheddar cheese, eggs, my husband doodle's lunch, breakfast burritos waiting to be frozen and milk. My second shelf has two containers to hold meat and loose things to the left. So that little drawer is my cheese and lunch meat drawer, which also has my bacon, the bottom  is basically an empty waste of space so two lettuce keepers, I'll tell you how well they work in a day or two, 3 containers with reusable tags, another bin, and a produce keeper made by Rubbermaid.

Look how pretty my door looks!!! Our butter dish had some yuck yuck in it so right now it is soaking so I can put it back. So now I have an awesome fridge not as cool as some people but I do what I can with what I have. All my new containers were from *drum roll* The Container Store. I know I have totally fallen in love with this store. So I hope inspiration ensues and motivates you to declutter somewhere in your home. Good luck!

Empty space?

Yes I just realized that this picture isn't straight. Thanks...... So I have this space in my house next to the stair case in my living room the is, frankly, pretty useless. If I put a couch or any "large" piece of furniture there you really can't get into the house. It is 3'5" along the light wall and 6' along the stairs. So what to do? We tried a chair and bookcases but there wasn't enough light, like I said the sofa was out of the question, computer corner but the TV was too distracting...... So what did I do? (Use your awesome powers of whining to get a larger house? Demo'ed the whole thing "Extreme Makeover" Style?) I used it!!! (That would have been the next guess) I took the desks my daughters' had in their playroom and an organizer I got from Goodwill and turned it into a school corner. The furniture is small enough that we can maneuver around it and light enough that we can move it. Check it out!!! MWHAHAHAHAHA!!!! Mommy 1 Odd Floor Plan 0 

WIN!!!!

Except for the fact that my pictures look fine on my camera but then are out of focus and slanted on the computer....... Fail.....

So like I said, “Clutter.” Emotional clutter will become physical clutter if you allow it. Every flat service in our home has some kind of clutter along with most drawers and other places of storage. When my husband field day his room (cleaned his barrack room) he use to throw all his stuff in a foot locker or closet. His version of cleaning has been and is stuffing things away so it can’t be seen and if it doesn’t have to be clean leaving everything out and about. I have let it go because I have other things to fight about. I have cooking, laundry, helping him with paperwork, making lunches, volunteering at my daughter’s school, the list goes on and on, literally. I do not have the time or energy to fight my husband to down size his stuff, to organize our things or keep things in their proper place. After taking several photos of our house and sending them to him he finally saw how bad it’s become and has finally agreed that it has gotten out of control especially after seeing photos of our house when I first moved in years ago. Now please forgive me I forgot to take some photos along the way. So here are the steps.

1)      Buy containers or things to organize your space. I bought 2 new shoe boxes at $2.35 each and 2 over the door shoe organizers at $6.48 each. (I bought those things Wal-mart) I also bought one vanity organizer from The Container Store for $20. (I still can’t believe I paid that much) I also had some other containers around the house that I decided to put in the bathroom. After that make a note that everything will fit in those organizers and that’s it.  

2)      Downsize. Downsize. Downsize. Take the things that are almost empty or things that you have never used and get rid of them. I know but it is a half bottle of Bath and Body works lotion, its something I got on my wedding day, it was a gift from my aunt. If you haven’t used it in a month get rid of it. It isn’t that important.

3)      Place the items where you feel they need to go and where you’ll remember to place them. J’s big problem is that he picks something up and just sets it down on any flat surface he finds. By getting these organizers, which are clear, he can see where it came from and put it back. So here are some before and after photos of part of our bathroom.

So here we have the linen closet which has 4 shelves the top two shelves had only towels, the bottom two had extra toiletries and the floor has our dehumidifier and other junk. So I took one of the shoe organizers and put our extras in it instead of the containers I had in the closet. Why, because J would take things out since he couldn't find what he was looking for in the bathroom, use it and place it on the vanity, dresser, bathtub, just about anywhere. Now we shouldn't have that problem. 

Now I placed everything on the door. Everything has its own bag and that is its home. 

Now for the vanity. Good gravy the vanity. I have tried to organize it by giving J a side and his things like tweezers, nail clippers and the like but once again he'll use his while walking around the house and set it somewhere else. Since his are now lost mine become usable. Do you see the plastic drawer near the wall? Yep most of my stuff is in there since all the other drawers are taken. Now granted some of my things are out but that is because I can't put them anywhere. 

Pretty, yes? Holy crap we had an electric razor, a blow dryer and other things on the vanity? 

Look all of my cleaning supplies are in one box instead of scattered all over the bottom of the sink.

All the medication is in two containers with labels and it isn't everywhere.

Now we threw away almost 2 bags of trash and you see how much we have left. A lot of things were half used bottles of things or expired medications or used things, like razors. I would like to downsize more but I think if I were to do that J may freak. It is a baby step, one that was greatly needed. While I was doing this J took it upon himself to unclutter his closet (I finally have more shirts then my husband) as well as gather up the laundry in our room and put his clean clothes away in his dresser, since I don't do it right. Well there you go. I hope to do the girls' playroom next. It use to be very organized and neat but for 3 months I had fainting spells and was very sick so they got use to a cleaning style called, "loco cleaning," where they shove everything in boxes and drawers and call it clean. I am going to buy a book case, one plastic shelving unit and 2 pop up hampers to organize their playroom. So wish me luck! 

I hope you enjoyed the beginning of our unclutterization journey and will continue to check in. Why am I so serious about this you may ask? This is a serious subject that involves no jokes and little sarcasm. Ever since I moved in with my husband I have been fighting with his emotional clutter which became physical clutter. I do own a lot of things, don't get me wrong, but mine are put away for the most part. Hopefully my journey and triumph over these will help you in someway to remove the junk in your life. 

Clutter......

Let's talk about clutter. Every person has some form of clutter be it a dirty car, a junk drawer, too much clothes, scraps of sentimental things or a house full of stuff and no where to put it, all of us have some form of clutter. I have a girlfriend that calls it a "collection," another that calls it "crafts I have yet to make" and another "who doesn't have the time to go through it."


For those who know me in person know that I have had a lot of emotional issues about our move, personal problems and dealing with changes in my life physically, emotionally, and mentally over the past 5 or so years. Those who have been there for me have known that the clutter in my house was driving me insane. Besides the ECMC (emotional clutter mental clutter) I've been dealing with, my husband has had his share of everything, literally. His dealings with PTSD, changes in his life and having ghosts of the past haunt his present, his clutter and "buying to fill in his emptiness" has turned our house into a "trash can." Since he has been getting help and dealing with his inner demons he has granted me the ability to purge the house. Which I couldn't be happier/sadder. Sad? Yes, sad. I could have saved a lot of money and bought a new refrigerator with the money he has spent on things to fill the void he didn't want to deal with. Don't get me wrong I have added to our clutter and I do own mine but now that he is finally on board, I am going to let you into my house. Am I proud of it, no. Am I posting here for your judgment, absolutely not (those comments you can keep to yourself). Am I posting here to give you hope that you can de-clutter your house, yes. Hopefully this will help those who need inspiration. Pictures to follow soon. I'll keep you all posted.