Operation Organization

How did you do this week? Connie admitted that she was going to do a drawer in her bathroom that she hasn't done in 15 years---since I helped her move. There had to be a full head of hair in there after 15 years!

A little fun story about her move. I always say I work hard and fast. At one point, Connie asked if we could take a break from unpacking. I said, "NO! The work's not done." I knew she was reaching her limit when I put her on unpacking a box of kitchen dish towels and cloths. She just threw them in the drawer. I looked at her, she looked at me and said, "What?" I said, "Are you kidding me? Take those out and fold them neatly!" Then she laughed my favorite Connie laugh. I did give her a hard time about all the jars of celery seed she had. I didn't even own one and she had half a dozen. Seems she had exactly one recipe that called for it, but never could remember if she had it, so kept buying more.

Back to work. I've heard from a few of you via email that you are actually accomplishing quite a bit. Even if you don't get the whole job done, some is better than none.

This was just a mess of bags from Estee Lauder free gifts and cases from trips to the dentist. The sort of place where I throw stuff and never go back to it.

Here it is after I cleaned it all out. I used the cases from the dentist and sorted everything in to them. I got rid  of a lot of the Estee Lauder cases. Well, not really, I just moved them somewhere else. They are just too cute to throw away.

I had already cleaned out my makeup at Christmas time when I got a new eye shadow. That is a lot of mascara---much of it those little free things you get when you make a purchase. The make-up is different shades for summer, winter and in-between.

I emptied the drawer that holds all of my hair products. I neatly wound up all the cords. They will stay that way until Mindy comes back over and leaves them all tangled up again.

 A lot of odds n' ends here---bubble bath, shampoo  and my travel cosmetic bag. The after is on the right.

I cleaned out my travel bag too. Believe it or not, I pared it down to the bare necessities.

 All of my skin care products in one drawer. I have enough cleanser for about 4 years.

 Under the sink. All body, hand and foot lotions on the left. In all fairness to me, much of it has been given to me as gifts. I don't think I have a lotion multiples problem because I'm not the one who buys it.

And here is the linen closet. I didn't get to it this week. I'll try to work it in during the coming week. Now, on to our next assignment.

Right about now, you are probably dreading what I'm going to assign. You know it's going to be the master closet. Well, it's not! I don't even want to tackle my own yet. We'll wait on that.

This week, we are going to focus on your desk or home office. That means the files too. An easy way to clean out files is to take a handful---I usually grab about 10 or so depending on how full they are. Sort through them when you are watching tv. This is a really good time to use the slogan I coined: "If in doubt, throw it out!" (The exact opposite of my garden slogan: "If in doubt, DON'T pull it out.") Anything really important jumps out at you (insurance policies, tax returns, registrations, etc.) If you have to ask yourself the question, "Do I need to keep this?"---you don't. You can get a copy of just about anything these days with a phone call or email. We all keep way too much stuff. The fact is, less than 5% of what we file is ever retrieved.

Okay, I've reverted back to my organizing days. You don't need the lecture, I think you get the picture.

Take a drawer a day in your desk to make it an easier job. Though no one has taken me up on this, if you email me your photos, I'll post them. Let's get to work! Isn't this fun?