New Year...New Goals!

New Years is always about making resolutions.  Typically, I never really do anything.  I mean, lots of people say they will exercise more, eat healthier, etc.  And then they fizzle.  I don't like the fizzle part.  I'm one of those people that if I set my mind on something, I'm going to do it.  Sometimes that can be a good thing, and sometimes a bad thing. ;)

This past month I've discovered this amazing little thing called Pintrest.  You may have heard of it :)  If not, it's awesome.  It's like a virtual bulletin board, where you can "pin" all the things you want to do, dream about, etc.  Just like when you were young and you would tear out magazine pictures and pin them on the bulletin board in your room.  Accept this is all via the Internet.  And, when you stumble upon a picture you like, it usually leads to someone's blog.  And that someone's blog generally has all sorts of awesome things and ideas.

Pintrest gave me a great idea, just before New Years and I decided to turn it in to my new years resolution.  It's called 40 bags in 40 days.  The idea is, you clean your house of clutter and throw away or donate 40 bags of "stuff" in 40 days.  We've lived in our house for almost 7 years now, and we've never really decluttered since moving in.  We've added tons of stuff (with a marriage and two children, that's just what happens!) but not gotten rid of much.  It's not that we have lots and lots of things or that we hoard what we have, but our house isn't big by any means and we just need to watch how much stuff we fill it with!  So, with all that in mind, I decided this project was meant for me to tackle!  With Patrick's help, we have already gotten a great start on the 40 bag goal.  And, we have done some amazing (much needed) organization!  I LOVE organization!

So far in 2012 we've done the following:
-bathroom cabinets & drawers
-bathroom closet
-Linen closet
-Hall closet
-Fridge/Freezer
-Under the kitchen sink
-Kitchen junk drawer
-Upstairs entertainment center
-Purged Christmas decorations

And it's only January 10th!

This week and weekend we are going to tackle the laundry/storage room.  We are going to rebuild the shelving unit to make it more user friendly and organize all the boxes of "stuff," including a big purge of "stuff" we don't use or need anymore!

How am I getting this all done while taking care of two kids?  My motto during this has been "Make in Manageable."  If it's a project I can manage in a day, why not tackle it?  If it's something that seems to be looming over my head and just too much to take on, I'm more than likely not going to do it.  I think that has made all the difference.  I have a list of things I want to organize and declutter, and I know it'll happen, now that I'm making things manageable!

Here are some photos of a few of the projects we've done so far!

Our bathroom closet.
Patrick added a shelf at the top of all of our closets for additional storage.
I'm so happy with it!

Our Linen Closet.
Now it has been repurposed.  It is a linen/craft/toy closet.
All the toys that were sitting out in our living room have been neatly tucked away,
when Emery wants to play with something he can get it out and put it back when he is finished!
The hanging craft storage is awesome!
We have already colored and painted more because it is easy to access!

Our fridge.
Don't judge me for putting bins in my fridge or for labeling them!
I think this is really going to cut down on the amount of food we throw away because we forgot about it and it has expired.  Now there is a place for everything.  Even a bin for leftovers!

Our freezer.  Patrick and Emery tackled this all on their own, and it is awesome.
We still have most frozen goods in our large freezer in the basement, and this one for quick foods that we use frequently!

Lots more decluttering and organizing to come in the Atchison house.  As of today we're down 15 bags, with 25 remaining to reach our goal!