I used to pride myself on the fact that we didn’t have a junk drawer.
Then, I had my third child. And pretty much everything I prided myself on went out the window. 🙂
I know some of you have told me that having your third child was a breeze. For me, the actual labor and delivery was a walk in the park (1.5 hours of labor, no complications, and feeling back to my normal self within 24 hours!). But after the “babymoon” phase wore off, three children has been a whole lotta work.
Don’t get me wrong, I love my three precious children like crazy, but I no longer have this put-together, pristine life. And it’s been a good thing for me.
I’ve learned to relax more, roll with the punches, and embrace this sometimes messy and chaotic life I’m living. We’ve got a lot of love, creativity, and laughter going on around here, and I’ll take that over perfection any day!
But, I’ll admit it, the overflowing junk drawer was getting to me. So I set out to tackle it today.
And guess what? After only ten minutes’ worth of work, it was transformed.
It’ll probably be this messy again in a few months (or even weeks or days!), but knowing that it can be overhauled in such a short time period makes it not seem like such a big deal.
It’s amazing what can be accomplished in just a short amount of time when you set the timer and attack the clutter with gusto!
Did you do any clutter clearing this week? If you posted about it, link directly to your blog post below. We’d especially love to see before and after pictures, if you’re brave.
Crystal,
I wondered how you were holding it all together, I have the same order girl, girl, boy, (and another girl). That boy did me in!!! He was always more of a climber and mover and so much bigger than my girls that he got into everything much sooner than the girls did. God was preparing me for #4 though b/c she takes after him, anything he can do she can do too! 🙂 Glad you’re keeping it real and admitting how life has changed.
I have just started using Fly Lady and already she has me organized. I did clear out paperwork clutter in the bottom of my desk and closet, bought a new clear box with locking lid and filed important stuff away.
I haven’t blogged about it yet but I do believe this will be future blog material.
IF ANYONE, ANYONE AT ALL!!!……Has a creative way to organize Lego’s PLEASE PLEASE let me know! (You can leave a random comment on my blog because I might not remember to check back here)
I decluttered my junk drawer this week too (but have not blogged it yet.) I used wooden containers from Melissa & Doug toys. Those trays are the perfect size for organizing drawers and are free when you buy the toy. 😉
Oh, I love that tip!
Today I cleaned out my spice cabinet. I was at Dollar Tree & they had those 3 tiered racks so I got a few to use in different places. I tossed some old ones that had been hiding in the back, put some coffee seasoning shakers with the coffee & filters in their home, and organized the shorter spices & herbs on the tier. It looks great.
I keep looking at all these notepads that are thrown in front of the computer. Our phone is here too.. I think Im going to go find a smaller tote to put them in.. That’d clear up an awful lot of clutter. 😉
I love to time myself and see how little time it actually takes to accomplish something that I have been procrastinate doing. Your “junk drawer” looks great!
Nothing wrong with a junk drawer!
The best way I’ve found to prevent clutter from re-appearing after an organization spree is to designate “homes” for the various items that tend to become clutter. For instance, designate a certain place for pencils, a certain place for paper clips, a certain place for flashlights, a certain place for pieces of paper with phone numbers jotted on them… that way, you and your family are more likely to place the item in it’s “home” rather than in the junk drawer, the kitchen counter, etc.
It’s funny how things that we put off for a while only take a short amount of time to finish! Great job Crystal! I made an appointment for a thrift store pickup to make sure that I declutter at least 3 bags of “stuff” by Tuesday!
I thought the before pic was the after.
I guess I have some work to do!
I too have a lot of work to do!! 🙂
My clutter was out in the open. You’d think seeing it daily would help me to get rid of the mess. The shelf on my computer stand ended up being a landing strip for whatever. It’s clean now and has stayed that way. Thanks for the inspiration!
i laugh at the size of your tiny junk drawer….ours is about 3 times that size but i bought little sorting bins years ago and it has been pretty much organized since then. you all have me very worried now though as i am expecting #3 in may….hoping our transition is a little easier as the 2 older ones are 7 and 5. i know my 7 year old girl will be a big helper even though she is disappointed that she is now going to have 2 younger brothers!!!
My second wasn’t two yet when our third was born, so I think that had a lot to do with it!
What is that thing in your junk drawer?? I recognize the pens, white-out, power cord, and ruler… But what is that other thing? lol
Those are iphone tri-pods — for taking video blogs! 🙂
I can’t believe it only took me a few days, but my house is finally decluttered! I went thru every room/drawer/cupboard/closet/nook/cranny etc and after filling up eight 30-gallon strong black trash bags (this way the kids did not question or see their broken toys I threw away), I am done! It is such an amazing feeling. It’s amazing how quickly you can get purging done, once the adrenalin kicks in and you start. It took me a long time to get started, because “the whole house” seemed so big. But I took Crystal’s suggestion and broke it down to smaller areas: I wrote a list with every room in the house, and then every area of every room. That way I could just do one little drawer and then have something to check off. Once I got started, I was unstoppable. I cannot believe what I good feeling it is to open a cupboard and not have things fall. Or open a closet and having not just room to hang up a coat, but room to hang up 10 more coats if needed. The feeling is unexplainable. Thanks Crystal for getting me started! Now I need to go back and clean everything, but I’m not as motivated to do that. 😛
Awesome job!! 🙂
I so wish I just had one little junk draw. Unfortunately I seem to have a junk attic! twice a year I clean it up and when its time to do it again, it is just as out of control as the last time I cleaned it.
I found that going from 2-3 kids doesn’t change life that much, especially if you have them close together, but it does solidify some things (house stays in a permanent state of disarray, sleep is a distant memory…). Now that we’re expecting #4, I have zero expectations and am learning to just take whatever comes! Thankfully my oldest is now 4 and will be a huge help when the baby arrives.
The drawer looks great! Isn’t it amazing what you can get accomplished in just 10 min.? I just finished looking through your freezer cooking ebook and am excited to try some new recipes. I am a huge fan of your site. My husband and I live very frugal, and the deals that are highlighted on your site help to keep us on track. We believe in the Dave Ramsey philosophy, “Live like no one else, so that later on you can live like no one else.” Thank you for all of the wisdom you share with us! 🙂
Can you come over and work on my junk drawer?!! Well, I might have more than one… 😉
It looks great! And I agree, three kids threw me for a loop. Wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world though!
I’m actually jealous because I don’t have enough drawers in my kitchen to have a junk drawer : )
Instead, I put all of the random stuff on the counter where my imaginary junk drawer should be.
Oh wow, do I know what you mean! Going from 2 kids to 3 felt like SO much more work! I had my babies pretty much back to back (3 kids in 3 1/2 years) and those early years are just a blur to me. Now that they’re a bit older, life is still crazy busy but definitely less exhausting.
Your junk drawer looks great 🙂
Great job, Crystal! Organizing does not need to take all day. A few minutes used wisely can make a difference.
This week I began decluttering our bonus room in completing my 60-minute challenge. Though I could have used one of the other two options, I chose to complete the challenge in one sitting with my little helpers. 🙂
Keep up the great work as you organize and declutter your home.
I posted a linky above because I am almost done finishing my bookshelves. Believe it or not, I had to research the best way to organize my bookshelves because I didn’t want to do it wrong and still be fed up with the clutter. I have a few junk drawers though. I’ll get to that next. 😉
I actually “hate” my junk drawer and seem to have to de-clutter it every couple of weeks. It has stuff in it that I guess we do need, but I would love to dump it all in the trash. But it holds batteries, tape, rubber bands, etc., all stuff we use. Right now there is catnip spilled inside. I guess I am feeling motivated to clean it out again. (ug)
I have been working on decluttering and completely organizing my house this year! At the beginning of the year I assigned each room to a month. I have a 2 and a 3 year old, work two jobs, and go to school full time so I dont think I would be able to accomplish more than that and I dont want to set myself up for failure! January was our bedroom, February the kitchen, etc… I left the kids room for last because although we may get rid of things, I know it will be a mess by the time I get the next room done and I want to be able to look at my house and for once say, “It’s all clean!!” (or at least for the most part). An overall goal I made for the year was to get rid of 2012 things in 2012. Thats about 5.5 a day. As I pitch, donate, or sell things, I keep track. So far I am at 188 but I have a box of things that I plan to donate or garage sale (depending on how life is and the time we have available) so I am a little behind number wise but it’s motivation for me to find more things we don’t need. I am trying to slowly simply. Tomorrow I plan to finish the kitchen so I am hoping to make up for some of the 2012 things then!
As always, great job on your decluttering Crystal!
what do you do when you have multiple junk drawers? And junk rooms?
One tip I read from an organizer you should have a junk drawer or two- it keeps junk off the kitchen counter!
I don’t have any pictures, but I cleaned off the top of our refrigerator and the three cupboards above the junk drawer this week. I actually like these tasks, because for every Lincoln Log or Matchbox car that is making its way mysteriously into a place it doesn’t belong (like empty strawberry cartons in my refrigerator), I can sort or declutter a small space in return. Actually, if you did a survey of all horizontal areas three feet above my head you would find a lot of misplaced stuff that has gotten shoved there to keep them out of mischievous hands.
This series has been very inspirational! I feel like I have been decluttering little by little each day. And when you have a whole room with clutter for the last 3 years, little by little is something 🙂 We moved 2 whole houses into one but never did anything with the stuff except put it in boxes. So now I have been going through the boxes each day and taking just a few things out and putting them away. I like to do it this way because I feel like I get overwhelmed so easily. And it’s been there for 3 years already… what’s a few months more? lol
I cleared out our magazine stash last week, and thanks to a plumbing emergency, I’m in the process of cleaning out under the bathroom sink 🙂
Next week I hope to tackle the art closet!
I don’t just have a junk drawer. I have a junk shelf, junk closet, and a junk ledge! However, I recently cleaned off the ledge and my computer desk, and they’ve stayed clear for almost a week now!!! This progress for me, but I’ve got a ways to go! Thanks for the motivation to keep at it!
When we moved into our new house 2 years ago, I was determined not to have a junk drawer, and we still don’t ! I agree, after we had Natalie, our 3rd and last, I felt like we had 10 kids. I say it w loving truth, her 9 year old twin brothers were and still are easier than she is!
Ok, I admit it. I was a “junkie.” Everything had sentimental value to me, and I didn’t pitch anything for fear that someday I may need it and have to go buy it if I threw it away today! Ever since our unexpected pregnancy, though, I have been stressed. WAY stressed. On top of all of the decisions we had to make, I looked around and realized that my house was cluttered. And not, oh, I’ll straighten the place up in 15 minutes’ time cluttered. No – cluttered. So I have been going through EVERYTHING in preparation for our big move. Most of our stuff is getting sold in our annual garage sale this summer, donated, or pitched. I finally sat down the other night and spent an hour going through our two boxes of “important papers” – of which 99% went in the burn pile! How embarassing is that?!?
I am 17 weeks along, and my goal is to be moved into our new home and 100% decluttered by summer. Some days I’m just too tired to go on, but that fires me up that much more for the next day’s cleaning! Thanks for your inspiration! I read these stories when I get overwhelmed by my stuff!
I like to read these stories for motivation, too. Hang in there, sug, you are doing great! 🙂
I am so glad to hear your refreshing take on a 3rd kid. Most of my friends told me #3 was a breeze, and I have not found that to be so! #3 just turned 2, I homeschool my other two boys (6 and 8), and my house looks like a bomb went off all the time! I used to be very organized, and now I find as school requires more and kids require more that my house is lacking in attention. I just keep hoping as my #3 gets a bit bigger (and hopefully out of diapers!) that I will be able to get all my boxes back on the shelf so to speak! Thank you!
I’ve been working on my kitchen this week. With 3 small children, the decluttering has to happen in short spurts. I did manage to clean out my 2 largest cabinets today. I only have a few cabinets left and then it’s on to the living room. 🙂
I think its different for everyone, but my “magic” child number was 4. Our youngest, who is now 2, sent our organized and together life out in the stratosphere! Its worth every mess room and junk drawer though. Those things just aren’t as important 😉 But don’t come to my house and see my junk drawer Crystal, I will die of embarrassment! I am afraid of what I will find in there when I clean it out :/
My name is Lindsey too (though spelled with an e) and I agree with you that #4 was what completely through me off my game! My junk drawer will hardly close it’s so full! I always get a kick out of Crystal’s before pics because they look better than almost anyone’s after pics, but they still inspire me and get me motivated to do some de-cluttering too!
Ha! I’ve been decluttering this week too….it’s been so liberating! So far I’ve tackled our junk drawer, our bathroom vanity (which has been a mess since baby #4 came….um….11 months ago, *ahem*), and today our tupperwear cupboard.
I’m actually participating in ’40 bags in 40 days’ during Lent which is from:
http://augustfields.blogspot.com/2012/02/preparing-for-lentget-your-garbage-bags.html
When I am decluttering and organizing, I’m spending time in prayer with our Lord. Today my 11 month old was ‘helping’ me organize our tupperwear, and I was just laughing at the Lord’s sense of humor! It’s been a humbling and inspiring experience.
Tomorrow…..my purse!
I like to joke that my pride is somewhere in behind the toddler’s carseat, and you could probably fish it out and get a couple of goldfish for a snack, too. 🙂
I, too, had the third-child-humble-down. Ahem. Now we’re a four-child family with very little in the way of “advice” to give. So. 🙂
I distinctly remember the feeling I had on the day I was hostessing my daughter’s 3rd birthday party, with the two-week-old “third baby” in my home. What on earth was I thinking? Anyway, I didn’t have my house completely in order yet, and my family arrived for the party– two hours early. I sat in the rocking chair, nursing the baby, in my hot rollers, and thought…apparently my days of having the whole house in order *at the same time* are over.
I agree with you, however, that the richness of this life is better than I could have dreamed; and letting go has been good for me. Best yet, I had to learn to simply cling to the feet of Jesus. Humility is tough-won, but *better* than put-together, any day.
Once I heard some organizing guru say that we shouldn’t have junk drawers, because then we’ve failed to have a “place for everything.” Oh mercy. I had to sprint across the room and turn that program OFF. Everything in my home DOES have a place. Some of it is called “junk” and it goes in the “junk” drawer.
Be blessed!
Very well said!!
Mine are 19, 16, and 14 and it’s still challenging! Going from 2 children to 3 is like going from a man-to-man to a zone defense. When they were very young I remember telling a pregnant with her 3rd child friend that when her family hit 5 people she could count on someone always being unhappy… later she laughingly told me how true that was, and that what she never imagined is that it would so often be her ; )
Having baby number three was definitely my toughest transition too! Of course some of that was probably because my older children were only 2.5 and 17 months. Now our kids are 4, 3, 2, and 8 months, and I was pleasantly surprised that baby number 4 wasn’t as big of an adjustment as # 3. Of course housework is a constant around here, and it’s far(FAR) from perfect, but I like your attitude about it. Fun memories are much more important than a perfect house.:) Thank you for sharing, and for all you do!
The top of our dryer was awful. Today I was trying to nap while my girls were & just couldn’t relax. I thought what would make me feel better laying here or getting something accomplished. I had it done within 10 minutes & now I don’t feel guilty/frustrated every time I go in there.
Hubby is working on the garage; that place scares me! 🙂 I am tackling our hall closet which has gotten scary in a very short amount of time. The junk drawer is on my list though 🙂
I cleaned off the counters in my kitchen this week. However, I tried setting the timer for 15 minutes and it didn’t work. After the second time I just stopped timing and finished the job! Ha! You’d think I’d had stacks and stacks but I really didn’t. There were just things I hadn’t gotten around to like putting the coffee maker, that we don’t use, away because we had people staying with our kids for 9 days. Realizing I still had a bottle rack next to the sink and we’ve been done with bottles for a few months! Why is it still there? Because with 3 little ones and a husband gone all week it just hadn’t been priority! So now everything is cleared off. Next tasks is to go through the cupboards.
Junk drawers really are a pain. It is a alot better to throw that extra junk into a drawer than a highly visible area……. but it is still a pain knowing that the junk is there :\
I cleaned my junk drawer the other day. Like you, it took maybe 10-15 minutes. Honestly, I think I could’ve done it just during the commercials of a TV show.
My favorite thing about this post is how you cleaned it out so quickly- it really shows people have more time than they might say.
We are in the midst of decluttering 100 items that were mentioned in an earlier guest post. We very easily found 160 items so far. DH and one of the boys have yet to look through their things. I’ve asked that they each try to find at least 10 items. I think we will easily find 200 items. Thanks for the motivation and encouragement!
I’ve been de-cluttering papers from college and also from my childhood. It’s a lot of sentimental stuff mixed in with “might need someday” stuff so it’s been a hard project. But our coupon printing paper stack is growing and the recycling pile is getting fuller, too.
I just cleaned our junk drawer today too! Very quick fix! 🙂
It took me all week, but I just finished cleaning out all three bathrooms’ cabinets, drawers, and medicine cabinets. I realized I have been buying the same things over and over without realizing how much was already jammed in there. I started a list of what not to buy! Nobody needs that much lotion, soap, dental floss, etc. !
I just took 14 bags and boxes of stuff to the Salvation Army this week and yesterday cleaned out my multiple junk drawers. My house feels 1000 lbs lighter. 🙂
I got a big thing done. This one was long in the making. Follow:
After determining that buying Happy Meat in bulk was going to work for me (oh how quickly I gloss over 3.5 years of on-again, off-again effort!), I bought a chest freezer.
Then I had to decide what to do with the standing freezer. After getting all the Happy Pork (a whole pig’s worth) and 10 Happy Chix (all of which I cut up myself), and some other things, I determined I could, with some work, get rid of the standing freezer. I had to eat down some of what was in there, put some happy meat in a friend’s freezer, and rearrange the chest freezer and fridge freezer. Another 3 months.
Then I had to figure out what would go in the standing freezer spot, since the top of it is my dump spot. Solution: move the wine fridge from the sun room into the kitchen.
Each item needed to be defrosted, cleaned, and moved. Another week. Today I rearranged my dump spot, plugged in the power cords, and put the wine back in the wine fridge. The only thing left is to find places for the plants that were on top of the wine fridge.
The kitchen corner looks nicer because the wine fridge is 18″ shorter than the standing freezer, and the glass door is more attractive than the solid white one. The dining room looks more open with the wine fridge gone. And a friend is getting the standing freezer on long-term loan (in case I need it in the future).
So 4 years in the making, the job is done!
That sounds like my house, William! It took 2.5 years to update the half bath on our main floor.
Yes! I did this last week, and it made me feel so much better! My dresser is next, but I am kind of scared…lol
Nice work:) I have to clean the junk drawer at least every month!
I just sent hubby to Goodwill with 3 boxes of stuff that we had moved from the house into the garage. Where it’s all been for months. No more. I’m on a frenzy. We’re getting on with eBay plans this week, taking toys to consignment tomorrow, and delivering a table to a friend who bought it from us last week. Time to unearth my house!
Woot! Look at you go!
Very nice work on the junk drawer..I have several in my home that are starting to get to me. I am glad to see I am not the only one that think things change when you have a third child. I hear more often that it is much easier the more you have but for my husband and I it was the complete opposite. Once upon a time things were clean, toys were tucked away where they belonged and my house looked nice. Now with my kids 4, 2 and 1 I feel like I live in a world of as long as everyone got fed and no one is hurt the house can look however it wants on some days.
Now that mine are 7, 4, and 2, we’re in a much easier stage than when they were 4 1/2, 2, and 0. But it’s still very much a juggling act… and so far from perfect! 🙂
You are sooooo not alone! I’m right there with you, but with only two kids. Isn’t it refreshing to read Crystal’s posts and reader replies and realize we are not the only ones!? Thanks for your transparency!
I am in the same boat as you- mine are 4, 2 and 3 months. There are many (many, many, many) days that once all of the kids are in bed (except for the baby who seems permanently attached to me) I look back on the day and if everyone is still alive, the house is still standing and I haven’t ended up in the looney bin then all is good.
Going from one child to two was a cinch for me but when that third one made her appearance YIKES!
too funny with the kid thing. It was very hard for me to go from 1 to 2 but 2 to 3 hasn’t been bad at all! I guess by the 3rd i’d already fully realized things were far from perfect! Way to go keeping things in control with 2 🙂
This is a very sensible attitude.
“Going from one child to two was a cinch for me but when that third one made her appearance YIKES!”
Makes sense to me. You had to go from man-to-man defense to zone. No matter what they’ve now got you outnumbered.
Your “junk” drawer looks great! I can’t believe that only took 10 minutes….your kids must have been napping lol =)I tackled my kids clothes drawers this week =)
http://logansinmo.blogspot.com/2012/02/decently-and-in-order-pt-11-my-clutter.html
It’s amazing what you can get done in a short time during naptime, isn’t it?! Great work!
@Kelly: Thanks for sharing your blog…I couldn’t find a way to email you/contact you thru your blog, so just wanted to let you know I am looking forward to starting with your first post of “Decently and in Order” and am excited to read them all.
Thanks =) I am not even half way done with my home organizing blog mission and I hope to give lot’s of idea’s to other moms trying to make their homes more organized despite square footage or small children =) There are six of us (4 kids all under age 6!) in 1268 sqft =)
Chrystal, your messy looks like my “neat” these days. LOL I only have two small kids, but no where near your ability to discard/remove items from your home (seemingly) guilt-free, or even more, happily!
Thanks for spurring us on to help conquer our clutter. I’m waaaay behind you in this endeavor (which is not a competition)… but I did make some progress packing for an upcoming move a few weeks away. It felt good to see some of the smaller spaces open up and boxes start filling up. Any progress is just that, progress!
Keep up the good work! 😀
So sorry I misspelled your name — how embarrassing!
No worries! It happens all the time! 🙂
Progress is progress–even if it seems microscopic! Way to go!
Thanks!
Stop making us look bad Crystal!! LOL 😉
jenetta
I’ve been on a clutter busting frenzy for two weeks now. I’ve already done two bedrooms, a bathroom, the living room, homeschool room and then yesterday the kitchen. Tomorrow (or possibly tonight) I will start on my bedroom. I left it for last because it felt so overwhelming, but after all I’ve accomplished so far (and some things I’ve learned along the way), it doesn’t seem so bad now!
I did my dresser yesterday. It took me an *hour* but it feels so good to be able to see some order in there again! 🙂 Great job on your decluttering!
Crystal, first of all, thank you for letting us in your home and sharing with us REAL pictures…they are very encouraging. It is hard to believe your dresser took that long, considering you are a minimalist, but of course I believe you. However, it did make me curious…I strive to be more like a minimalist in the clothes department, but need some direction. I really enjoyed the video blog you did quite a long time ago where you shared your current wardrobe with us. If you ever wanted to do another one with your current season of clothes, I’m guessing I’m not the only one who would appreciate it and be able to glean some direction from it. Thanks for all you do and share…your blog has turned my life upside down as I get so much encouragement and direction here.
I realized I should have clarified on my dresser: what took me so long to go through was the top drawer which doesn’t have clothes but has just become a catch-all for all sorts of things over the last six months! I should have taken a picture of it but I was so focused on getting it done that I forgot!
Ah, now that makes more sense…I figured there must have been an underlying reason. And now that I think of it, I sort of remembering you saying that you didn’t have a filing cabinet (?) and you used your top dresser drawer for papers and other things like that. Which makes sense why it would take a long time to go through it.
Now that I’m expecting #3, I’ve heard from more than one family that introducing a third to the family can be a humbling experience. With two, my life lacks any semblance of perfection (besides my children’s sweet faces–they’re pretty near perfect!), so I guess I don’t have much to lose. 😉
But where did everything GO?
Where they were supposed to go, instead of just landing themselves in the junk drawer. 🙂 Cords were returned to their places, money went in the change jar, extra pens went downstairs to our extra pen holder, etc. And some things that were truly junk went straight into the trash.
Dude…that is NOT a junk drawer! LOL Nice job, though, nonetheless. Perhaps several sessions of 10 minutes can clean out my big junk drawer…then a few more for the small ones in the kitchen, bathroom, bedroom, and living room…eek! I need to get rid of all this JUNK! The idea of not having a junk drawer is very appealing to me…I never thought that possible. Perhaps my goal will be to get them down to ONE drawer!