Thursday, September 17, 2009

Things Discovered During my Annual "Great Clean"

The Fall rejuvenates me. I never have been a fan of summer until I had kids in school because I miss them when they are gone and I love having summer down time with them. But, I am a more schedule minded person and so I love the routine and cooler weather of the fall.

Every fall, I try to go through every cupboard, drawer, closet, etc. and really get my house cleaned throughly. This year, it has been easier because I have been following "Organizing with Jane" religiously and she has given me great tips.

Some discoveries this time around:

--a hidden Easter egg that obviously wasn't found this past Easter. (YUCK!)
--I own about 30 chapsticks. They are now all in one organized spot (I spent a lot of money at The Container Store on drawer organizers. I have discovered I prefer the clear plastic kind.)
--I also own about 20 pencil erasers. The odd thing about this is that I have no memory of ever purchasing any pencil erasers.
--I found in almost every drawer a chopstick. We do like Asian food and we all know how to use chopsticks, so that I have about 70 of them doesn't surprise me. That they were dispersed in every drawer in my kitchen does surprise me.

When organizing, Jane Anne gives this rule of three:

Throw away, keep or give away

The give away part has been very liberating for me. For things I don't really use or like anymore, it is liberating to put those in the "give away" pile. My house is less cluttered and I like to think someone else is making good use of it.

Well, folks I have another cupboard to go through.

4 comments:

Queen Elizabeth said...

Good for you. I cleaned out my fridge last week and it felt amazing. Found a few science experiments. I have ONE chopstick - can't find it's mate. Can I send it to you?

Lisa Christine said...

I think throwing and giving away is the most liberating feeling. Ahhh...I love it!
Thanks for the link to that organizing blog, I'll have to check it out!

Happy fall to you!

Lisa Christine said...

OK, I popped over to her blog and I am a FAN!

(can you tell I am an organizing nut?)

Her button is most definately going on my sidebar.

Jane Anne said...

YEAH Janice! I want to come see what you have done!