So, here we are, in February already and I have finally finished the first part of the conversion. As the book suggested, I diagrammed my house and divided it up into different areas. 35 in total. I began working on the first area, my entryway, when I realized that some areas need to be done together. My entryway, which is basically 4 feet squared, opens right into the living room. There's a closet on the opposite wall which holds our coats. Every time we leave or enter the house, the closet is used....or should be used. And that means walking through the living room to do so. Everything that comes into the house must go somewhere and that would also include walking through the living room. I decided that I would convert areas 1-3 together because one cannot function without one or both of the others.
Area 1: Entryway
Believe it or not, this isn't even my entryway at its worse. I came up with the idea for the shoe bin long before I had heard of the book. It worked, kind of, but not well enough. We tried to limit how many pairs each person got to put in the bin, but it was just too tempting for all of us to add shoes. It was easy to take off shoes the moment we came home and put them away, but it overflowed often. Shoes would sometimes fall into the walkway and block the door from opening or closing. The end table right next to the door was often the drop spot for whatever came in from outside. It also held dishes that were never returned to the kitchen. So, as little as this space is, it had a lot of problems that would need the help of areas 2 and 3 to be solved.
First, everything needed to be cleaned out so I could see the area clearly. I'm so glad God gave me a creative brain because I needed it to come up with ways to solve problems! As much as I loved our end tables, they just don't work with our family. They collect everything and were the cause of much of the mess. I had to get rid of them completely, not just store them away. Everything got sorted into boxes that helped to know where things should go. I eventually got rid of the box idea as it became too overwhelming for me. The great thing is, I could adapt what I learned in the book to my own personality. There's no set way to do things.
I realize this is more into my living room, however, the couch has been moved to cutoff the entryway. There's no room for any drop spot. Nothing can come in the door and just get left there. It forces everyone to put their things away.
And finished!!! It has been this way for a few weeks, and is still clean!
Area 2: Living Room
Not the most embarrassing state, and not the most embarrassing room. Rambo's dog crate never seemed to have a home. He uses it often to hide or get away and he goes in there when we leave the house. Everything that came into the door just landed somewhere, anywhere. Much of it is MINE. The TV area is full of video game cases and discs, other DVDs just laying around and empty cases waiting for the disc to be put back in. Cords strewn everywhere.
My totes and purses never had a place. I often camped on the far couch and that's where all of my projects sat, eventually overflowing the couch and onto the floor. Thirty-One stuff, school stuff, church stuff, whatever I was working on was there. All. The. Time.
This small space is what everyone and everything had to squeeze through in order to get to the bathroom and the kids' bedrooms. The end table collected everything and all my papers I didn't know what to do with (bills, coupons, school papers, etc.). The trash was intended to be a helpful thing, but was often tripped over and dumped out. The crates held more school stuff and old school stuff from last year. The wooden table used to hold a fish tank. But since it had a drawer and cupboard, we kept it after we got rid of the fish. Besides, Seth made it. Like any surface, it collects everything as well. No flat surface is safe in our house!
The boxes against the wall were part of this HTCI project. By Christmas, I had to figure out where to put it because that is where our tree goes. I realized at that point, the box thing was just adding to the problem and not helping to solve. I do, however, tend to create a mess before making it all clean.
A work in progress, for sure. Seth even took the kids and left me to the house for an entire day. It was very helpful. I switched the couches so the long couch was next to the front door and the love seat on the wall opposite the TV. I still had to figure out what to do with things as they came in the door.
Finished!!! I love the new setup. Seth does, too. The couches work better. Since our sound system broke, I had more freedom to move certain things around, like the shelves over there. The sound system once sat on top and cords were plugged into the TV and speakers hung on walls around the room. With the sound system gone, I could move the shelves away from the TV, no longer covering a vent. It also stands next to the closet. Seth's drop spot is on top of the shelves. His keys, wallet, and other things go up there and I actually like it next to the closet so everyone who comes in the door puts their things away in the closet and Seth can put his stuff right there, too. It works great together.
The view from the kitchen towards the front door. This basically captures the entire living room. Nothing looks cluttered or out of place!
The entertainment center was a crazy mess of loose discs and cases. This is one of the those places that we just had to change our habits with. If you take a disc out of the XBox or Blu-ray, put it in the case and away on the shelves next to the closet. When you put a disc into one of those places, put the case next to it so the next person can easily find it. All accessories are nicely wrapped and placed on one of the TV stand. The boxes hold all of the Skylanders characters and things.
Not totally finished, I guess. I would like to get a small end table (I know, I know) to hold my projects and things that I tend to spread across the couch and the floor in front of it. Right now, one of my Thirty-One bags is doing the job. I'm looking at Craigslist and Goodwill to find just the right one. One that won't collect things, but will hold my projects in a neat and orderly fashion.
Here, I have 2 bags. One for school stuff so I can sit down with Alie on the couch to work on school. It's easily put away and kept out of sight. The purple bag is my BSF (Bible Study Fellowship) bag. It holds my notes, my binder with my lessons, and my Bible. I sit on the couch to do my devotions and lessons so I can easily grab it, use it, and put it away.
Ah, the electronic station. Ipods, cords, XBox controllers, headphones, whatever needs to be plugged in and charged and is used often sits here. There's no room to collect anything that doesn't belong. And if something does happen to land here, it can get taken care of easily.
I used to keep my calendar in the kitchen because that's where my mom kept hers. It turns out, there's no rule that says the calendar has to be in the kitchen! I spend most of my time in the living room. I no longer have a land line near the kitchen so when I get a call, it's on my cell phone, and I'm probably on the couch. I can make appointments and check what's happening in my life right in the room where I spend most of my time. The hanging pockets, Thirty-One of course, hold the important papers that come in the door but can't be thrown away or filed yet. Bills, receipts, phone numbers, school papers, etc. I can see it will get full quickly so I'll probably go through it once a month. The bottom pocket holds the things for other people. If it's not for me to deal with, it goes in that pocket. Right now it has Little A's BSF lesson and not sure what else. Just below the hanging pockets is a large trash can (got rid of that small one) and the shredder. If it doesn't belong in the pockets, it probably goes into one of those. I love this new paper station!
Rambo loves the red box. He often sits there and watches out the window. We are looking for a new one, though, since that one is getting kinda filthy. We originally bought it to hold XBox and Wii games, but it was too difficult for people to put them away, especially after we got Rambo. Rambo's crate finally has a home!
Area 3: Front Closet
This was just a mess. It drove me crazy, but I didn't know how to fix it without spending a lot of money. I wanted hooks to hang coats on, but Seth said it wouldn't work. So, our coats just got tossed in here and when you wanted your coat, you had to dig for it. The Thirty-One bags hold our winter stuff - gloves, hats, scarves, snowpants, etc. But once they were opened, everything spilled out and nothing was returned. So, if you wanted a matching pair of gloves, you had to dig through the pile of coats. And anything random just kinda got thrown in there, too. I had to decide how to use the closet efficiently.
Hanging coats was never going to happen in our family. So, I bought a couple bins for coats and shoes. The shoe bin was too small, as I had expected, which is why I bought a stackable bin. And the bins for the coats didn't both fit. One is now the trash in the living room. The 2 Thirty-One bags on the shelf were a temporary fix. I knew they weren't going to stay there, but I needed to find something for our small winter things.
I'm so glad I discovered a hook on the wall just inside the closet. A while back, I purchased a trash holder for the car from a neighbor kid's fundraiser. It didn't work too well in the car, but when I hung it on the hook in the closet: BOOM! A purse holder!!! My purses have a home!!! I take off my coat, my shoes, and hang up my purse. Love it.
Cleaning supplies on the second shelf and games on top. So far, so good.
Finished!!! I bought small bins for our hats, gloves, etc. and each person has his/her own small bin. When winter ends, I can put them back into the Thirty-One bags and store them and then put pool toys and summer things in the bins!
I bought the second stackable bin to hold the shoes. Most go in the top bin, but a few can easily be reached from the bottom. The vacuum cleaner actually fits in the closet and can easily be taken out and put away. Coats all go in the large bin. Still need to dig a little, but the mess at least stays contained.
A few things for the car will be stored in here until I get to the car HTCI portion.
Our individual bins! I also have a Thirty-One bag with cleaning supplies which I hope to be filled with Norwex products someday.
No more beating up game boxes and losing cards and small pieces. The games are now nicely organized on the top shelf.
And my purses!!!
A lot of work? Yes. Time? Of course. Effort? Quite a bit. Worth it? Absolutely!!! Now that we know where things belong and what to do when we enter the house, things are staying cleaner longer. A few things still get left out and I do have to remind people to put things away (including myself), but it gets done! The house is actually cleaning itself because it's set up to match our family's habits. I love it so much!!!
Next, areas 4 and 5. See you then!
Next, areas 4 and 5. See you then!
