The Great Closet Challenge

Have you ever taken an inventory of all of the clothes in your closet?

I decided to clean mine out this past weekend, and it was a bit frightening. I found two bags of sweaters and tops that have been waiting to go to the dry cleaners. Some of them have been in there for over a year. Fifteen pieces of clothing that need a little tender lovin' care so they can make their way back into the rotation.

This made me want to go through all of my clothes and assess what I am/am not wearing. Long story short, I have a whole lot of clothes. And I certainly don't need any more for some time. I am not a frequent shopper, but when I do buy stuff, I tend to splurge on a bunch of things at once. That may have caused the current situation.

Enter: The Great Closet Challenge!

I am setting a personal challenge to avoid buying any new clothes for an entire calendar year. That's right - a whole year. I am quite confident that I can make 365 combinations with what's hanging in the closet and stuffed in my dresser, even if I am not wearing my favorite thing everyday. At the end of the year, anything that went unworn will have to go. It will make a lovely donation to the Junior League of Milwaukee Grand Garage Sale, a fundraiser that I am happy to support each year.

So starting today, July 22nd, there will be no new jeans, running shorts, cardigans, or tops. And certainly no t-shirts. How does one person accumulate this many t-shirts?!

This challenge also includes accessories - specifically scarves and jewelry. I have more of both than I know what to do with. Nineteen scarves, people. That's just excessive.

There are a few exceptions to this:

Any items specific to Wedding/Honeymoon festivities. I already have my dress, but there may be other items that I am going to need to purchase to go with it - not optional. And I already know that I am going to need to get a rain parka for our honeymoon. So that's a go. I am going to try to pull from my current wardrobe for engagement photos as well, which could get interesting. I may have to make an exception there. Don't worry, I won't go overboard.

Shoes. For a girl who has so many clothes, I actually have very few pairs of shoes. And some of them are looking quite sad. As in, they should probably already be in the trash. So I will allow myself to buy work/casual shoes, within reason.

Gifts. If someone is so kind as to give me a clothing or jewelry gift, I reserve the right to keep it. As any good recipient would do. : )

To keep myself sane, throughout the year I am going to keep a clothing wish list. I think it will be fun to note the things I wish I had throughout the year, and see if I still really want them at the end.

I am also going to take a daily picture to assist me in remembering my outfits and to track what gets worn (and what doesn't). I don't plan to post them here, but will let you know how things are going. I am excited to see how much money that I save and if I can get creative with what I have.

Anyone interested in joining me for this one?

Sleepy Time

They have no problems sleeping all day and night. Totally jealous.

I am not a morning person. Not at all.

My mornings usually involve hitting the snooze button several times, followed by flying around my apartment trying to get ready in time, always running late. Lately, I've been so stressed, that I also haven't been getting much sleep during the night, leaving me groggy and less productive during the day, especially mid-afternoon. You might call me Oscar the Grouch. It would be fair.

So, when the first chapter of The Happiness Project focused on having more energy, I was totally tuned in. Gretchen focused on sleep and energy, and I figured that would be a good starting point for me too. Some of her strategies included:

1. Set a specific bedtime.
2. Get ready for bed well before your bedtime.
3. Make your room very dark.
4. Stretch.
5. Keep your bedroom a little chilly.
6. Make a list of everything you need to do the next day.
7. Tidy up your bedroom.
8. Exercise.
9. An hour before bedtime, avoid work that requires alert thinking.
10. Slather on body lotion.
11. Put on socks if your feet are cold.
12. Yawn.
13. Tell yourself, "I have to get up now."
14. Give up, and reframe your sleeplessness.

One of the first things that I decided to do to help promote better sleeping was to clear out the clutter in our room. The side of the bed next to my nightstand had become my dumping ground for stacks of important papers and bills, as well as all of my dissertation books and articles. Throw in a bunch of piles of clothes (some clean, some dirty, some waiting to be donated), and the place was basically a disaster zone. Nothing like clutter to block good sleep. It's like those dissertation books were staring me down in the middle of the night, making me feel guilty for not getting more done. Boo.

So I spent a whole Sunday cleaning our room, organizing all of the papers, and putting them in a new filing cabinet that I purchased. I also got a shoe rack, and organized my closet so that I can actually shut the door. The donation piles and the books moved out. I still need to find a new home for them, but I will do that when I have more energy. They are not welcome back in our room.

Bedtime is now 10 pm, no exceptions. The light has to go off at that time, and the room has to be as dark as possible. No blinking laptop lights. I have also been trying to put on my pjs by 8 pm. I honestly think it helps me get more tired. Call me an old lady if you will - I am turning 30 this week. It's fair.

Finally, one of my biggest challenges in getting to sleep is the stress of all of the things coming the next day. I keep a notepad by my desk for things that come up as I am trying to get to sleep, I pick out my outfit the night before, and I try to pack a lunch too. All those good night time things. But, I have also started spending the last half hour of my work day prepping for the next one. I have been clipping all of my To Dos, and any related paperwork to a clip board. It's waiting for me when I get in the next morning, which means I feel a little less chaotic during the evenings. Because, really, nothing I do is typically so urgent that it can't wait until the morning. 

After a week at a conference, my sleep schedule is still pretty off and I returned with a conference cold. Standard. But I am determined to condition my body to get more sleep. Chris doesn't have any problems sleeping. Not like I do. So he may be less excited about these changes. But he sure is being supportive. I think he would probably enjoy a less crabbier me.

Do you get sleep? How would your days be different if you had more sleep?

Less is More

I don't know what it is about August, but it just flies by. Students come back to campus this week, which made this my last weekend of summer. Chris and I made a point to squeeze in a lot of fun stuff, but I also had one major project that I wanted to get done - cleaning out my closet and dressers.

I did a lot of paring down when we moved last summer, but our lovely duplex has pretty small closets, and mine happened to be overflowing. I already had a garbage bag of clothes sitting in our room waiting to be donated. I felt like it was finally time for a cleanse. Why not start out these next crazy weeks of work with easier access to my clothes? 

So everything came out, and got piled on the bed. I examined for holes/stains, tried on stuff I hadn't worn in awhile, and threw stuff that needed to find a new home into a laundry basket. I am totally cool with cutting down. Why have six pairs of jeans that just fit okay, when I could have three pairs that fit well? I would rather have less clothes and more accessories. Plus, stuff fits in the drawers a lot better with less total stuff. This also helped me to feel better about the stuff I bought at the outlet mall yesterday. : ) 

 Now if I could only cut down on all of those t-shirts...

Office Project Update

Today starts week three of the office cleaning project. As of right now, I've eliminated two boxes and one filing cabinet worth of papers. I didn't get a whole lot done last week, as compared to the week before. I'll be honest - right now it looks even worse than it did when I started. I need to commit some time this week and next. My plan is to stay late a few nights to make some solid progress.

Wish me luck!

Mission Organization - Continued!

I spent yesterday helping my friend Lucy move into her new apartment, which inspired me to continue organizing my apartment. Today's focus - my kitchen. After a few loads of dishes and a major fridge clean out (yuck), I reorganized my pantry cabinet, silverware drawer, and the cabinet with all of my drinking glasses, etc.

I also cleaned out my spice drawer and put everything on a lazy susan, which freed up some space for all of those miscellaneous kitchen gadgets.

My favorite new area is my desk area in my spare room. I usually use my computer while sitting in front of the tv, so I thought it made more sense to utilize it as a space for crafts, present wrapping, etc. I stole some ideas from one of my favorite blogs, Young House Love. Here's what it looks like now!

The Competition Begins

My coworker and I have a competition during the month of may to determine who can get their office the cleanest and most organized. This is much needed, as my office has become quite the disaster zone. I have files that need to be purged, items that need to be stored in the students' space (not mine), and in general, a lot of clutter that just has to go. It's embarassing.

When I walked into my office today, I was overwhelmed at the amount of stuff that I am going to need to go through. It seems like an impossible task. However, my goal is to break it down into more manageable projects. Here's what I'm thinking:

Week One: Desk

• Clear off top of desk.
• Purge filing drawers (3) and reprioritize which files are in them.
• Develop new filing system for short-term and long-term filing.
• Reorganize top cabinets.
• Take home mugs, other personal items.

Week Two: Floor/Table

• Transfer stored items for students to their office space across campus.
• Take home personal items.
• Unpack boxes leftover from move (some of which are strategically hidden).

Week Three: Bookshelf and Filing Cabinet

• Purge items that are old and no longer used (most of them)
• Implement new filing system for cabinet.
• Better utilize space.

Week Four: Final Cleaning/Organizing/Decorating

I may need to haul in a giant dumpster with the amount of stuff that I hope to get rid of. I'll be sure to take some before and after shots too.

Here's to a less cluttered work life!

K

Office Organization Challenge

While I am working on my organization and clutter control at home, I also need to gear some of my efforts towards work as well. My office is in need of some serious time and attention.

In order to provide some extrinsic motivation, my coworker (who also has a cluttered office) and I have entered into a challenge. For the month of May (or at least the business days of May), he and I will compete to have the cleanest and most organized office by the end of the month.

We've determined the following rules:

1. Only $50 may be spent on additional organizational supplies.

2. We can consult with other staff members regarding organizational tips or ideas, however we must do all of the actual work ourselves.

3. We cannot intentionally make our office messier now so that it looks cleaner at the time of judging.

We still have to determine judges, but the loser will have to buy the winner lunch.

I'm excited to see the progress that we make!

Nine Months Later...

So apparently I need to do better about keeping up with my blogging. It's amazing how both work and life in general take over. I'm now 27 years old, and still trying to figure out what this whole grown up thing is all about.

One of my current goals is to eliminate the clutter from my life and to live more simply. I had the opportunity to go on a service trip about a month ago that was really impactful for me. Our group traveled to Jonesville, Virginia to assist in repairing homes for low-income families through the Appalachia Service Project (ASP). ASP focuses on making families homes warmer, safer and drier. Unlike Habitat for Humanity, the organization does not build or rebuild new homes for the families, but rather improves the exisiting structures. This can provide unique challenges where you never know what you might find after pulling up a floor - the boards underneath could be rotten, the joists could be uneven (in our the walls also uneven, which made cutting new floor pieces a challenge as each was a custom fit). Our group certainly ran into obstacles along the way, but in the end, we did some meaningful work for some really great families.

Through the trip, I reflected on the way that I live, and was inspired to find opportunities to live a rich, but more simple life. I have found that to be much harder to do back in my own environment, surrounded by chaos. I don't work regular hours, which contributes to some bad habits like eating out more often and leaving my apartment looking like a hurricane blew through. I'm not the most frugal person, and I live in a sea of clutter - both things that I want to change. I am generally not a neat person, and have struggled for some time to find new methods of organization that work for me and that I can maintain. I am committed to clearing out the physical, mental, and emotional clutter from my life so that I can be a happier and healthier person.

One resource that I've found to help with the physical clutter is The Clutter Diet. I found it at some point last year through Real Simple or another similar magazine. It is this great organizational web site that treats eliminating clutter like losing weight. You get a newsletter each week with different action items that break down organizing into specific areas of focus each week. You weigh in each week, with "weight loss" measured in putting time towards the different action items and eliminating bags of trash, or boxes of items to be donated. There are additional online tutorials and trainings for different types of organization methods and for specific areas of the house, as well as cleaning manuals and other helpful items. I first utilized the site for a period last spring and found it to be really helpful. Not everything applies to me (i.e. I don't have a garage), but I've committed that time towards other areas. I just re-registered (for $14.95/mo), and am excited to begin making progress on my apartment.

As a side note, I had an unexpected major purchase this past month when I had a tire blow out one night. Note to self: Don't hit the median. It's expensive. I ended up having to buy two new tires, which certainly isn't cheap. The reality is that my car really needed all four replaced, and so I'll likely be getting two more before next winter. Ahh, the expenses of being a grown up.

I'm thankful for springtime the beautiful weather that we are having, and I look forward to the pool opening at my apartment complex in just over a month. There's no better way to spend a weekend afternoon than laying out by the pool with a good book to read.