31 Days to An Organized Home

I've been inspired.

For months and months - ever since we moved to our new Harlem apartment, actually - I've felt like I'm drowning in a sea of clutter and disorganization.  It happens every time.  New apartment requires a new system.  Whatever organizational system worked before, it'll be totally different now.  And since motherhood has zapped every ounce of brainpower and creativity I ever had, I suck at coming up with new ideas for putting together a system that works.

And then there's Matt's system, which has two rules:

1. If it's in the way, shove it in a closet. Just don't open that closet. Ever.
2. The more an item is used, the higher it should be stored.  Wouldn't want those step stools to feel obsolete.

Don't even get me started...

But I digress.  In an effort to get a grasp on my flailing housekeeping, I turned to Google, who returned me this: 31 Days to An Organized Home from The Complete Guide to Imperfect Homemaking (which instantly became my new favorite blog of all time).  Participating in a "blog for 31 days straight" challenge last October, and not only is this lady's blog chock full of great organizational ideas, but a ton of other people joined in (and linked up) with her as well.  

So this all happened, like, two days ago.  Then yesterday I realized...hey!  It's almost October!  Maybe I'll try to do this 31 day thing, too!  Now, I'm not promising to post my progress every day (did I mention my four kids 5 and under?) but I am going to follow in this blogger's footsteps and pick one organization-related project for each day and do it. 

In fact, I started today.  I wrote a long overdue post featuring Reagan today - and while that isn't directly related to the organization of our home, it has been cluttering my to-do list and weighing on my mind.  So, yay!  Day 1 done.

I haven't got all 31 days planned yet.  Even if I do plan them all, I may not stick exactly to the plan.  But I'm planting a stake in the ground and saying I WILL do at least 1 thing to move this tiny apartment toward a finished/livable state each day this month.  And then I'll FINALLY be able to do a post give all 2 of my loyal readers a tour of our new (7 months ago) apartment!  Well, 1 of those readers lives here...

Anyway, I'm excited to get moving.  Incidentally, the same blogger is participating in another 31 Days project called 31 Days to Savor the Season, which I'm very excited to read as it unfolds.  Since we're staying here in Manhattan for the holidays this year it should be...interesting.  

The times we've stayed in NYC or DC in the past have always been fun.  This year I hope to do all the touristy/trendy New York during the holidays stuff, however, and I hate that stuff.  Scratch that.  I hate dragging kids around all that stuff.  In the cold.  But I think they're getting to an age where they'll remember traditions, and I think it'd be cool if Patrick turned to Karol in 15 or so years and said "hey, remember how we used to go to Rockefeller Center at Christmas time and see the tree?" or something like that.  I have a feeling I'll respond by saying "yeah, what a pain in the butt that was..." but hopefully I'll check myself.

In other news, I lost 7 lbs doing Jillian Michael's Six Week Six Pack (not very regularly, but still).  So...yay for that.  So now I'm out of the really fat pants, and into my old, medium fat pants.  Actually I got rid of those at some point, I think, and so I'm squeezing (painfully) into regular pants, wearing a belt (on the last hole!) with my really fat pants, and still wistfully dreaming of fitting my skinny pants.  Another 10 lbs will make all the difference.  I started 6-packing again today with renewed vigor, so hopefully I'm not too far away (because I can't afford new clothes for fall, so I really need to fit into my old ones).