Showing posts with label tidy Tuesday. Show all posts
Showing posts with label tidy Tuesday. Show all posts

Tuesday, March 21, 2017

Quick and Easy Tea Nook Clutter Busting

Tidied tea nook: Copyright © Phyllis Wheeler, 2017
Happy tidy Tuesday and Spring! The Great Clutter Purge of 2017 continues with a quick flat surface area / kitchen counter clutter busting project.

We have tea almost every day but this little tea nook to the left of our range is a clutter magnet. The above photo is an "after" clutter busting image. It includes one thing that wasn't in the "before" photo below. Can you spot it?
"Before" cluttered tea nook: Copyright © Phyllis Wheeler, 2017
This "before" photo shows a much messier tea nook. Most of this stuff isn't clutter in the sense that we don't use it but it is clutter in the sense that it doesn't belong there.
"After" uncluttered tea nook: Copyright © Phyllis Wheeler, 2017
So I removed everything from the area, cleaned the empty space, put the out of place things where they belonged and then returned the things that did belong.

Then I noticed the cup hook with nothing on it. I searched for and found the missing oven mitt and hung it back up (see the topmost image - that was the extra item not present in the "before" photo).  I like the tidied tea nook much better this way.

Thank you for visiting! May God bless you!

Related posts:
Quick Kitchen Counter Organizing: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2013/03/14-minute-kitchen-counter-clutter.html
Microwave Area Clutter Busting: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2013/03/8-minute-microwave-and-cut-flower.html
Organized Utensil Drawer: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2014/07/my-simplifying-home-8-week-journey-week_21.html

Tuesday, March 14, 2017

Tidy Tuesday Tip: Consolidate and Containerize

Sunset yellow roses with red tips: Copyright © Phyllis Wheeler, 2017
Happy tidy Tuesday! I think I took the rose photo above on March 9th and in the photos below you can see that they've held up pretty well. But that has nothing to do with Tidy Tuesday. The main point of this post is that if you don't have time to do a real clutter busting session, consolidating and containerizing works really well.
Messy dining room table "before": Copyright © Phyllis Wheeler, 2017
On weekends that I'm too busy or health challenged, things pile up on our table. Yesterday, when I was walking by after getting the mail, the gloves were in a stack on top of the scarf which was on top of the pile of hats. It didn't look that bad because it was all stacked together (consolidated). But I thought it was a great opportunity to demonstrate consolidation and containerization. So I spread everything out and added the mail that I hadn't already recycled (I like to recycle what we don't need as soon as I bring it in).

Yes, I wore all that stuff since last Friday. No, I am not a minimalist.

You can barely see one of them but there are three jackets hanging off chairs around the table. I prefer to put my jacket away right after coming inside but if the kittens are eager to play they'll jump in the closet and I have a hard time getting them out. So I just wait until they're asleep.
Containerized & consolidated table "after": Copyright © Phyllis Wheeler, 2017
Everything that was in the first photo ("before") is still represented here in this first "after" photo! Although the bag got cut off so you can just see just the edge of it on the left. All I did to get to this point was to stack all 3 jackets on one chair (consolidate) and put everything that was spread all over the table and didn't belong there in the brown paper bag (containerize). Then I put the brown paper bag on one of the chairs. Instant improvement!

Fastest tidying tip - just dump everything in a container and get it out of the way. Now, don't get me wrong, that's not true organizing. But if you just want things to look better fast, it works.
True "after" with everything put away: Copyright © Phyllis Wheeler, 2017
I then put the jackets and everything that was in the brown paper bag away. This is what I prefer my table to look like. Streamlined with a few accents on the far end. I could do without the accents but there's space and the plants like it there. The table is in a central part of our home so it's a nice place to see flowers regularly.

Although I didn't recycle anything except the paper bag in this post, the Great Clutter Purge of 2017 continues. I have been releasing clutter. It just hasn't been very photogenic. Hopefully next week will lead to some great photo ops. Only God knows!

Hope this quick tip was interesting or useful for you! If so, I'd love to hear about it.

Thank you for visiting! May God bless you!

Related posts:
Refrigerator front organizing: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2017/03/quick-refrigerator-front-clutter.html
Great Clutter Purge 2017 Intro: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2017/02/great-clutter-purge-of-2017-january.html
Linen closet organizing: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2015/07/from-disaster-to-delight-organized.html

Tuesday, March 7, 2017

Quick Refrigerator Front Clutter Busting for Tidy Tuesday

Photo by me; Magnet by https://www.opendoorsusa.org/
Happy tidy Tuesday! My Great Clutter Purge of 2017 continues. Until this week I'd been operating on a spontaneous method but yesterday I started a clockwise organization of the kitchen surfaces. I feel like these surfaces are clutter magnets so my current plan is to go from room to room and deal with all the visible surfaces. Today I tidied the front of my refrigerator.
"Before" clutter busting photo of refrigerator
I liked everything on the freezer section but it was just too much. The stuff on the refrigerator section was just to remind me of things to do and could definitely go somewhere else.
Totally clear refrigerator front
So I removed everything and gave the front of the refrigerator a quick cleaning. Truly, I don't need anything on it at all. If I were a minimalist, I'd probably leave it like this.
"After" clutter busting photo of refrigerator
But I decided it was reasonable and not untidy to keep one row of things that inspire me.
Love corner: Copyright © Phyllis Wheeler, 2017
This is my favorite photo of my husband and I just before getting married, along with a little poem and a magnet of a cheerful sunflower. I call it my refrigerator's love corner.
Psalm 118:24 art by Linda Grayson; Photo by me
This is a Bible verse I like to recite every morning. I don't remember who gave it to me but I've had it for at least 10 years and it makes me smile. Thank you, mystery family member or friend!
The Sandman loves organizing: Copyright © Phyllis Wheeler, 2017
The whole time I worked on the refrigerator I had to be careful not to step on my most curious cat, the Sandman. Technically he's still a kitten but he weighs almost 14 pounds. He and his sister, Braveheart, will be one year old on March 27th. I'm not sure how we'll celebrate yet but would love to hear your suggestions.

Thank you for visiting! May God bless you!

Related posts:
Linen closet organization: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2015/07/from-disaster-to-delight-organized.html
Mystery corner clutter busting: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2016/01/mystery-corner-in-master-bedroom.html
8 minute microwave area clutter bust: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2013/03/8-minute-microwave-and-cut-flower.html

Note: Not a sponsored/paid post. All opinions are my own 

Tuesday, February 28, 2017

Great Clutter Purge of 2017: January & February Results

Tiny Tidy Flowers: Copyright © Phyllis Wheeler, 2017
Happy tidy Tuesday! As I mentioned in last week's post, I'm working on my Great Clutter Purge of 2017, inspired by ClutterBug Cas's similarly named endeavor. So far, my results sound great, especially since I didn't start until around January 20th but I'll tell you the rest of the story after sharing the numbers.

January - 448 pieces of clutter released

February - 1,578 pieces of clutter released

Total so far for my Great Clutter Purge of 2017 - 2026 pieces of clutter released

The actual numbers seem impressive, but when I look around my home... there's hardly a visible dent in the clutter situation. My progress has been slow due to health issues. When I don't feel well I tend to work on paper clutter (of which I have an unseemly amount). Busting paper clutter makes for nice numbers but doesn't actually free up much space. There are still huge piles to go.

On the plus side, if I hadn't kept track of the numbers I might be feeling like I hadn't made any progress at all. And it wasn't all just paper. I think I made two charitable donation trips (bags and bags of household items, books and clothes) and did clear out a substantial pile to the right of my desk. I really enjoy seeing that empty space now. It is a reminder that, God willing, when I get to feeling better, I can make more visible progress.

Want to join me in the Great Clutter Purge of 2017? Feel free to share your successes, challenges and/or ideas in the comments. I'd love to hear from you!

Thank you for visiting! May God bless you!

Related posts:
ClutterBug's Great Purge: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2017/02/cas-clutterbugs-great-purge-of-2017.html
Organized Linen Closet: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2015/07/from-disaster-to-delight-organized.html
Tidy Dresser Top: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2016/01/clutter-clean-in-2016-first-project-top.html