Convenient temporary storage in clutter hot spots - Page 2

[IsaFrench]

Crayfish thank you for your posts, I just received the last book you mention and started reading it ... it's not so hard for me to read your analysis as it would be if my sister would tell me the same thing .....

[clutterwarrior]

Crayfish I love your towel theory!

Originally Posted by Crayfish

For example, perfectionism sounds like a likely cause for the concern that you ensure that you donate your stuff to someone who will use it, and a likely cause for walking past those piles, and a likely cause for progressing so slowly.



Crayfish

Very true...I have read elsewhere about 'amnesty' for those who have a severe cluttering or hoarding problem...instead of being paralysed by fear of wanting to donate or recycle each item in the correct way, give yourself amnesty to throw it all away. There is no point trying to save the world when you are drowning in clutter in your own home.

[Smokering]

I totally have that perfectionism when it comes to home decorating. (Not cleaning so much, that's just ineptness!) I love the idea of having a home that actually looks put-together and themed and House and Garden-y, but every time I see a gorgeous design spread I dismiss it with "Well, I dunno if that's really me".

Seriously, every time I want to do something as simple as sew a cushion, I get crippled by these thoughts. Is it MEEEE? Does it express the tiniest, subtlest, most intricate quirks of my personality? What if I get sick of it in five years? What if I learn to sew better by then, so this looks shoddy? What if I ruin good fabric? What if I use this fabric I picked up at the thrift store, but later we can afford really good fabric and this looks cheap? What if I wait and save up to buy fancy 100% linen from the craft store? Are the colours too trendy? If I use neutrals, does that make me a boring person at whom designers would scoff? Didn't I vow when I got married to have different cushions, quilts etc in the living room for every season? What if my designs are too girly for DH? What if I go off steampunk? What if my version of steampunk is too generic and not one-of-a-kind enough? Why won't DH hurry up and design the typgraphical frieze I want for the living room, which should take him a mere 1,400 man-hours to complete? Do I only like this because everybody on Craftster's doing it,?

And so on and on, until I'm convinced that the world as we know it will explode in a flaming ball of fire (or ice, if them's your leanings) if I do not spend six years acquiring the knowledge and skills of a professional decorator online before I dare to TOUCH my (rented!) living room. So nothing ever gets decorated. Plus, I'm slowly developing scruples that further hinder my progress - I like to buy things second-hand, avoid MIC, avoid teak, ethics, frugality, blah blah blah - all good things, but it doesn't exactly help. Sometimes I really wish I had the gumption just to go out and buy a duvet, some pillows and a lampshade. Whether they were "me" or not, they'd make the bedroom look a whole lot better than it currently does.

[clutterwarrior]

Originally Posted by Smokering

And so on and on, until I'm convinced that the world as we know it will explode in a flaming ball of fire (or ice, if them's your leanings) if I do not spend six years acquiring the knowledge and skills of a professional decorator online before I dare to TOUCH my (rented!) living room. So nothing ever gets decorated.

Thanks for the laugh...I really did laugh out loud reading this!

I so see myself in what you wrote must admit...and I know the reality is not that amusing, as nothing ever gets done does it....

I say buy the duvet!

[durafemina]

oh Smokering, LOL.. .but there is a lot of truth to what you wrote in my own life.
Sometimes I have success bidding on TradeMe bc the'decision' is semi-out-of-my-hand (ie whether I win or not!).

And sometimes I just remind myself to "be gently with yourself!!". . . . because it's all part of the process, I'm allowed to make mistakes, things are allowed to change, objects are allowed to come and go and be moved on to the next person/stage/use.

It's a good mantra. . . . when I remember to breathe and repeat it

[sapphire_chan]

Originally Posted by Crayfish

On the DVDs: Both.

I would definitely have a drop zone and an "on the way out" zone near the front door for lots of things, including rentals. These might be two spaces, or they might be the same space.

The space near the computer should be designed specifically for DVDs, the space near the door should be more of a catch-all where you dump things and then when you go to play one of the DVDs, you grab all of them and move them to the computer space.

A "errands" bag is a good idea. Anything that needs to go into the car with you can go into it, and then your catch-all area for dumping things when dealing with a screaming toddler can just be a place to set the bag.

[sapphire_chan]

Originally Posted by Crayfish

Some thoughts:
....

seventh theory: you're a visual person and putting things away makes you feel like they've vanished. Out of sight/out of mind. That can be helped by open storage and really clear labels. If you have to have an opaque container for something, stick a picture on the outside.

In addition to the books Crayfish recommended, I really like The Organizing Sourcebook for working with organizing systems.

[lafemmedesfemmes]

Originally Posted by Smokering

I totally have that perfectionism when it comes to home decorating. (Not cleaning so much, that's just ineptness!) I love the idea of having a home that actually looks put-together and themed and House and Garden-y, but every time I see a gorgeous design spread I dismiss it with "Well, I dunno if that's really me".

Seriously, every time I want to do something as simple as sew a cushion, I get crippled by these thoughts. Is it MEEEE? Does it express the tiniest, subtlest, most intricate quirks of my personality? What if I get sick of it in five years? What if I learn to sew better by then, so this looks shoddy? What if I ruin good fabric? What if I use this fabric I picked up at the thrift store, but later we can afford really good fabric and this looks cheap? What if I wait and save up to buy fancy 100% linen from the craft store? Are the colours too trendy? If I use neutrals, does that make me a boring person at whom designers would scoff? Didn't I vow when I got married to have different cushions, quilts etc in the living room for every season? What if my designs are too girly for DH? What if I go off steampunk? What if my version of steampunk is too generic and not one-of-a-kind enough? Why won't DH hurry up and design the typgraphical frieze I want for the living room, which should take him a mere 1,400 man-hours to complete? Do I only like this because everybody on Craftster's doing it,?

And so on and on, until I'm convinced that the world as we know it will explode in a flaming ball of fire (or ice, if them's your leanings) if I do not spend six years acquiring the knowledge and skills of a professional decorator online before I dare to TOUCH my (rented!) living room. So nothing ever gets decorated. Plus, I'm slowly developing scruples that further hinder my progress - I like to buy things second-hand, avoid MIC, avoid teak, ethics, frugality, blah blah blah - all good things, but it doesn't exactly help. Sometimes I really wish I had the gumption just to go out and buy a duvet, some pillows and a lampshade. Whether they were "me" or not, they'd make the bedroom look a whole lot better than it currently does.

yep, this is me, in a nutshell. we've been in our new house for 6 months, and our walls and windows are still as bare as they were the day we moved in!

christina

[crunchy_mommy]

Originally Posted by durafemina

ok, let's talk about the bed:

we *always* have clothes on ours. You know - the clothes you take off to go to sleep but are still ok to wear again (esp if it's going to be another day at home with kids). Eventually ours fall on the floor and get actually dirty, or dp gets sick of them and washes them (waste!). I'm loathe to put them back in the cupboard as they're not *actually* clean. Throwing them on a chair looks messy. Whose got a brilliant solution?

Well honestly if they're not clean enough to put back in the drawer (we do this frequently ourselves) then they should go in the laundry... I don't think there's any "in between" with that -- either they are still clean or they are dirty, smelly, etc. But if you really don't want to mix the clothes, could you empty out a dresser drawer to be used only for these clothes?

[clutterwarrior]

Originally Posted by crunchy_mommy

Well honestly if they're not clean enough to put back in the drawer (we do this frequently ourselves) then they should go in the laundry... I don't think there's any "in between" with that -- either they are still clean or they are dirty, smelly, etc. But if you really don't want to mix the clothes, could you empty out a dresser drawer to be used only for these clothes?

I must admit I think differently about this...I do think there is most definitely an in between. Throwing things in the wash too readily contributes to a huge waste of water and energy.

Coming from a country where water is a precious resource, we encourage the children to wear their clothes as much as possible before putting them in the wash...not if they smell or have food dropped down them of course.

Another way to freshen clothes without using water and thereby also using more energy to run a machine and pumping detergent into the environment, is to just air your clothes outside by hanging on the line...the sun and air is wonderful for freshening clothes.

Apart from airing, in Australia we already use clotheslines mostly to dry our clothes...tumble dryers are frowned on by many except for rainy days or drying towels, as they waste energy and arguably may contribute to global warming.

I do think your idea of a separate drawer for these clothes is a neat idea!

[crunchy_mommy]

That's exactly my point though We re-wear clothes over and over as long as they aren't dirty/smelly. Of course I rewear clothes way more often than DH who sweats a lot or DS who is a messy eater & plays in the dirt all day!! But anyway... I guess I just don't see any issue with putting the clothes right back with the "clean" clothes in the drawer.

[clutterwarrior]

Originally Posted by crunchy_mommy

That's exactly my point though We re-wear clothes over and over as long as they aren't dirty/smelly.

Sorry if I have missed your point...however I am still confused about how "if they're not clean enough to put back in the drawer ...then they should go in the laundry" means that you are re-wearing them? Unless you mean you take them out of the laundry basket to put on to re-wear?

Anyway never mind, we all obviously do the same thing, i.e. re-wear our clothes!

[crunchy_mommy]

LOL sorry if I confused you!! Yes we re-wear our clothes but I just put the "worn" clothes in the drawers with the "clean" clothes. I don't think they'll contaminate my unworn clothes if they are clean enough to be worn again anyway!! So if they have dirt or smell then they go in the laundry, otherwise they go back in the drawer. Unless you are talking about re-wearing smelly/dirty clothes (maybe to work on the car or dig a garden??), then I'd say definitely do a separate drawer or bin!!