It started innocently enough. It was January 5th and time for the ornament holder (Christmas tree) to come down. Down came the ornaments, lights, stockings, Christmas cards and other knick knacks.
The room looked bare without everything, but it was still cluttered. Extension cords, stadium chairs, video games, power cords and pillows cluttered the room.
Pushing the thought, "we need to move," to the back of my mind, I procrastinated and began scrolling through USA Today. The most popular article that morning was how to de-stress in your own home.
I can hear it now. What do you have to be stressed about? You sit on the couch all day wearing your pajamas. Yes, I sit on my couch, mostly because I do not have a desk. I am wearing clothes, thank you. And no, I have nothing to be stressed about.
The article went on to say things like cluttered cabinets where you can't find anything, or messy refrigerators can make people feel stressed.
Uhhh, yeah. I'm thinking this article was written by a hippie.
I looked around the living room. There is a wide open corner now that the ornament holder was gone. The room is a pretty good size, if I could move the surge protector that holds a million cords, it wouldn't look so messy.
Cords and wireless box to the corner. The lamp had to be moved so the cord could reach. A book shelf was also thrown into the corner, and viola! The room lost its clutter feel.
I did feel a bit better, I did not so squished.
Time to tackle the cupboards!
Seven jars of Prego, six jars of salsa, ten cans of chicken noodle soup along with other miscellaneous cans that took up the entire cupboard. It was cluttered so badly, we groaned when he had to find something in there.
Find a buddy!
Sesame Street would be so proud. Everything was matched to the item like them. If it was on of these things that doesn't belong, it was placed to the side and stacked appropriately.
I don't know if it de-stressed me. I did feel a sense of accomplishment. I was on an organizational high!
I attacked the fridge, the other cupboards, my closet, my dresser finding things to donate, recycle and throw away.
The hippie journalist was onto something.
I don't feel less stressed, I do feel like our tiny apartment is slightly bigger.
I'm thinking this can hold me for another several months until we find a bigger place. When will that be, you ask?
At this rate, probably ten to eleven months from now. But it's okay. The cupboards are organized.
Being organized has absolutely nothing to do with being a hippie! True hippies rebel against any kind of formal organization. "It's the man keepin ya down!" When things get organized it can keep stress from happening cuz you don't go crazy trying to find things:) The cupboard organizing can save you money - not buying anymore jars of prego for awhile for example. Way to get inspired by taking down the tree! As long as you don't go nuts reorganizing every couple of weeks - that can lead to divorce when your mate can't find something that "was in that cupboard last week!" hee hee. I've seen that one happen. If you're going to be a true hippie, go totally organic, put a colorful sock on your head and hang at Starbucks:)
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