A theme is emerging for my organizing projects. Beforehand the closet/cabinet/whatever is the BAIN OF MY EXISTENCE whenever I see it. It causes me to start thinking about all of the organizing and cleaning needed in the house...and then I start feeling overwhelmed. It's silly but true!

The hardest part is finding the time to make myself put other (more fun) things aside and get to organizing. But once I finally do start it's really not bad: I put on a few podcasts or my favorite Pandora station (set to The Lumineers), and pull everything out of the bain-of-my-existence space. The empty space always needs a good wipe down at that point. Then, categorize. So far the majority of the stuff that comes from these places can be donated or tossed. It's been sitting in the back of a cabinet for a reason - we don't need it!

The funnest part is figuring out the organizing scheme because at that point I can start to see the organized and functional space that will emerge. I try to use baskets or bins that we already own for organizing although I usually ended up at Target (why is Target so irresistable?). To keep our house from becoming over run with plastic or canvas bins I love browsing the kitchen section to see if there are bowls or baskets that could be re-purposed for organizing. As I put back only what we really need into the space it's so satisfying. I hope some of you can relate to my organizing nerdiness!

As I'm working towards my goal of having all the closet/cabinets/drawers organized by the end of the year I'm noticing a difference in our house - and how I perceive it. It's easier to pick up and put away clutter because, slowly, everything has a purpose and a place. There are also fewer BAIN OF MY EXISTENCE spots around the house so my feelings of being overwhelmed about the house occur less. The words of William Morris ring so true for me: "Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful," - something my mother instilled in me. And, slowly, we're getting there.

I'm also learning that being organized isn't something that gets checked off and then takes care of itself. There's an upkeep of making sure the organization really works for the way we use a space and that it isn't slowly becoming another place where junk collects. It's a process. But certainly one that's easier after the initial organizing is done!