No really, I’m still here…

This post is a long time in coming.  I’ve been a little busy the last couple months, but I didn’t forget what I was doing.  In my last post, I promised I would next tackle the laundry closet, which I did promptly the next week.  Then I put everything down while I trained to be an advocate for children in foster care.  I’m all official now, so I don’t have any more excuses.  It’s time to pick back up where I left off.

The closet organizations were pretty easy.  They are such contained spaces.  However, the laundry closet reorg and the subsequent haitus posed for me two challenges that the clearing out and reorganization of the hall closet did not pose.

In chronological order, the first challenge that I came across with the laundry closet was letting go of stuff I like, and I have to admit that I largely found ways around this issue.  I have a bit of candles and candle holder thing.  This is not completely my fault.  For several years my friends and family knew I liked candles so at every gifting holiday I got more candles and things to put candles in.  I like candles.  I like the soft flickering light.  I like the smell of the melting wax.  Candles make me feel safe and warm and loved, and those are all good things.  But, I have a lot of them.  I don’t think that is too big a problem because candles are consumables and I will use them all eventually.  A little more problematic are all the holders.  They take up space, and I have more than I can really use.  However, as I picked each one up, I remembered who gave it to me, or why I purchased it.  I tried, but I could only release one pair of taper holders.  Luckily, I was able to find space for everything else, but the issue is really just on hold.  How to let go of things you love but no longer need?  I think that will part of the “advanced class.”

The next challenge I faced during the haitus: maintenance.  Again, the hall closet was a little easier.  I made a decision about what was meant to go in there and what need a different home, and that was that.  The laundry closet was a little harder.  Its contents shift and change more because I store extra supplies in there.  Keeping it neat and organized takes a bit more effort.  It’s not really hard, but it is an issue, a new habit to be formed.  One thing I’ve noticed is that the more I keep it organized, the easier it is to keep it organized.  There’s something of a reward in knowing I can find what I’m looking for.  The more I get used to being able to find things easily, the more motivated I am to keep things organized, the easier it is to make the small effort.

Here are the before and after pics:

Before

After

Before Detail

After Detail

My next effort, which I have started but am not ready to post about, is the spare room.  In my very first post here, I alluded to this being my biggest challenge.  For most intents and purposes, this room has been acting as a storage room, with my computer desk shoved in the back and my bookcase somewhere behind a bunch of boxes.  My goal is to make of it a guest bedroom/office/craft space.  This is going to take time and will have to come in stages.  It’s sure to be learning experience!