Week 8: Ava's Drawers

I hope everyone had a Happy Thanksgiving! I took the week off of purging due to being super busy with the holiday. Getting back on track with cleaning, organizing and purging, I focused on Ava’s drawers. I have been wanting to go through them for some time. There were clothes from 12 months all the way up to 2T and it was a mess! I started by emptying each drawer individually. I would go through whatever was in that drawer and sort it into three categories. I would either keep the item, save for little sister, or donate or toss. Most of the clothes I kept or saved for Addy. I got rid of about a bag of clothes to donate or toss. Once I completed emptying out the drawers it was time to organize! There are a total of six drawers in Ava’s dresser. The first row in Ava’s dresser has her pajama’s and then her diapers. I have Ava’s changing pad on top of her dresser so it was important to have her diapers within an arm’s reach. The second row in her drawers contains her tops and bottoms. Since we are just in the beginning of having cold weather, I am storing all of Ava’s summer and spring clothes. I did put two dividers in each drawer. This allowed three rows in each of Ava’s drawers. This allows me to see what she. The last row of drawers I also put a divider in each one. In the first drawer, I have two overalls and in the other divider I have all of her socks and stockings. In the second drawer I have outfits that match and are more for going out. I have two bags of clothes that I am going to save for Addy. That means I had a total of three extra bags of clothes piled in Ava’s drawers! Wow, the space is amazing!

Of course, I am tempted to buy all that adorable little girls clothes but I remember that I want simple and easy. The more clothes that Ava has, the more clothes that I have to take care of. It doesn’t mean that I am not going to buy an outfit here and there. I just do not want to get into a situation where I have an abundance of clothes. They are going to get dirty, they are going to get stains. I would rather her wear her clothes hard and frequent and get my moneys worth than hardly wear the outfit at all.

It feels so nice to open up the drawers and not have to riffle through to find a top or bottom. Having everything organized makes it easier to put clothes away too!

THESE ARE THE BOMB! They are very sturdy and get the job done. They are not super tall so if you are a stacker your clothes could get mixed together. To fix this I would just place slightly higher in the drawer. Enjoy!!

mDesign Adjustable, Expandable Drawer Organizer/Divider - Foam Ends, Strong Secure Hold, Locks in Place - for Bedroom, Bathroom, Closet, Office, Kitchen Storage - 2.5" High - 4 Pack, White

MetroDecor

Week 7: Happy Thanksgiving

Have a wonderful and blessed Thanksgiving

Week 6: Addy's Closet

Addy’s Closet

Addy’s closet was my focus for week six of the purge. I think this will be the last closet I will do for a while. Addy’s closet is a little larger than Ava’s closet. It has become the dumping ground of clothes, toys, shoes, blankets, whatever. It lacks a lot of organizational structure. I took almost everything out and just began to go through what I had in there. I had shoes and clothes that were Ava’s but to big for Addy that I am storing away. I found a few clothes that were for Addy now, so I am glad I cleaned things out. I had a lot of hair accessories everywhere, along with wash clothes and blankets. I organized Addy’s Elfa over-the-door organizer first. I have a bin for her towels and wash clothes. I hung up all of her hair bows. I have a few empty bins but I am restraining myself from buying more. Inside her closet, I have a bin that has toys in it. I also have this two stacked drawers set. In the first drawer, is keep sake items and the second drawer has blankets. The first shelf in the closet has diapers and bedding. The second shelf has a car seat cover and some random items.

I did not really have anything to give away or donate. I did throwout a bunch of hangers and bags. I love being able to open both girls’ closet and everything is neat and in order. It doesn’t take much to keep things in order when you do not have a ton of stuff that serves you no purpose. Actually having more stuff takes up more time and energy than having fewer items arranged in order.

If there is an area that you are avoiding purging, it probably means that you really need to do it! If you are struggling please reach out via email and I will offer some words of encouragement or ideas of help. You can do this! You can break free from all of the stuff you have and live a more simple and stress free life! You got this!

Yikes! It is amazing how fast things can pile up.

ahhh…Now I can finally see what is in there!



https://www.containerstore.com/elfa/index.htm?redirectSearchTerm=elfa

** This is a link to the over the door storage system I have.

ClosetMaid 1566 Stackable 2-Drawer Horizontal Organizer, White

ClosetMaid

Drawers are great for storing items and keeping them hiding from little fingers. :)

Week 4: Ava's Closet

Ava’s Closet

So it is week four of the Purge. I cannot believe it! This week I decided to put my time and energy to purge Ava’s closet. My goal was to organize and clean out the closet so it would be more functional. I will admit I have a habit of sometimes throwing stuff in there. To my surprise it was not as bad as I thought it was. Ava’s closet is a decent size but I did not want it to be cluttered and feel crowded. I wanted to be able to see the floor when I opened the door. I did not add any organization baskets or items to the closet from what I already had. I have an awesome over the door system that I LOVE and will link below. In the closet I have two cubes stacked on each other. The top cube has a door and the bottom has a bin. I love that it hides what is in there and gives off a clean look! Plus it helps prevent Ava from going in and removing everything I have in there.

The first thing I did was remove what was in there and kind of assess what I have. I had diapers, shoes, clothes, and lots of blankets. Ava loves her blankets! I decided that I wanted the blankets to be easily accessible to grab but not where she can get in to them. I had a basket on top of the cubes and decided to use that to store her blankets. In the cube with the door, I have all her shoes that are appropriate to her size. This includes all seasons since I am assuming her feet will not grow has rapidly as before. The shoes that are too small, I am saving for Addy. I will put them in storage along with any clothes that are too small for Ava. In the bin, I have seasonal items. For example, a bathing suit, baseball cap, and gloves. I was originally going to store her bathing suits for next season but decided against it. We travel quite a bit and wanted the bathing suite to be accessible for swimming. On the floor, I have her winter shoes out. The shelves have her diapers and a personal keepsake box, along with some other miscellaneous items.

I love the over the door organizational system that we have. It was not cheap but I believe worth it. You can pick and move the pieces to fit what you need. I have an area where I can hang her towel up and also her hair bows. I have a wipes in a bin on it and her towels and washcloths in another bin. The system is very sturdy and no nails required!

In this purge, I am not really getting rid of much. Actually the only thing I am getting rid of is a diaper bag. The clothes and shoes that Ava no longer fits into, I am hoping to give to her little sister. I will put these in storage till Addy is ready to use them.

I do have extra space on my shelves and on my over the door rack. Yes, this makes me want to go out shopping and buy cute toddler things. I have to remember though that everything takes up my time and space. I want to be able to see what we have and for the items to be easily accessible. Plus buying things that I do not need will not make me happy. I could use that money for experience with my girls!

I hope that this helps inspire you to go through an area or theme in your house. To live simply is to live smart. Experiences will be remembered but not always things! Remember you are doing a great job! You got this, mama!

https://www.containerstore.com/s/elfa/best-selling-solutions/door-wall-racks/123

*This is the link to the over the door storage rack that I have. It is called the Elfa system. I believe it goes on sell at least two times a year. This system is great! They have recommendations on different storage racks or you can create your own (That is what I did). I feel like it fits to your door pretty well. The shelves are all adjustable. I seriously had to refrain myself from getting one for every closet door in my house. This is NOT an ad nor do I get any gains from this. I am simply sharing what works for my family.

Before

Week 3: Kitchen Storage Containers

Kitchen Storage Containers

This past week I focused my attention to the storage containers in my kitchen. It was a mess under there and difficult to find a container with a matching lid. (It probably does not help that my toddler plays with the containers…whoops) My goal was to organize and declutter the cabinet. I wanted all my containers to have matching lids and be easily accessible.

The first thing I did was remove all the containers and lids from the cabinet. I went through each container and made sure it had a matching lid. Then I threw out all my containers that had cracks or were in poor condition. If the container did not have a lid then I threw it out or donated the container. Next I sorted the container based on shape. I stacked all the circular containers up and then I stacked all the square containers. I put all the lids in a storage basket on the bottom of the cabinet. I have started using mason jars for storing my food to try to get away from plastic containers. I have them lined up and easily accessible. I have found that my family eats leftover and the right portions when I have the food already portioned out in individual containers. It makes it easier to grab and go.

A few tips/advice:

• Ask yourself, “Do I really need all these containers?” How often do you have all the containers really filled up with food or in your dishwasher. Yes, when you stack the containers, you save space but they still take up room. Plus, when you have to place them back you don’t want to have to sort a ton of containers.

• Keep a few containers that you would not mind giving away, placed on the side separately. Think about when you have company over and you have leftovers. It is so nice to have some containers easily accessible so you can give away some of that delicious food that you made. On that note, do not expect to get your containers back.

• Do not keep the lids with the container. This allows for more storage space so you can stack the containers. Just keep the lids in an enclosed storage bin so it will be easier to find your lid.

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Storage containers before

All containers with cracks have to go! You do not need them to take up your SPACE!

Afterwards

On the bottom, I have lids and containers that I will use for when we have company over.

On the top, I have all the containers and mason jars.

All the containers I got rid of. It feels so good to not have all those containers cluttering up my space. P.S. that was not a small shopping bag at T.J.Maxx

I hope this inspires you to find an area of your home to purge. Remember that everything you own takes up some part of your time. What do you want to do with that time?

Have a great day!

Week 2: Dresser Drawers

Week 2:Dresser Drawers

I have been dreading cleaning out my dresser but figured I should get to it sooner rather than later due to the large amount of clothes piling up on top. My dresser has six drawers and pretty much still have everything separated as I did previously with 2 drawers that were changed.

The first thing I did was go through and empty the drawers one by one. I went through each item and put the clothes into the appropriate pile. The piles I had was clothes to be thrown out, clothes to donate/sell, clothes to store, and clothes to keep. The clothes that were to be thrown out were clothes that were stained, had any holes, or were really worn. The clothes that I will donate/sell were clothes that were in good condition but either did not fit me or I did not like the item anymore. The clothes to store were my maternity clothes or out of season items. I am not convinced that we are done with having babies so I am keeping my maternity clothes. They are pretty neutral items, so I know I would wear them again. Maternity wear can be pretty expensive too. The clothes to keep were clothes that I would continue to be wearing during the colder months.

So once I dealing with only the clothes that I was keeping, I started to sort them out to which drawer I would be placing them in. I did purchase these awesome drawer dividers from amazon and will have a link in this post. I ended up ordering two more sets of 4 to use for the girls dresser and to finish mine. I felt like these were huge in helping me with keeping the clothes organized and not getting all thrown together again. We will see if this last. :)

My first drawer on my dresser I separated into bras, underwear, and socks. I used two dividers, so I would have three rows to place each category in.

My second drawer is for my tank tops and pajama’s. I used one divider. My pajama’s are not separated into tops and bottoms but I may do that once my new dividers come.

My third drawers is where all my short sleeved to three quarter sleeved tops are. I had to use two dividers and I will admit that things are pretty packed. The dividers are a huge benefit because I feel like I was able to get more tops in the drawers. I am not quite sure that is a good thing though lol.

My fourth drawer has all of my pants but this excludes my jeans. My jeans I keep in my closet. In this drawer, I have sweatpants and leggings.

My fifth drawer has all my workout clothes. I have been really trying to workout at least every day that I am not working at work, so this sets me up for success. I used one divider and have my tops on one side and bottoms on the other side. I might use a second divider to break up my tops a little more. I am excited about this drawer because anything that makes it easier for me to get my workout in is a plus.

My sixth drawer has my long sleeved tops and sweatshirts. I might change this a bit and keep my sweatshirts in my closet and space out some more of my short sleeved tops. I have not decided yet.

The purge this week was a struggle. I had a busy week and kept putting the project off probably due to knowing how overwhelming it would be. I am going to see if I start wearing some of the tops I kept and if not, I will probably end of selling those items or donating them. I feel like I am in a major phase of transition with my clothes because I am nursing and also trying to lose weight. My sizes and what feels good are changing. I know that space is a bit tighter in my drawers because of this. I ended up donating/selling about one dresser full of clothes. I gotta remember that is a lot better than not doing anything at all.

I hope this helps and inspires you to purge an area of your life. If you are avoiding doing an area, it is probably due to some emotions that comes along with it. Remember that you can do it! Give yourself grace and time to complete the project. You will feel so glad that you did it. Remember that if you do find some extra space, fight the urge to fill it. You want to buy or collect things that you REALLY LOVE, otherwise it defeats the purpose to purge in the first place.

You are doing awesome! Please Leave a comment below. I would love to hear what you are working on!

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mDesign Adjustable, Expandable Drawer Organizer/Divider - Foam Ends, Strong Secure Hold, Locks in Place - for Bedroom, Bathroom, Closet, Office, Kitchen Storage - 2.5" High - 4 Pack, White

MetroDecor

Buy on Amazon

Week 1- Kids Books

For the first week of the purge, I decided to go through the kids books. This week looks pretty busy for us and we are still recovering from a wedding over the weekend. This project was something doable and will not be too overwhelming to accomplish. 

Ava loves to be read to. Some of her favorite books are Goodnight Moon, Wherever You Are,

I try to buy the kids one book for the holidays and birthdays. We also have been lucky enough to be able to add to our collection by families and friends. While I love reading to the kids and want them to be interested in books, it can be very easy to accumulate too many books. 

My goal is to have books that the kids really enjoy. I want to have books in their bedrooms and just a few books in the living room. 

I will keep the books that the kids love and are in at least fair condition.  I know that sticky fingers have turned some pages a few times so several books have some pages that are stuck together or ripped.  If the books are repairable and is a book that the kids love, then I will keep it.  If the book is beyond repair, then it has gots to go! 

Books that the kids are not really interested in or is not age appropriate will go to new homes.  There are several options on what to do with the books.  

The first option is to drop off the books at school. Our local schools have a program where you can drop off your books and then pick another book to take home. There are these cute little boxes in front of the elementary, middle, and high schools.  You can put a book or two in there and if you see one that you like, you can take it home.  This is such a great idea.  If your school does not have this program, you could definitely suggest it!

The second option is donating to thrift stores, such as Good Will.  I will probably choose this option if no one wants the book and I have to make a trip there. 

The third option is to give away the books to someone in your community via Facebook. Communities all over have Facebook pages where the idea is to give away things that you may no longer need to someone else in our community for free.  I know that I have gotten several books this way and definitely want to give back. 

Books that are beyond repair will be tossed.  If possible I will recycle but this is not always an option due to the glue on the books.  

There are many other ways to get rid of your books either by donating or selling them.  You can find a fountain of information on how and where to donate or sell your kids books.  Books are fantastic and should be shared.  Books are a great way to learn, grow, explore, and dream. 

What are some of your favorite kids books? 

All the books I collected of the girls.

The books I kept for the girls

The books to the left are books that we donated. The books to the right I kept for the girls. The books standing up are some of Ava’s favorite books to listen to.

The Purge of 2018

Hi Everyone!

Welcome to The Purge of 2018.

Details:

The Purge is a weekly challenge that will go from Oct 1st to December 31st.

The hope is to get your life organized and decluttered so that when January 1st rolls around you can really focus on YOU!

Each week a space, theme, or area will be cleaned out, organized, and any unnecessary items will be purged.

The weekly purge can be as big or little as possible. You just want it to be doable in a one week time frame. For example, you don’t want to purge your whole bedroom if you have a lot on your plate. Instead maybe break it up into your closet one week and your drawers the next. You want to set yourself up for success so you will continue the challenge. Remember YOU CAN DO IT!!

I will be posting on Instastories every Monday what my goal is for the week and Sunday given an update on my progress.

I will also be writing every week in my blog along with pictures/videos about my experience. I will share any tips I learn along the way.

Ideas of areas to purge: purse, toys, junk drawer, closets, under the sink, kitchen cupboards, under the bed, office, computer, living room, medicine cabinet, mudroom, garage, nightstand.

I would love to hear from you along the way! Please share any pictures or ideas.