Eat the Meal, but Leave the Toy!

What am I supposed to do with these? You’d think I would just eat the meal and toss the toy, or better yet, tell the restaurant to keep the toy. But, noooo….that would be too much like right! No, instead, I keep them with the intent to give them to the kids. Give them to the kids? Yeah, right!!!! I don’t have any kids, and thanks to my crappy memory I always fail to take them to my good friend Christie’s children. That would explain why I’ve had 7 kids meal toys staring at me from the top shelf of my bookcase for who knows how long. Well, say goodbye to them, because they’re out of here! After remembering what the playroom of Christie’s children looked like, I decided they didn’t need another toy. While, I refuse to transfer toy clutter to my friend’s house, they can’t remain at mine either. These freebie toys have a new home – the Dekalb County Landfill.

One Step At a Time

Well, I blew off all of my organization projects for my move, but I made great progress with my other organizational pursuits. I spent a ton of time this evening looking for residential organizational resources - products, online retailers, retail stores, blogs, etc. - and I think I have gotten a great start. I'm moving one step closer in my endeavour to explore becoming a professional residential organizer.

Organization is tough for everyone, including me, but I'm passionate about making my best attempts to keep my living space in order. I may be passionate about maintaining order, but that doesn't mean I've always been successful. So many people are aren't, and these are the people I want to assist.

In the past, I've allowed fear to derail my efforts, but I'm committed to overcoming my fear and taking this new venture one step at a time. There's no time like the present, and presently I have a lot of time to devote to this goal.
I'll keep you all posted on each step that I take with my "Orderly Pursuits".

-Chequetta

Can We Say Pack Rat!!

Imagine if this is what you had to contend with when it came to storage. Well...welcome to my world.

For the last four years, I've shared a home with my aunt, and for the last four years this has been what I've had to work around. I This is our garage. Supposedly, it's a two car garage, but with this being my aunt's method of storing belongings, two cars have never fit. Additionally, knowing storage in this space is not an option, I've never had any choice but to develop a lean approach to storing and organizing my belongings.

Now that I'm planning to move, it's still a dilemma. Almost the entire width of the garage is photographed with the exception of about 3-4 feet on the left hand side of the photo. You can't see my belongings because they are barricaded behind hers. I have my work cut out next week as I attempt to access my stored items to rid myself of things that I haven't been able to see or touch in four years.

I really thought it would be a temporary thing, but I was wrong. Despite the questions about what all of the stuff is and what she plans to do with it, the collection continues to grow. I can admit, I've given up on the idea that she might see this as a problem and handle it - even with my assistance. I've accepted that she is a pack rat and hoarder who needs an intervention. Check back at a later date for that process.

Remember this photo, because I'm sure once I've removed my belongings she will decide to utilize that space. No, she won't rid herself of the clutter. She will only add to the menagerie of junk that serves no purpose. I'll revisit the garage in a few months to compare before and after photos, and you can tell me what you think.

Please keep this photo in mind when you think about holding onto items for storage. When you think of it it should be a reminder of what you want to avoid.

-Chequetta