More. And Less. And Lessons in Organizing.

March 29, 2016

Here is my dashing, beardless husband and me after our Easter service.

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After I saw that picture I thought, “Steve and I are always wishing there was more of us to go around since it seems as though we can never get it all done.”

And so I did us a favor and made more of us.

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And now?  Whenever my to do list gets way too long? I will just put the other three Beckys on alert and we’ll get ‘er done.

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I’m so thankful I have come across this new method of coping with the busyness of our lives.  I just wonder why it took me so long to figure it out!

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On a totally opposite thought . . .

While I was happy to add to my supply of Steves and Beckys, I have been doing just the opposite when it come to subtracting things from my life.

In fact, my goal over the next few weeks is to go through different areas of my house and life and purge, purge, purge.  The older I get, the more I realize that an excess of stuff does not take me to my happy place.

Saturday, I spent about an hour going through my earrings and necklaces.  (Most of the pieces cost less than $5, except for a few gifts from family and friends.)  I disliked having to start my mornings by rummaging through disorganized piles of earrings, many of which no longer suited my style or color palette.

I’ve always believed that if you’re going to organize something and are overwhelmed with where to start then quite simply–start with the first areas you see in the morning.

Organizing a far corner of the garage is a good and worthwhile thing to do but it’s not going to give you much of a boost as you start your day. (Unless, for some unfathomable reason, you have a reason to head out to a corner of your garage as soon as you get up.)

For me, I was the most overwhelmed by digging through a myriad of mismatched socks and rummaging through endless piles of earrings.

Although I had organized my earrings a year ago, they had mysteriously migrated all over the place and I had wound up with one earring here and another earring there–none of which matched each other.  I had to scan every single earring to find the two I was looking for.  And when I was in a hurry in the morning, Endless Earring Scanning was not what I wanted to be doing.

And so I took every single earring out of my drawer and revamped the whole collection, getting rid of about 30 pairs of earrings that I rarely wore. (That is such a good feeling.)

I organized all the gold/silver earrings in the egg carton on the left (you can see I spent a LOT on organizational materials) and then put the colorful ones in the other egg cartons. I also have a few larger earrings in another drawer.

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Yesterday I was running late for an appointment and as I threw on my necklace (I also purged about 25 necklaces) I thought, “Oh great.  Now I am going to have to rummage through my mess of earrings to find the pair that matches.”  I had completely forgotten I had done my Saturday organizing and when I opened the drawer and saw my earrings neatly paired up, I grinned like a fool.

It’s such a simple thing to do but it pays dividends by allowing me to save both time and frustration as I start my day.

The spring season has always been a traditional time to organize, clean and purge. What areas do you have in your house that are bugging you?

Linen closet? Junk drawer? Laundry room? Craft area? Silverware collection? Bathroom/medicine cabinets?Shoes?  Earrings?  

Leave a comment and let me know what spot you’d love to tackle in the next week or so.

If it’s too overwhelming to begin, remember the Becky Smith Rule of Thumb. What areas do you see in the first hour after you get up?  Start there.  And remember that sometimes we put off and put off doing an organizing job and then when we get into it,we realize that it doesn’t take all that long after all!

And the next morning after you organize, you can look forward to starting your day with less frustration and more smiles. Give it a try!

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28 comments so far.

28 responses to “More. And Less. And Lessons in Organizing.”

  1. Jodi says:

    You could get pill boxes (those M-F ones) & use one slot per pair?? You can close the compartments too! They even have one for 30 days…..and you can travel w/ them!!!!!

    How’ve you been feeling?? Did Sarah make any final decisions on college???

    Have a great Thursday!!!!!

    • Becky says:

      Jodi,

      What a great idea about using the pill boxes for my earrings; I’ll keep my egg carton idea for at home, the pill boxes really would be good for traveling.

      I’ll be posting on Sarah and her college stuff next week.

      I’m feeling well. Final diagnosis from GI doctor was IBS and gastritis. I’m on Prilosec for 6 months and IBGard as needed. Symptoms are basically under control and I’m feelin’ pretty perky! 🙂

  2. Mel says:

    Ugh – Can we say entire house?? I am going to follow your advise and start with the bedroom but some days it seems too daunting. 🙁 On a happier note, when I first saw the picture of your earrings displayed, because of the lighting, I thought that the white that they were sitting on was silk material. I really thought it was some type of jewellery case. Then as I read through your post and you said egg cartons, I scrolled down a little more and it wasn’t until I saw the bottom edge of the egg carton that I realized what you were talking about. You had me completely fooled.

    • Becky says:

      Mel,

      Actually I’m sure a lot of us could say “entire house.” Join the club!

      But just starting on your bedroom at least gives you a manageable chunk and is not so overwhelming. That way as soon as you open your eyes in the morning, you are greeted by the beautiful sight of unclutteredness. (Which isn’t really a word but it’s still a wonderful image.)

      I would love to have my earrings displayed on silk but alas, egg cartons will have to do. 🙂

  3. Jan Reuther says:

    Super idea for organizing earrings!

    I’m afraid if I listed all the areas I (still) need to declutter, I’d break the internet. I’ve been downsizing since I moved in here 2-1/2 years ago. I can’t believe how much “too much” stuff I have, but it’s true.

  4. Lesley says:

    Well, now you’re talking! I may not be a good cook but I am a master organizer and thrower-outer. Maybe some OCD is part of this, but there could be worse things, haha. I tend toward the less is best motto and the more streamlined my surroundings, drawers and cupboards are, the better I feel. The only things that I hang onto are photos. I have so many of those! They are in photo boxes and it is bothering me that some of them are not in chronological order, lol. It’s on my to-do list. Every night before bed I vacuum the wall to wall carpet. It makes me very happy to wake up to vacuum lines in the morning, since you asked what we see first.

    • Becky says:

      Lesley,

      I would be delighted to see vacuum lines in the morning but have neither the energy or motivation to make that happen. I admire your skills in organizing and living in a streamlined manner. I have to agree with you–there truly is great joy in getting rid of miscellaneous stuff and living clean and simple.

      Sounds like those disorganized pictures don’t stand a chance in your house. I imagine you will have them whipped into shape in no time. 🙂 Enjoy!

  5. Ann Martin says:

    I have all rooms I need to de-clutter. Guess I could start with jewelry as I usually wear the same pieces every day except I do change earrings on Sunday or special activities. So much I do not use. Need to give my nieces pieces in my will for them now and get rid of some. I have been wearing my Mama’s gold bracelet for over two years (since her passing) and she wanted my niece to have it. We discussed this before her death and she told me to keep it. Sunday was Mama’s birthday as well as Easter and my niece came to visit. She was sitting in front of me in church and after the service I took off the bracelet and placed it on her wrist. I told her it was time and felt right to me. We both cried. She said it made her weekend and I know she will wear it everyday as I did and treasure it. That is a beginning.

    • Becky says:

      Ann,

      What a sweet story about your mom’s bracelet and your niece at church. I know that moment when you put the bracelet on her wrist is something she will remember as long as she lives–as will you.

      Thanks for sharing that wonderful snippet of your life.

  6. sharyn McDonald says:

    Jewelry reminds me of rabbits, they just seem to multiply. ? Love the outfit you’re wearing with Steve. Coral is such a great color. Steve is looking “swave” too!

  7. Jim Martin says:

    I know what Ann’s comment of having more than one of me around but I wont say what her comments would be.

    • Becky says:

      Jim,

      So glad there’s one of you for Ann and one of Ann for you. 🙂 I know you two are a treasure to each other . . . and to us!

  8. Wendy says:

    I too have been in the purging, organizing mode. But now the rest is up in the attic and down in the basement and I HATE to see it when I have to go either place. Next week I will start on them, and have a big ole garage sale in May at our citywide sale. I do not want to leave it all up to my kids to dispose of someday or have to do when I decide to sell my home and move into town. Ugh! Really like the picture(s) of you and Steve. Would love to be more than one of me to get things done 🙂

    • Becky says:

      Wendy,

      Having a yard sale scheduled is a great motivation to get things purged and organized. And it’s great when there’s a city wide sale; I’ve never heard of that concept but it sounds like fun!

      Just think of how clutter-free your home will be at the end of that sale!

  9. If you haven’t yet – read The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up (the KonMari Method thing I’m sure you’ve read about). I’ve completed one full “cycle” of that process, and have started again. My house feels “lighter” and I only have the clothing that I actually WEAR now.

    I have a dedicated shelving unit where we put stuff we’re listing on eBay, and I’ve sold a LOT of stuff on our local FB BST groups. That money (from selling STUFF we no longer need/use) goes into our vacation fund, so that’s a big motivator for me – because I love Love LOVE to go places!

    My next area is my clothing (again). I’ve found that now that I’ve purged so many items that I truly have many more articles of clothing that just need to go away… lol

    • Becky says:

      Stefanie,

      I love your line, “My house feels lighter.” Such a cool concept.

      Yes, I have heard of the KonMari Method but haven’t read the books yet. Need to do that.

      And what a great idea to sell unneeded items and put money in a vacation account. I’m like you–I love to travel and see new things.

      Enjoy the “lighter” house and the travel days to come.

  10. Dale Tousley says:

    I need to organize and sell/donate items in my china cabinet…..my mom gave me my grandmother’s china set when she passed away and then I got my mom’s when she passed away and so now I have about 5 sets of china that I never use, some of it is in my brakefront but most of it is in a hall closet just sitting there!

    • Becky says:

      Dale,

      I LOVE nice china; you are blessed to have so much of it! And yet I can certainly sympathize with the challenge of having too much beyond where you can even use it.

      I know there would be plenty of people who would love to buy it from you but it’s a matter of letting go. Not an easy thing.

  11. LeeAnne says:

    I REALLY need to clean out/organize/purge my jewelry as well. I have a jewelry armoire that was my mom’s as well as all of the jewelry in it that was hers too. And there is a LOT. I know that I should just do it but it really tugs at my heartstrings at the thought of getting rid of some of the things that were special to her. They aren’t valuable….I would never do that. But still. Ugh.

    As far as the rest of the house goes, I have been in ‘purge mode’ for the last several years. When we gutted and remodeled our kitchen, I went through those items. And since then, I try to make the effort to keep up with other areas/rooms. In the back of my mind is the reality that in about 7 years when we retire, we will be moving to be closer to our kids and grandkids and I sure don’t want to have to do all of that at once! 🙂

    That’s a great picture of you and Steve! Wouldn’t it be nice if we could really just make more of us to help get things done? I’d delegate and then head outside to the golf course! Ha!!

    • Becky says:

      LeeAnne,

      You are wise to do your sorting, purging, reorganizing a little bit at a time so that when you DO move, you won’t be so overwhelmed by it all!

      I know getting rid of jewelry that someone you loved wore is a tough, tough thing to do. I don’t know if it would help you at all to take a picture of the pieces you decide to get rid of, just so that you can revisit the jewelry and the memories when you get to missing your mom.

      And, remodeling is always a good impetus to get rid of and organize things. Sounds like you’re doing a great job staying ahead of it all since the remodel!

  12. Phyllis says:

    I need to purge my jewelry – especially earrings. I wear the same pair almost every day. When I moved from Florida to Kansas, I didn’t have a lot of time to get rid of things like I would have liked to and now here it is nearly two years later and I still haven’t gone through things like I should.

    • Becky says:

      Phyllis,

      If you wear the same pair of earrings every day (a nice bit of minimalism) then getting rid of jewelry should be a little easier for you. I LOVE all my earrings and wear different ones every day which makes it a little harder to get rid of pieces.

      Florida to Kansas is quite the transition! You’ve had two years to settle in–now it’s time to start sorting and purging! 🙂

  13. Cindy from Sonoma says:

    Since I am moving from CA to MN in October I have been busy the last few months purging and donating in both states. There is nothing like a move to force you to weed out the excess. There will still be a lot to ship back to MN (we are keeping most of my furniture), but in the end I will be much more organized!

    • Becky says:

      Cindy,

      Isn’t it such a great feeling to get rid of things and to organize the things that remain? Sounds like you are doing really well all that. Enjoy your new adventure!

  14. beckylp says:

    good idea about the egg cartons. My mom is a “pin” wearer and probably has 75-100 and she would never consider down sizing. She took a beautiful hand made lap quilt and we added a dowel to it and it hangs on the wall outside of her bathroom. She has her pins pinned to it – it is very pretty and unusual – she can tell you where each pin came from and can also choose the one she wants to go not only with her outfit but since she wears a hat all the time – she also will dress up her hats with a pin. Also, that is a wonderful pix of you and Steve. As for socks – I have 10 pair and that is it and they are all the same make and black in color- I went for the lazy way. Hope you have a wonderful day. Becky – up the road

    • Becky says:

      Becky,

      I LOVE your mom’s idea of displaying her pins on an old quilt! I imagine that is a beautiful sight to see.

      And I also love that she still wears hats. She sounds like a classy lady!

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