So, I Organized my Refrigerator :: A Conversation Starter

Call me crazy.
Call me a nut.
OCD.
Weird.

Maybe you'll never visit my blog again?

Why?
Because I organized my refrigerator.

And why not organize it?

Isn't a refrigerator but a cold cabinet?

A large, chilly container?
A cooled closet?
A contemporary cellar?

It all started when a blogger friend of mine, Erin, mailed me something,
cause she offered to, cause we don't use chemicals in our house to clean things anymore.

This post is not a Shaklee promo, by the way, I just NEED to tell you, 

that I mixed the concentrate with water, put in in a spray bottle just like the instructions said,

and I opened up my fridge.

Not too bad, right?

How about the door?

(Ignore the Corona beers on the bottom shelf- they've been there for a year, I think.)

I took everything out of the fridge.

Every last morsel.

Then, I stood back and took a gander at the nekked inside of our fridge.
Like, ew!

Because it was a lovely, rainy, and cold day,
I took all the drawers and shelves out, toted 'em up to our Master Bath garden tub
 I sprayed them all with the Basic H-2.
I waited 10 minutes or so and Y'ALL aren't going to believe this,
since I thought I was gonna have to use the sander on the bottom shelf,
but all I did was rinse everything off in hot water and it was CLEAN!!
I dried all the pieces and put them back into place.
Beautiful!
I really like this Basic-H2 stuff!

Earlier this week, I found these lovelies at Wal-Mart.
The 3 large handled baskets were $3.50 each.
The 3 small handled baskets were $2.50 each.
And the 4 packs of storage trays were $1.17 each.
I also went grocery shopping.

I chose these bins
so I could group the food into categories,
see the food more easily,
and slide the bins around on the shelves when I am looking for something 
that has been lost in the abyss that is called the back of my refrigerator.

Below: bread-making supplies, dairy items, Chick-Fil-A catsup? and sushi ginger slices, PB & J.

The drawer got categorized, too.
Cheese, tomato paste and wasabi (I make sushi!), and more cheese.

I end up throwing a lot of food away because it gets stuck at the back.

And I forget about it.

Do you?

I started Weight Watchers a month and a 1/2 ago (need to lose 17 pounds, I have 11.5 to go!)
and I need the power foods right up front,
so I am not tempted to go to the pantry and get chocolate.
The handled bins are great- I just take them out and set them on the counter,
get what I need, and slide it back on the shelf.

We do not eat a lot of meat, so we usually do have this much produce on hand.
About twice a week we eat fish or chicken with our veggies.

What's also nice about the bins is that they keep the refrigerator cleaner.
If something gets leaky, it stays in the bin, and I rinse the bin out.

So, call me crazy.

Call me a nut.

OCD.

Weird.

Maybe you'll never visit my blog again?

Why?

Because I organized my refrigerator.

I'll have you know: I stopped short of labeling the bins.

See, I'm not so crazy!

.

Sharing my illness at these places today:
Simple Mom Project:Simplify
Serenity Now Bloggy Reading
Chic on a Shoestring Decorating
French Country Cottage
At the Picket Fence Inspiration Party
.

Closet PURGE + Redesign and PURGE PARTY {1}

Hello! Welcome to my first Purge Party!

To read more about it click here.

I am excited to be a part of your lives and as we all

encourage one another to let go of things, 
and stop placing so much meaning on the acquiring of STUFF.

And start thinking of our homes as havens, not catch-alls.

Places of ministry, hope and life.

Let's shed those things that hinder our effectiveness.

Let's shed excess acquisitions as well as attitudes 

that are no longer promoting peace in our homes!

We can learn new ideas about simplicity from each other,

and this is what I am excited about!

For those of you that still trying to figure out what a Purge Party is, I have a room to share with you that will give you an idea of what a PURGE can do! And what kind of party this is!

~

I had the pleasure of helping a client who had just become an "empty-nester" when her son left for Iraq and Afghanistan. She wanted to turn his room into her Painting Studio, and use the left closet for her art supplies. She is also a backpacker/hiker. The right closet was made into a space for her to conveniently store her equipment and supplies for hiking. (I worked with her to redesign and organize the whole room, but for now, we'll just look at the closets.)

Here is the left closet.

Her son left quite a bit here.

She donated his clothing that was too small,

 and boxed up the rest and put it in storage for when he comes home.

The old shelf and rod were removed and a Closet Maid System installed.

Labelled shoe boxes keep her supplies sorted and at-hand.

Here's what purging and organizing did for this space.

 This is the right closet in the same bedroom.

There is a lot of poorly-utilized space here.

A Closet Maid System was installed in this side, too.

Her gear (clothing, food, inclement weather gear) was sorted into bins and labelled.

The cream linen items (not in bins) are her brochure/campsite info bin and her tent.

She kept what she needed and had 7 lawn/garden sized bags of STUFF that were removed!

This room was reclaimed as space for her to now take up hobbies she enjoys.

And painting and hiking are much more enjoyable when she can find what she needs easily.

~

These closets are just an example.

You may have a drawer or a basket, a shed or a cupboard that you can simplify.

We are not only transforming our homes as we make them,

our hearts and outlooks are transformed, as well.

Please share those stories, too!

The rules for this party are quite simple:

1.) Your post has to be about releasing extra clutter of the home (i.e. too many options, too many things, too many piles) or shedding extra clutter of the heart (i.e. overwhelm, weariness, disappointment, resentment).

If you find that your link is gone, it's not because I don't love it, it's because your post didn't follow rule #1. I'm sorry!  

2.) Link directly to the post that pertains, not the link to your blog.

3.) The link party closes Wednesday at midnight EST.

4.) I will choose my favorite(s) and feature them next Monday!

My Office Desk Purge & Purge Party Invitation for YOU!

Hi!

I pray that you are having a wonderfully blessed day, 
serving in and being content as the keeper of your home.

I want to personally invite all of you to come and share your stories and pictures of simplifying,


At a Purge Party every Monday, 
starting this Monday, 
March 7th.


To read more about it, click here, or here: [Purge Party].


Here's how the idea was born:

As I have been simplifying for our move next year,

(click here to read our 2011 Goals)

I'm finding areas in my home that I dread entering or seeing!

When I walk into some rooms, my heart sinks because I am overwhelmed

by where to even begin organizing and de-cluttering it.

Do I need more bins, baskets, labels, drawers, hangers? No.

What I really need is to get rid of enough 

so that I don't NEED to get organized.

What if, when I opened a drawer, I didn't have to dig for what I wanted?

What if, when I went into my clothes closet, the outfit that I chose actually fit and was still in style?

What if, when I needed something in the garage, I knew right where it was?

What if I had all my current projects at hand, not in bins in the closet?

I want to lighten my load, to recycle where I can, to donate when I should,

and to sell the rest.

Some of you know this already,

but I am a Home Stager, Certified Interior Decorator, and an Organizer.

I have worked with many people, helping them go from chaos to order.

It is definitely easier for me to tell someone else what to do

with their STUFF.

Knowing that I should take my own advice, I started in my office desk drawers.

Our basement is the hub/epicenter of life around here.
I blog, design, and list on eBay and Craigslist here.
Miss A does her homework and surfs Facebook here.


The drawers have become full because we throw STUFF in them 
when we tidy the surface of the desk.


I purged for about an hour and got 4 drawers done.
Whoop! Whoop!

Here we go.


Office Desk PURGE


Drawer #1


I have too many pencils/pens, labels, Post-it Notes and pads of paper.

Oh, look! 

More pencils/pens, labels, Post-it Notes, and pads of paper in the revolving caddy!

 Let's dump everything out, sort it and keep only what we NEED.

We don't NEED these, so they will get donated.

I kept 6 mechanical pencils and 6 black pens.

We do not NEED 3 types of erasers.
The little white one and the big pink one got to stay.

I found hair bows and Hello Kitty lip gloss; they'll go back to Miss A's room.

I found love notes.

I put these labels in the cafe' bureau.
They will be name tags when guests come for a party or brunch.

We do not NEED duplicates and triplicates of one color of a pencil.

Only the Crayola brand was kept, one pencil per color.
4 pads, 1 highlighter, 6 permanent markers, 6 dry erase, 1 calligraphy and 4 colored ink pens.
And a partridge in a pear tree.

Drawer #1 Before:

Drawer #1 After:

Drawer #2

You may not think that this looks very messy, and you're right, it's not,

but I thought that I could make better use of the bins.

The top left bin is empty in case I NEED to use it later.
Small garbage can bags are kept in this drawer,
and now Miss A's Geometry STUFF easier to get.

Drawer #3


Let me take everything out so you can see the mess better, okay?

30+ empty CD cases (Mr. Man belongs to these), 10 spiral notebooks, 22 folders, lined paper
5 sets of page dividers & 100 clear plastic sleeves.

I had this mesh/metal file folder holder in Drawer #4, and used it to vertically store
6 folders, 1 set of page dividers, 50 clear plastic sleeves, 10 hanging file folders
and 2 spiral notebooks (unused).
In the back: 30+ CD cases (see, Mark? I didn't get rid of them).
In the front: lined notebook paper for all of the neighborhood children.

To the other side of the desk.

Drawer #4


Uh.

This is what was in there!
Several years of my girl's homeschooling planners, my journals, our home palette binder
(paint, flooring, fabric samples),
Marketing items for my business, my day planner and more STUFF.

The journals, home palette, marketing items, and day planner remained.
The other STUFF got donated, recycled, or will be filed in Drawer #5.

Drawer #5

This is the drawer that I dread. I did not finish it today.

This contains my personal info, old pictures, ephemera, scrapbook paper, 

holiday things, and more STUFF.

Here's a sampling of the STUFF that needs to be filed or purged.

But that is for another day.
It involves sorting and scanning photos.


However, I already feel more peace when I open the drawers for something.
I am able to work more efficiently and am not so anxious.


I hope that you will come back on Mondays.


This party is open for two sorts of purges.

1. Releasing of extra clutter of the home
(i.e. too many options, too many things, too many piles)

2. Shedding of extra clutter of the heart
(i.e. overwhelm, weariness, disappointment, resentment)


The party will be a time for us to encourage others to let go of things, 
and to stop placing so much emphasis or meaning on the acquiring of STUFF.

Let's start thinking of our homes as a havens, not catch-alls.

"Don't hoard treasure down here where it gets eaten by moths and corroded by rust or—worse!—stolen by burglars. Stockpile treasure in heaven, where it's safe from moth and rust and burglars. It's obvious, isn't it? The place where your treasure is, is the place you will most want to be, and end up being." Matthew 6:20-21