Where I Admit Shame: Org Junkie's 28 Day Challenge

When I heard about the Org Junkie's 28 Day Organizing Challenge, I thought it was perfect timing, as I was trying to get motivated to get my main floor tidied up before my first Stampin' Up Workshop. Between grief, chronic pain and lack of motivation, I'm ashamed to admit my house began to look like a tornado had hit it.

As participants of the challenge we are asked to answer a series of questions about our organizing efforts:

1. What was the hardest part of the challenge for you and were you able to overcome it?

There were two major obstacles for me in this challenge. The first obstacle was chronic pain. I have been using it as an excuse for so long, and while it's a valid excuse, I realized that I have to ignore the pain sometimes if I am going to have my house in it's most desirable state.

My second obstacle was overcoming the "all or nothing" mind frame. What I mean by that is I have this notion that if it can not be perfect then why bother? I often have little bursts of motivation where I will have the urge to clean and organize and go into a frenzy. But in the midst of that frenzy, I end up making my place even worse because I spread out all the papers in my attempt organize things and then I get frustrated with the disorganization that came from organizing and give up mid-way. Also, the pain makes me "take a break" and then I lose my motivation to continue.

2. Tell us what kind of changes/habits you have put into place in order for your area/room to maintain its new order?

As mentioned above, I had to change my mind frame and this is very very difficult. I still fight the urge for perfection and the desire to leave it alone if it can't be perfect. I also suffer from what my husband calls "at-hand disease", where I put things down right within my reach instead of in a spot. I've still got to figure out where some things "proper spot" will be, but that will come as I become more organized and purge more.

The internet has been a real bonus in helping me get back on track. I discovered on Twitter the hashtag #oamc (once a month cooking) and after trying that and liking how much I got done, I joked that there should be one for cleaning. Someone then "tweeted" me and told me that there was one for cleaning called #speedclean. I have been using that to report how much I've done in any given day. It's motivating to know that other people are cleaning at the same time. Sometimes, I'm the only one doing it but because I'm reporting it to the general public, I am kind of obligated to do what I say I'm doing, right? It's also helpful to know that other people are going through similar issues when it comes to keeping house.

3. What did you do with the “stuff” you were able to purge out of your newly organized space?

The bulk of my purge were papers. Most of it went in the recycling bins and some of it went in boxes of paper to be shredded. I haven't done that yet, but I will. Some other items for purging are in boxes ready to be donated / given away.

4. What creative storage solutions were you able to introduce in order to create additional space as well as establish some limits and boundaries?

I have been looking for the perfect basket to put my remote controls in. I found it at Dollarama when I went there for some completely different reason. I, of course, couldn't resist walking through the whole store, and that's when I found these baskets for $2. I bought 2; one for the remotes and one for "other" things such as paper, pens, and little things I use often enough not to put away somewhere else.I like these baskets so much that I may go back and get a couple more for the bedside tables, since up til now I have not found anything I liked for that.

(LOVE these baskets!
I have been looking for larger ones like this
that I can use on the bottom shelf of my console)

5. Why do you think you should win this challenge?

I'm sure that there are many deserving people in this challenge. I think my space looks better now but I still have a long way to go before I achieve my ultimate goal. But I won't stop, and challenges like this only inspire me to keep trying. If I don't win a prize, that's okay, I already won. I can see my floor! :)

While I did also clean my kitchen and my half bath, for this challenge I'm submitting my living room. That means I must embarrass myself by posting the disgusting before photos and then redeem myself by posting the after photos.

(should have used my flash in the after photo and not the before one!)

As you saw in THIS POST I finally put the photos on the wall. Now, I need to decide what to put on that shelf above the couch.

Hopefully, I will be able to maintain this level of tidiness. Just refer me back to this post anytime I get lazy, it'll shame some motivation back into me.