Stuff

I am definitely not a minimalist but I do not like stuff (clutter). Despite the fact that I feel like I am constantly organizing and reorganizing my stuff (which almost always means a trip to Good Will) I seem to accumulate more stuff.

Since having a baby I have upped the stuff accumulation ten fold. People are very generous and we get a lot of gifts and hand-me-downs which are often most welcome because I am very cheap. Babies also seem to constantly require new things and grow out of old so my usual reorganize and clearance (twice a year) seems to be needed every three months. This sounds crazy I know but the clutter and the stuff just explodes and it seems to be my lot to somehow create an organizational scheme that addresses all of our issues.

1) Seasonal: Just when things seem well organized the season changes and I need a new plan for dealing with fall/winter coats, boats, rain gear etc...
2) Growth: This goes for baby and me. My size and my wee one's size has changed drastically over the last two years which creates my storage organizational problems. I feel like I don't want to get rid of my clothes that are too small or big because I still dream of fitting the tight ones and it's possible I'll get pregnant again someday (those maternity jeans aren't cheap).
3)Toys: Question; how do I store toys so that toddler can get them and at the end of the day my place doesn't look like Toys R Us?
4) Trouble spots:In our home the trouble spots are the top two shelves of the bookshelves by the front door. This space collects everything; keys, mail, pens, sunglasses, sunscreen, books, watches etc...It seems that every few months it becomes completely unruly and I am forced to tame the beast only to watch the pile of stuff accumulate once again.

I continue to fight the good fight and try and tame and organize the stuff that infiltrates my life but today I look around and the stuff is definitely winning. Sigh...

Teacher-Librarian

I am just about to start a program to extend my degree in teaching by becoming a teacher-librarian. After thinking about teaching and my career I came to the realization that being a teacher-librarian would be the perfect fit for me. It will hopefully combine all my favorite things. I love reading stories to children, I think that it would be great to support teachers with resources and I always loved doing displays in my own classroom so I think that I would love doing multiple themed book displays and bulletin boards. And of course the idea of spending time organizing books makes me happy; labelling, covering, categorizing and shelving books just feels right.

I remember when I was in teachers college I asked to spend some time in the library as part of my program and in one of the libraries I was in I could not believe how unorganized the librarians office once. All I could do was think about how much amazing organizing I could do if I could have a few days alone in that library.

I love libraries in general. Just walking through a library and looking at all the rows of books gives me a sense of calm and of course I am a huge fan of the services, especially now that I am a parent. So hooray for libraries and librarians.

In the Beginning

For some reason ever since I was a child I have always been interested in clear in and organizing. When I was little I would not beagle to fall asleep unless my bookshelves were perfectly organized (my preferred system was largest to smallest books). I would also On occasion wake my parents up at night when I felt he sudden need to reorganize my bedroom closet. This involved piling and re piling storage boxes on the top shelves and colour coordinating my clothes.

I have always felt happiest in an environment that is clean and organized. I hate clutter and keeping things that are not being used. I usually go through my clothes a few times a year in order to de-clutter. This de-cluttering compulsion has sometimes caused issues, for example I have gotten rid of things and later regretted not having them (usually because I have gained or lost weight).

Overall I enjoy a more minimalistic lifestyle. I do think that I can relax and enjoy life more when my life is organized and tidy. I think that being able to find things easily and clean up easily also adds to my everyday experience. I think that I am less likely to buy stuff I don't actually need when the stuff I have is organized and accessible. I have curbed my more obsessive compulsive behaviors in favor of a more moderate approach. That being said I still can't help enjoying the recent organization of my hall closets and the thought of going through my bedroom this weekend and reorganizing my clothes in order of size and season.

Closets...I love you

One of the things that I liked the most about my new apartment when we viewed it was the many closets. Our apartment has three hall closets; there is also a bedroom closest and a closet in the babies room. Before moving I would lie awake thinking about organizing these closets, but once we moved there was a lot to think about and my closest fantasies had to wait. In recent weeks with the help of my darling husband and his handy work my hall closest plans have come to fruition. After the move the closets were a mess and I have had serious stress thinking about how out of order the closets have been. One issue in particular has been that my husbands clothes have been in almost every closet. He had the majority of this clothing in the babies closet, then his sweaters somehow took over a shelve in the linen closet and his shoes were in the broom closet. He was literally in four closets! This drove me crazy, especially because I feel strongly that closets should have a single purposes. By this I mean that the first closet in my opinion should be devoted to coats and shoes. The second closet is now a linen closest which required my dear husband to install four shelves. My husband has now moved into the third hall closet which required him to install some hanger bars. He actually installed two, one to hang shirts and one for his pants which is an excellent use of space. Best of all he is now completely confined to one closet, plus the coat closet of course.

So the three hall closets are complete and now I can focus on my bedroom closet and the one in the baby's room. The biggest problem with my closet is that since having a baby and perhaps just being a women I have clothes of different sizes and different seasons and I am never a 100% sure how to deal with this organizational dilemma. Please let me know if you have any tricks that I can use.