Toddler clothes revisited!

On what I'm calling post-concert inspiration Day 2, with a rainy outlok I abandoned further plans for the garden, and tackled the ever-growing pile of toddler toys, clothes and bits and bobs lying around in what I call E's space. My goal started out as simply tidying toys, but soon I'd turned it into a reorganising mission, moving her clothes into the area and giving it a complete overhaul.

This is the pile of toys, clothes and miscellaneous items that I've collected from the corners of the room. My husband's method of tidying up is to shove things towards the edge / corner. He's been quite busy in this room!

There used to be a chair here, with piles of stuff creeping up from the floor around it. This was post-cleanup about 1pm this afternoon.  By this stage, the song "Wrecking Ball" was reverberating in my head. Clearly that was today's motivational song, just as Red Headed Woman belonged to yesterday's yard work.

As I sorted through the too-small clothes, I photographed them in same-size sets, posted them on my Facebook 'shop' page and tidied them away in labelled ziplock bags for taking to the markets or charity.

This ziplock bag system for older baby clothes is something I've been searching for for years! Maybe I'm just slower than the rest, but I've often asked friends and relatives for inspiration for storage and sorting and not one person suggested "big ziplock bags". I'm thrilled, and now have a drawer full of these little fellows, totally sealed away from pests!

Drawer of  clothes ready to leave our house!

This is the pile about half-way. I had taken almost all the clothes out and sorted them; started on the toy sorting and the tallboy had been moved into the room. I was exhausted and not very motivated. Even Wrecking Ball didn't help much. So I called in reinforcements, posted progress in my Organising Energy Facebook group and made a phone call or two. What worked the most was the motivation not to leave the above photo as my last update on Facebook.  So I pushed on, and took another photo.

By the time I'd gotten this far I made some compromises. I decided to leave one box of toys unsorted but contained so that I'd get finished!

It wasn't long before I had finished! Today's big goal was sorting E's clothes - I have a drawer full of clothes bagged by size, all posted for sale, plus her drawers are in the same room so it's easy to access.

I've moved puzzles and entertaining toys up high so I can put them in the floor when I think entertainment is needed.

I have the book pile still to go but again, books all away in one place, too many so they'll be rotated into the normal bookcase, with only a few left out.

Miscellaneous toys in the cupboard, soft toys in one box, "baby" toys in another box; I still have one box to sift through (might be a stack of tossing out?)

Now I'm writing up this blog listening to some finer moments of Bruce Springsteen's tours (Twist and Shout with Paul McCartney, I Fought the Law and the Law Won).

Its time to go and put those toys back in their boxes, as in true children style, they've seen boxes of toys and decided to raid!  A moment for some education about keeping toys in their boxes!

Tomorrow I'm not sure what great things I'll acomplish, but I am pretty confident they'll be achieved to the soundtrack of another Springsteen anthem :)

A great weekend!

I've been away from the blog because I've been too busy getting other stuff done!

I am thrilled to say that for whatever reason my husband found some inspiration and it is incredible how much gets done when both adults in the house contribute!

This weekend I have managed to get back on top of washing up, keep up with laundry and feed everyone healthy foods.

On top of that the list of clean spaces is long! I spent my alone time on Friday cleaning the kitchen floor, plus beginning some of the other spaces. That night my husband took only one hour to clean junk off the spare bed downstairs! (it was piled up with toys and other flotsam).  Then my husband got very inspired by his friend's visit and he cleaned the rest of the entry, moved the old bed from our sons room (finally) and rearranged and cleaned our elder daughter's room. Plus in the process, the steps were cleaned off and vaccuumed by elder daughter, and hallway cleaned!  Our house looks almost like real people live here!

The difference that is made when he participates is remarkable. I am shocked at how easily he makes a big change, and stunned that for the past two years he has not been a part of the solution. 

We were able to have my father for lunch from the nursing home and it is simply lovely to walk around the house in peace, without feeling crowded in by mess or clutter or untidiness. 

I feel so much lighter and I am holding my breath, hoping it lasts. While it is here, I'm taking advantage of the extra cleanliness to keep up my pace, so even if hubby goes back to being part of the problem, I've taken full advantage of the momentum happening right now!

Some pictorial evidence to follow in the next update!