Clutter, here I come!

Our blog project group has once again changed by one member, but I'm still calling it Blog Project 3.0. The newest member is Darwin Shrugged, a friend of Froggie's. I recently got to know her better through "52 Stories" and I look forward to what she has to say on the upcoming topics.

This week, I chose the topic: Find an article in a magazine or online for something you'd like to do, self-enhancement-wise and follow at least one of the suggestions. Then write about your experience doing that.

First, read what everyone else had to share on this topic:
Darwin Shrugged
Froggie
Moma Rock

My self-enhancement goal right now is managing my clutter and getting organized. I used to do these FlyLady tasks to get organized and would blog about them. Having a third child and running a book blog have curtailed those tasks. There are other times I try to get on top of my clutter, but it keeps building up. If I can get control over the mess in the basement, I will call myself "Queen of the Castle." Still, that's another monster in itself! In the meantime, I thought I'd start small both in the physical and digital realms...

Source: 30 Organization Tips, Tricks and Ideas That Will Make You Go Ah-ha! from Beautifully Bella Faith

Task: "Use a picnic silverware basket to hold your hair styling products! Ahh, so neat!"

I did this with a clear plastic silverware basket and put my hair products in one section and then used the other three for cosmetics and other items I need on a daily or nightly basis. My bathroom counter looks less cluttered, as I used to have all these random cosmetic bags there before and my hair stuff was all over the place. I didn't take a "before" picture, but here's the "after" shot:

Source: 2014 Is Going To Be My Year Now That I Know These 89 Genius Solutions To Simple Problems from ViralNova

Task: To stop receiving marketing e-mail, filter by the word "unsubscribe."

My inbox is easier to go through in the morning, as I'm not deleting a zillion ads. And if I want to find out about any good deals, I'll click over to my "Ads" folder and see if anything important is there. Then I can just delete whatever is left and it will fill up again with new ads the next day. It's just nice to have control over all the ads and deals I get on a daily basis! I realized that other important stuff flows into that folder, based on the criteria. I'll have to figure out a way to fix that, but I'm not really concerned for now, as I check that folder daily anyway.

Source: January issues of Good Housekeeping and Family Circle

Task: Cleaning up nightstand by discarding or giving away jewelry I no longer want and displaying the rest in an attractive way.

I went through the jewelry on my dresser, as well as in one of my drawers. I cleaned everything out and condensed what was left into a few boxes or pretty holders. I think the pictures speak for themselves!

Before

After

Next organizational project to tackle is my closet. Again.... My bookshelves could probably use some re-organizing and prioritizing, as well. I tend to hoard the most in those two places. Wish me luck!