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A place for everything, and nothing without a place
By Meg | February 29, 2008
There’s something about an organized room that’s both classy and relaxing. Don’t get me wrong, I detest places that are so sterile that they look like they’ve been pulled from magazines and never once lived it. But an organized, functional space… ah, that’s been a dream of mine. And while I’ve never expected to have a home that was perfectly organized, my husband and I have gotten a whole lot closer lately.
Maybe I get that dream from my grandma. Her favorite saying was, “A place for everything, and everything in it’s place.” It’s good advice that I’ve taken to heart over the last few months. Despite giving up our largest room to renovations, a bedroom to a short-term roommate, and our foyer to her stuff, our house it now more organized than ever.
It hasn’t all been easy, but it’s gotten easier as I’ve seen the benefits of getting, and more importantly, staying organized.
The hardest thing has been decluttering. Sure, it’s just stuff, but stuff has a pull. Sometimes it’s the memories, sometimes it’s the price we paid for it, sometimes it’s worrying that we’ll need it. But in the spirit of my grandma’s saying, I’ve learned that if I can’t find a good place to put something, then I probably shouldn’t keep it. And just sticking it into the attic or a spare room shouldn’t be the easy answer.
So, I’ve cleaned out my wardrobe, made limited places for things I want to reuse, and just plain gotten rid of things that weren’t worth the trouble to keep.
And you know what? I don’t miss anything I’ve gotten rid of, but I love all the free space.
Tags: De-stressing, Home & Garden, Organization & Decluttering
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February 29th, 2008 at 2:14 pm
Good work, Miss Meg. Miss J admits she keeps a lot of crap for sentimental reasons. Oh, well. Letting go of it- something to strive for.
March 3rd, 2008 at 11:46 am
Oh and you know what? I’ve also learned to buy only the furniture you need/use, not what you think should go there because it looks “nice”
Practical + Functional = my new mantra LOL
March 3rd, 2008 at 12:29 pm
Hi Miss Janey,
It is hard to let go of sentimental stuff. I’ve read that it sometimes helps to take a picture. Just think that has actually helped me since sometimes I’d just rather put it straight into the Goodwill pile than try to go find my camera. At this rate, though, I may be able to find my camera on a regular basis.
Hi Fabulously Broke,
Soooo true! It’s way too easy to fill up a room because you have the space. Sets can be particularly tricky if you’re like me and still have that “collect them all” mindset (yeah, I did love Happy Meals as a kid).
But now, no matter how many beautiful things I have, I think the most beautiful ‘furniture’ we have is space that lets us appreciate what we have.