Homemaking Challenge for January!!

Procrastination is something I’ve battled forever it seems. I’ve found that as long as the day to day wheels are turning and the plates are spinning I’m fine. Meals on the table, laundry done and tucked neatly away where it belongs, the house is picked up, school work handled, etc. then those pesky “other” chores can wait another day, week, month…. But I feel a sense of weight knowing that there are things in my home that need my attention. So this year I’ve decided to try and tackle one job a month and see it through to completion. Even if I only work 30 minutes a day (or week, as my schedule allows) on the task, I know beyond a doubt that I can do, I need the focus and discipline to get it done. As one of my motivational tools this year I decided to share my monthly tasks with you, show you how I’m getting the job done and the completed task. My desire is to not only to motivate myself in the right direction but to hopefully be a motivation to you as well, especially if you are like me and find procrastination all too easy.

So this month’s task for me is: Cleaning Out & Organizing Storage Areas

January rolls in and the festivities of the past couple of months are behind me and I feel need to clean out “stuff”. January just seems like the perfect month for this.  The winter weather keeps me inside more than outside making it a great use of my time.  My storage area is in my basement. I’ve talked about this before and shared pics as each year this seems to a task that needs to be done. I get it all cleaned up but through the year items get added, things get tossed on top of the organizing totes, kids don’t put things back where they belong and there the items sit until I get ready to go in and deal with. I also take advantage of this time to get rid of things that have not been used, that I don’t think I’ll use again or have lived out there purposeful life span.
 

Here is my before pictures:

Yep, it’s a mess! And here is my plan of attack…

~Start with 3 boxes (as I look at my storage area I’m certain I will eventually need more than 3 boxes but my sister in law taught me the “3 box” method and so that is how I start). One box is for items I want to keep. The second box is for items I want to give away. The third box is the “I don’t know” box. I think one of the hardest aspects of cleaning out storage areas is making decisions on what to do with our things. Sometimes it’s obvious and you know for certain that you want to keep it, or get rid of it. But sometimes you come across items that require you to stop and think about them. Maybe it has sentimental value, maybe you feel you “might” want to use it again, maybe you think you know someone who could use it but would need to ask first. So the “I don’t know” box allows you to not get bogged down in the cleanup/organizing process by feeling you have to make an immediate decision on an item. It can be set in the box and a decision made after you have thought about it.

~Now it is time to tackle one section at a time. It’s only overwhelming when you look at the big picture and feel it all needs to be done now. I will just focus on one area. Make decisions, box items, then clean the area off (wipe down, dust, etc) and then reorganize that area.

My next post on this topic I intend to show you pics of the process as I move through to the end of this goal.

If you have a storage area (or closet) you have been putting off cleaning out and organizing then I hope you will work alongside me this month to tackle this job!

We Can Do This Girls!!