Get your closet in order and organized: Organizing Revolution Week #3

I would love to show you a master bedroom closet that's been organized and arranged to the very centimetre - but I have neither the time or the money to pull that off just yet. :-)

So I decided to tackle the linen closet. During the flurry of moving and unpacking, a lot of random boxes and stuff got shoved into it. I took this picture in the middle of pulling everything out and going through it on Monday night:


I discovered that I have more sheet sets than a single person really needs. And that I needed to learn how to fold a fitted sheet once for all, to save space. I watched three videos on YouTube and didn't get the hang of it until the third one:



I'm going to wash and inspect some extra sets - if they pass muster, they'll go to charity.

As with all of these organizing challenges, I've been determined to make do with what I have, and not spend more than $25 on new supplies. I bought two baskets for this:


Every project needs to be inspected by a cat:


I looked to Pinterest for ideas - I learned that rolled up towels are not only pretty, but they save space:

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New Year's Organizing Revolution: Challenge #2 - Kitchen

I'm late in posting! This took a while - I decided to really go deep into the cupboards, which haven't been completely organized since I moved in ten months ago. As a Canadian, I'm not eligible for the prizes, so I decided I would get needed sleep, and not stress over missing the deadline.

This is how the kitchen looked during the house inspection.


It was completely redone with fresh paint, counters, cabinets and appliances. I so love having a dishwasher!



If you followed me on Pinterest, you may never have expected that I'd end up dark cabinets. Well, they were included with the house package. And they've grown on me. :-)

Over the last year ... I added splashes of colour with wall stickers. I believe I got these at Wal-Mart.



The sign above the stove says "Happiness is an ocean breeze".



I found Rubbermaid drawer organizers that go with those dark cabinets.



This is my favourite organizing idea - a hanging shoe rack in the broom closet contains chemicals and cleaning supplies, including vacuum cleaner attachments.

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New Year's Organizing Revolution: Challenge #1 - Office/Desk Area

I bought my first house in 2012 - I took possession on February 27. I have so many plans for the house and not enough time or dollars. I've been frustrated at my lack of progress of getting my stuff on the walls and really making it mine. So this challenge was good motivation.

My friends have said all along that they wanted to see pictures of my house as I set things up and they wouldn't mind seeing things "in progress". It turns out that I have a hard time showing rooms "in progress" - I want to say, "Ta da! Here is the finished room!"

Well, it's 2013, and I'm going to let go of that mindset. So I will show you my desk area of the second bedroom, which I use as a home office. In progress. With the battered computer desk I want to replace, and without the nice new shelving that I've picked out but have yet to buy and assemble.

For a REAL "before" picture - this is the area before the townhouse was renovated and I signed the purchase agreement *shudder*.



The same room, on the day I took possession. New paint, new carpet, new baseboards, new vents.



Here is a gloriously imperfect and honest photo of what the area looked like I before I started this challenge this week:



The white shelves on the left are two bookcases that have been sitting in my basement since I moved in. Ten months ago. I rearranged some of the wires and did a lot of cleaning up and sorting to make everything neater. Now all of my chargers are stored on the same shelf, for example.



No reorganization can go uninspected by the cats.



One thing I wanted to do was put up some of my photography. Here is a frame that waited about a year before finally being filled with photos and put up on a wall. And I only had one of the photos upside-down when I initially hung it.

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2012 in Review

1. What did you do in 2012 that you'd never done before?
Bought a house. Went to Las Vegas. Went to the Grand Canyon.

2. Did you keep your new year's resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
I don't think I made any. I don't usually make them.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
No.

4. Did anyone close to you die?
No, thankfully.

5. What countries did you visit?
The US of A.

6. What would you like to have in 2013 that you lacked in 2012?
Passionate sex.

7. What dates from 2012 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
February 27 - taking possession of the house. February 28 - moving day. July 11 - an explosion at work.

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Becoming a homeowner.

9. What was your biggest failure?
Leaving too much of the packing to the last minute.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
Yep. I sprained my right knee in the spring and injured my left rotator cuff in the fall.

11. What was the best thing you bought?
A two bedroom townhouse.

12. Whose behaviour merited celebration?
My sister, for getting me to go on vacation with her, and I had a lot more fun than I expected to. She accepts me and validates me like nobody else has.

13. Whose behaviour made you appalled and depressed?
Anyone who shot another person (excluding in self-defense).

14. Where did most of your money go?
The house.

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
My garden.

16. What song(s) will always remind you of 2012
Call Me Maybe, The Water is Wide, Now Westlin Winds

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
I. happier or sadder? Both.
II. richer or poorer? Well, I have more assets. And less disposable income.
III. fatter or thinner? I think I'm a little thinner, since cutting down on gluten.

18. What do you wish you'd done more of?
Packing, in January.

19. What do you wish you'd done less of?
Waiting to see if my course reimbursement papers had been received.

20. How will you be spending the holidays?
I went to Edmonton and spent Christmas with my sister and her family.

21. How will you be spending New Year's?
I watched movies and I lit sparklers in my backyard at midnight.

22. Did you fall in love in 2012?
No.

23. How many one-night stands?
None.

24. What was your favourite TV program?
The New Girl. Grey's Anatomy plummeted in my personal ratings.

25. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year?
No.

26. What was the best book you read?
Wheat Belly by William Davis.

27. What was your greatest musical discovery?
I already knew Kevin McKidd had a good voice, but The Speyside Sessions, which he had a hand in, is fantastic and expanded my knowledge of Scottish folk music.

28. What did you want and get?
A house. A garden.

29. What did you want and not get?
We didn't have time to see Donny & Marie in Las Vegas.

30. What was your favourite films of this year?
The Hobbit. I really enjoyed Brave, but it lost me during the middle because of where the plot went.

31. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
I just went to work. I went out to lunch with coworkers. I was 46 (still am).

32. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
I should've dug out my light therapy box in September, to combat Seasonal Affective Disorder. I've been feeling depressed this fall and that needs to stop.

33. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2012?
Same as usual - comfortable.

34. What kept you sane?
My sister, my friends, my kitties, my garden.

35. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
Kevin McKidd.

36. What political issue stirred you the most?
Not wanting the Wildrose Party to take power in the provincial election. They are too conservative and clearly have issues with same-sex marriages and abortion. They didn't take power. I voted PC for the first time, as it was the best vote against the incumbent Wildrose member. Wildrose won by 26 votes.

37. Whom did you miss?
My family to the East, particularly my oldest nephew.

38. Who was the best new person you met?
Sarah. a coworker who calls me Sunshine and hugs me a lot. I'm not happy she's leaving.

39. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2012
I need to remember to bloom where I am planted.

40. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.
May it be the shadow's call
Will fly away
May it be you journey on
To light the day
When the night is overcome
You may rise to find the sun

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Home Ownership

I bought the house knowing that the furnace was 30 years old. That was part of the price - old furnace. The home inspector said he didn't think it had been serviced ever. A Groupon for furnace cleaning and maintenance appeared that week and I bought one.

Dude was just here. He confirmed that it's never been serviced. The ducts were "disgustingly filthy" and he couldn't do too much work on the furnace until they're cleaned. The Groupon gives me a 10% discount on duct cleaning so I booked another appointment.

He did check the heat exchanger and it isn't cracked "yet". He recommended I get a new thermocouple and wrote down the details, so that I can save some money and buy it myself. Then they'll install it when they come back for the duct cleaning.

He said the filter has been changed in the past, but not recently. He replaced that, and showed me how I can replace it in the future every 4 months. The amount of dust that came off the old filter was so disgusting that I'm surprised I didn't have an asthma attack right then and there.

He estimates the furnace has about two years max left. I've known all along to be budgeting for a new one, so I wasn't surprised or upset.

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