Sentimentality has not been my friend. I like to keep mementos reminding me of good times, happy things, and people I love. But when you’re so busy storing these items that you don’t actively display and enjoy them, you’re not getting any benefit, are you? I know I’m not.

So we’re learning to be a bit more ruthless. Donating books we’ll never read again (and being more discerning when we buy new ones), throwing out receipts and bits of paper that we no longer need.

There are two big lessons we need to learn and stick to:

1) Once you’ve started decluttering, don’t allow new clutter to take its place. Once you get that desktop or kitchen counter or dining room table nice and clear, keep it that way. Look for ways to embrace the clutter-free lifestyle and try to keep up – don’t let it gradually clutter back up. Be vigilant!

2) Fighting clutter is a continual process. Just one cleaning session will not be enough. Once you get an area clear, you must work to keep it that way. It will be much easier to maintain if you try hard not to let it get cluttered again. It’s not as hard as it sounds, as long as you don’t allow yourself to be lazy.

We’re working on our living room right now. Because our place is so small, we have my desk in the living room. It’ll be moving to the dining room as soon as we can get things cleared out in there. We have to do a section at a time.

I’m hoping that posting about these things will help us keep going, and keep us more accountable on doing what we planned. Does writing about it help keep you accountable? Or do you feel embarrassed by your projects and would rather just talk about them when they’re finished?

[image: stock.xchng]

image: sxc.hu

But there are days when it’s an effort to get much more done than my work and finding something semi-healthy to eat. If I do one thing, another thing is left undone. So I try, but I’m a big failure when it comes to my kitchen.

And doggone it if my desk isn’t far behind. I started a couple of art projects and my desk is piled with books, papers, and art stuff. Oh, and toys. My son has taken over the corner of my desk. Anything that gets stacked there will get knocked off or incorporated in to my son’s repertoire.

I am not perfect. I struggle to stay organized every day. And right now I’m trying to keep up with my work. My desk and home have suffered because of it. I continue to try. Some days I make it, others I don’t.

What are you struggling with right now? Tell me it’s not just me, and that you fight to keep organized as well. Pretty please? Maybe then I’ll feel a little less like a failure and more like a normal mom.

Or maybe until you decide to tackle spring cleaning.

Helping her clean really motivated me to clear out my own place. We have way too much stuff in a tiny, one-bedroom condo. And it’s high time we got rid of over ten years of clutter. That’s exactly what we’re doing.

We started with our dining room, where we had a small chest freezer. Due to a faulty wall plug, we haven’t had any food in it for a while. So we moved it onto the balcony and out of the way. We do plan on using it again, but I think it’ll be able to stay out there as long as we run a plug out there. Then we removed an old desk that wasn’t used and I emptied an entire bookshelf to clear up some space.

For the books, we’re deciding which books we will keep for our new place, and which ones we can do without. We have a Goodwill bookstore across the street, which also accepts donations. It’s a perfect place to drop off our books or any other donations we need to make.

It’s a slow process. I’m not rushing to get it all done in a weekend. But I find that I’m more willing to give things up. As I pulled out a t-shirt this afternoon, I took five minutes to remove shirts I don’t wear or that don’t fit. It’s one drawer, but it’s one less thing to do.

I find that I love being able to pile things up for donations. Seeing the clutter slowly disappear. It’s awesome. We are also keeping more valuable things to list on craigslist.org. In the last month we’ve sold a few things. It’s not a lot of money, but every little bit goes into our moving fund.

The spring cleaning bug has hit me and I’m not fighting it one bit. I’m using the momentum to clear things out. The more ordered my surroundings are, the easier it is for me to see what I really need to do. I love that feeling.

Have you started spring cleaning? Do you clear out each year? Quarterly?

image: taken in Belize

Maybe, just maybe, I can be a little more together, with Steph’s help.

While we’re waiting, anything you’re working on? Having trouble with?

Really, where does the time go?

I’ve been staying up late, getting up early, and not getting enough sleep. It’s one of those vicious cycles that I’m trying so hard to break.

I have things I need to do. Things that MUST be done. But I don’t want to ignore my son. This time with him is precious, and I realize how fleeting it is. It won’t be long before he’ll be pushing away, wanting to go play instead of cuddling with mommy. Finding more interest in his friends than in staying home with us. So I’m trying to find balance in rushing around to get everything done, figuring out what’s really important, and giving him some of my time.

And so I feel like I’m just maintaining right now. Not really making any progress on long-term projects. Just trying to keep things under control. And that’s okay sometimes, as long as I find ways to get out of just treading water. It’s fine for the short term, but it can’t stay long term.

I’m looking for little pockets of time to make progress on some projects – like rearranging the living room and moving my desk out of our bedroom. So stay tuned!

What are you working on right now?

It’s an exercise in writing, to get us to write every day. So I will try write something every day for you. Some posts may be longer than others. Some will be short references to cool things that I’ve found.

It takes a day or two to get back into the swing after travel. I have to catch up on email, regular mail, and all the other paperwork that running a household and business entails. And I’ll need to unpack, process my receipts, and follow up with all of the people I met.

You see, I’m the paperwork person – I handle the tedious tasks that a household requires, since I have more of an affinity for it than my husband does. So after traveling I have to catch up on a lot of things.

I need to pick up where I left off with projects, things that I couldn’t attend to when I was gone. And that means sitting down for a few minutes and remembering where I was the last time. Switching gears is sometimes where we lose a lot of traction. Where did I leave off…? It can be even harder when you’re a mom because you have so much more to keep track of.

Additionally, there’s laundry for me and the baby (since he’s too small to stay home, he goes with me). Somehow I have to squeeze all of this in around his schedule (usually naps).

I tend to feel out of sorts for a bit after I get home, but that could just be me. I don’t do a ton of traveling and I rely heavily on routine to keep myself organized. And sane. So something that’s out of the ordinary can really throw me for a loop. It takes a day or two to settle back into a normal routine. (As normal as a routine can be with a baby.)

Does it seem to take a bit of effort to get back on track after you’ve been traveling? Or do you jump right back in with little down time? Is it different when you travel by yourself, compared to when the whole family goes?

Image: morgueFile

Travel throws off my organizing routines, too. Mail lies unopened. Emails can go unanswered (spotty internet access, and all that jazz).

But the main thing that gets me is things aren’t in their ‘place’. I like to put items in the same spot each time. It helps my poor memory. If I move things around too much I forget where they are supposed to be. When you can’t put your hands on something, you waste time looking, right?

(And yes, this is especially hard with children around – do they ever put things back where they got them?)

Happens to me a lot in hotels. Where’d I put that notebook? What happened to that report – it was right here!

Most hotels have the same type of setup, so it’s not too hard to work up a ritual/routine for keeping yourself organized during travel. I try to put my things in similar places each time, so it feels like some bit of normalcy.

You can use the same ideas when you’re traveling for a family vacation instead of work. If you put everything in the same place each time you’ll be less likely to leave something behind in the hotel. Because if you forget Jimmy’s favorite stuffed animal, you won’t hear the end of it until you go back and look, right?

What’s your favorite way to stay organized when you’re on the road?

Image: morguefile