This Side of Sunny

Project Simplify :: Computer Files & Photos

{Coleman Skyping our friends in the Philippines}

This week's challenge was to pick a hot spot of our own choice. My task? To clean out the old files on the computer and organize the ever growing photo collection.

What I did:

Computer

• Clicked on every area of our computer and deleted old files
• Organized the desktop files, those can get easily out of control
• Evaluated file folders and consolidated/deleted if needed

Photos

• Went through many photo albums and deleted repeats/out of focus/kids getting a hold the camera shots
• Organized photos by year, then only kept 2010 in iPhoto, the others went to the backup drive
• Created monthly events for current year

I quickly realized there was no way I was going to be hard core in organizing photos- I was not going to delete any baby pictures no matter how many I had of them with their smiley gassy faces. I love all of them. The year system works for me, because if I am creating a project all I need to know is the year and then I can look through the 1000 (!) or so photos and choose what I need. It may sound like a lot, but those years are full of memories, small and big and I want to keep them. My scrolling mouse is my lifesaver!

What was great about this task was looking back over how my family has changed and grown. My hubby and I got married, moved into our first house, had our first son, moved again, had our second son, moved overseas, had our daughter and moved back home. Instead of my baby boy, I now have a 6 year old, 4 year old and almost 1 year old!

So as things get crazy or overwhelming, my pictures help me to think of the quote:

The days are long, but the years are short.

Oh my, are they ever.

Check out the results of Project Simplify to see other people's hot spots!

 

Project Simplify :: Pantry & Fridge

I regularly clean out these two areas because they can have a life of their own if I let them- like the onions sprouting on the bottom shelf of the pantry!

The most difficult thing was finding time. I was able to clean out one shelf during a nap session but the rest had to be done on Sunday when the hubby could put the kids to bed. At least deep cleaning like this doesn't have to be done that often.

Before

Top pantry- ack, there's a cleaner in with the food!

Bottom pantry

Fridge

Beloved junk drawer

After

Pantry- I've organized the shelves according to items that get used the most. Baby snacks, kid snacks, and cereal on the middle, most accessible shelves. Notice my strainer is empty- I had to throw those onions away because they got nasty.

Fridge- notice I have these cool see-through drawers but before they were empty (because they were gross and needed to be cleaned). Now I can see what fruits and veggies need to be eaten!

Junk drawer- who knew we had so many batteries? Now, they are in one handy place.

You see all the doorstop springs and endcaps in there? That's because a certain little crawler loves to play with them and then try to eat the endcaps! Of course, a little boy took most of the springs off before she even got to them. Sigh.

 

 

Project Simplify :: Kids Clothes & Toys

I needed more than a week with this hot spot but I was able to tackle the boys' room.

Changing out winter clothes for the summer clothes- good bye pants and hello shorts! Well, really this is Arizona so you can get away with wearing shorts year round.

My hubby made these velcro labels for the boys' clothes when we first got this dresser. They have helped in getting the kids to put their own clothes away as well as ourselves!

I should have taken a picture of what the room looked like before the sorting- you couldn't even see the floor. So in order to work, I had to clean first.

The sorting...

A vintage Barbie case... why was that in the boys' closet? And of course all those hangers they used to hang their shirts up. I only hang the collared ones up to keep them nice.

You can see the book shelf before the sort out... just a little overflowing.

I had already pared down the books so I decided to rotate them, that way the books are more likely to get read because we can see them.

Books are in the bottom tote on the left and piled in the corner, army collection tote on top of that. Two fabric totes are clothes- one for winter and the other for bigger sizes.

The result...

If you want some decluttering ideas, check out what other moms are doing at Simplemom.

 

Project Simplify :: Paper Clutter

Earlier when I was cleaning another hot spot, the kitchen countertop, I dumped all the papers into the corner of my bedroom/desk/computer/office.

The before...

Paper was spilling out of the paper trays...

on top of the printer...

and even out of my purse!

So this was a good hot spot to focus on this week or who knows how long those piles would have been there.

The sorting process...

Very organized as you can tell. Ack! More papers printing as I took this picture. Love the reflection off the computer though.

The results...

Some tips:

• Organized file cabinet- my files are all labeled with a label maker, alphabetical. This way if I can remember what it is, I can get it rather than trying to remember what subject I put it under.
• File organizer- the one on the desk holds files I am using most often, which makes filing a lot easier.
• Tax files- are in a file box in the closet, because I don't need to access those, only keep them.
• Mail- I check the mail in my car driving home. I have a paint bucket for my trash can. Anything junk goes right into there so it never even comes in the house. Easy peasy.

Project Simplify :: Master Closet

Oh yes, I think it's time for a major decluttering/organizing of my clothes. After having three children I've fluctuated between sizes 6- pregnancy large, grown a foot size, need to upgrade my ring size (seemed to only fit for one day), etc, etc.

With all my changes, I have had to hang on to all those different clothes because I knew I would need them at some stage in my life. Now it's time to let them all go! With each couple of pounds I lose, I am able to fit into a different tote full of clothes and get rid of another one.

I had already started this process when I saw Project Simplify at Simple Mom. Clutter? Hot spots? With three kids, a dog, and a hubby that works multiple jobs with multiple needs, yeah I got plenty of those. So for the next five weeks I'll be tackling a hot spot- or in other words a place where all the junk lands.

If you want to join, click on the links, or you can start with this book-

Before shots

My side of the closet

The closet door where I keep all my shoes

Empty dresser drawers

The equally empty Hope chest where I am supposed to be keeping the off season clothes. Originally I had summer stuff in here but then the weather hit almost 90 degrees and it was time to put all the winter things away.

The process

Part of the "rules" was I had to touch each piece of clothing. This means I decided to toss/give away/or tried it on. Surprisingly my professional wardrobe fit for the most part, which I haven't worn in about two years. The items that didn't fit (yet) got put in my Hope chest for a later date.

After shots

Filled dresser drawers

Found a pair of shoes that was not mine and the blue scarf went to the give away pile.

The jewelry drawers

Filled with winter clothes that will be put away for a long time...

The dresser looking pretty and fresh

And last but not least... the closet!

As you can see I dealt with those boxes down below. One was a storage tote full of not-quite-there yet clothes, one was a box of party stuff, and another was a box full of pictures and memory books from our move almost a year ago. I was able to organize the clothes, party stuff and the picture box is my next move.

My hubby has all his clothes on the other end of the closet, mostly hanging up. I didn't take a photo of that because I had organized that at an earlier time.

Now I'm ready for the next hot spot- which reminds me I need to do the dishes.