Posted by “Adults are just outdated children.” – Dr. Seuss
Do you have that area in your house where you dump anything that doesn’t have a place? It looks as cluttered as a child’s room after a sleepover? That place in our house was the laundry room. We “stored” our clutter in an area wide open for everyone to see.
A couple of years ago we bought three crates at an estate sale for $15. We painted them Annie Sloan French Linen and put ropes on the ends to act as handles. We brought them inside our laundry to store our athletic shoes. It was just supposed to be for shoes.
A short while later, we moved it under the hat rack near the back door and soon enough the area became a dumping ground for anything that didn’t have a place. Shoes, cleaning supplies, a glue gun, tools, screws, cases of drinks, baskets, the iron, hats, back packs, grilling tools, bags, jackets, coats, bottles. Anything that was just easier to hang on a hook or throw in the crates ended up there.
It was a real eyesore. The area sits right next to the kitchen so anyone that came in our house saw it. What a mess!
Then one morning I went in search of a pair of flip flops. I found three lefts, but no rights. And there were a few pairs of running shoes past their prime. It was time for me to man up and be an adult. It was time to make that area a clutter free zone.
In order to purge the area of junk, I touched every single thing. I made a pile for donations, one for things to be put away, and another for the trash. I started by hanging all the jackets in the coat closet. Novel idea. I moved the cleaning supplies to the bathroom closet and put all the tools away in the garage.
Did we really need 12 Gamecock baseball hats? When I was done, I ended up donating four bags of shoes, jackets, and hats.
I moved the top crate out to the garage to store extra tools because I also wanted a comfortable bench for us to sit and put our shoes on as well. I laid old blankets and rugs down on the top of the second crate. I had bought some fabric for half off so the bench topper was virtually made for free. I stapled the bright fabric on the top in a matter of minutes.
An hour later, it was a clutter free zone. Everything finally had a place.
And a few months later, it’s still standing tall – free of clutter. Or should I say sitting comfortable?
Days (Un)Planned 