Wow!  What a month!  Organizing the garage was a lot more work that I had anticipated.  I must say that once the stuff was out of the way half the battle was won.  Purging is the best organizational tool I know of.

Congratultaions to everyone who participated in this challenge.  I know you are better for it

My main goals were to clear the space - I've learned to declutter first, organize second.  Otherwise it is just too hard.  Then, since we only have one car to park in a double garage, I wanted to make a space for my kids to paint and do other art projects.  We live in a home provided by the church - it is lovely - but there is no where for my artistically inclined children to hone their skills.  Carpet covers almost every area of the house.

Last night we decided the garage would look nice if we painted it.  I think it does!  Do I get extra points for that?

I'll try not to make this the longest post in blogging history ...but I'm making no promises.

Here are some before and after photos:

View from door BEFORE:

View from the door AFTER:

(The lawnmower is missing from this picture - I'm not sure why.  You will see it in some of the next ones)

Side view BEFORE:

And another:

Side view AFTER:

The table is our art table with the "Art Studio" right next to it...you'll see in the next couple of pictures.  I wanted to get a cheap rug from Walmart to go under the table but I ran out of dollars.  I hope to buy it soon though.  It will finsih the area off nicely.

Can you see the white sign labeled "Camp"?  This is really exciting to me.  My husband runs a Bible camp during the summer and we need to store all of the stuff for it - Play equipment etc.  I have gathered it all into these boxes.  The garbage bags hold our insainly HUGE sleeping bags.  I tried to put them in space bags and suck the air out so they would store in a smaller area - but no,...they are too big.  The label on them says "Sleeping Bag" .  This year when we have to get ready for camp we can just pack everything under the CAMP sign.  Cool!

Most things are labeled.  At one point I wondrered if I was over-organizing...Nah!  This is an organizational challenge!!


Some detailed shots:
Storage Shelves:

The big green bag is a Christmas Tree storage bag.  It holds the tree nicely. 
The bottom area is for decorations and the green boxes stacked up are clothes for my son to grow into - passed down from his older cousin.  I went through these and got rid of anything we would not use.
The middle shelf is stuff to keep area - Winter coats for my sister when she visits, my husband's memorabilia, suitcases.
Top shelf is Baby stuff to save.  And inner tubes for floating down the river.  They don't go together very well, but it was the best place for both of them.  They each have their own area up there.

Other Shelves:

This area holds some little used kitchen items.  My deep fryer is only used once or twice a year to make donuts..so there is no reason to store it in my kitchen that already has little cabinet space.

The pink bucket holds all my supplies for making laundry soap.  Borax, grater, pot.  It is so nice ot have it all together and not have to hunt for things .

Oh...Notice the EMPTY shelf!  I love empty spaces - they make me feel organized.

Art Area:

I was going to get rid of the Vincent Van Gogh picture but we really do like it and it was perfect for our art area.  He is my 5 year olds favorite artist! 

The bottom shelf is empty.  I would like to get a small plastic container with drawers to hold some other art supplies.

More Views.
Place for the car tp park:


I made a basic map of the garage.  That way maybe someone else can find things in there.  One of my goals for this year was to prepare our home in such a way that my family could function if something happens to me.  This is a step in that direction.

The Cabinet Area. 
BEFORE Picture:

AFTER PIcture:
This will be great for working on craft projects.

The cabinets are useful - I had never opened them before.
It was the scariest part of this whole experinece.  I was sure soemthing would jump out at me.
I found things like this:

I do not know what those are - I do know that mice lived in that box.  Yuck!!!  And Double Yuck!

So back to business.


The drawers have detailed labels - They list what is inside the drawer.  Except this one - it just says "Paint stuff"

I like this one - not much in there.

I also had to do some cleaning.
 Ledge before:

Ledge after:

Now here are my answers to the questions Laura asked.  Thanks Laura!

1. What was the hardest part of the challenge for you and were you able to overcome it?

The hardest part was deciding which of my children’s clothing should go.  It was very painful.  I got better as I went through.  But it was a huge process and my heart ached through the whole thing.  Why do they have to grow up?!  I want more babies but it doesn’t look as though I will have any.  Getting rid of the baby clothing was a big reality check.  Something about holding onto everything made it seem like more of a possibility.  Letting it go meant letting go of my dream too.  I know that if I should be blessed with more children the Lord will provide everything we need.

My mother-in-law was very encouraging through all this.  I’d show her a cute baby outfit (or 10 cute baby outfits) and say, “Remember this?” and she's say she did, then nicely reminded me that I had pictures of the kids wearing that particular outfit and that it wouldn't keep very well etc etc.  She was so sweet about it and really helped me through it.  I wish I had counted all the boxes of clothing I went through.  It must have been 10 or more.  I actually went through all of the baby clothing last year - and got rid of very little.  I just couldn’t (or wouldn’t )do it.   But now it is almost all gone except for a few special things and the winter coats and snowsuits which I am saving for when my sister comes to visit (from Australia) with her babies.

2. Tell us what kind of changes/habits you have put into place in order for your area/room to maintain its new order?

I have “zones” that are labeled so everyone knows where things go. 

Decluttering all of that junk has also made me more aware of what I am buying.  The less stuff I buy the less I have to store! 

Getting rid of all that stuff has really helped me keep the garage tidy and organized because now I can actually get to the shelves to put things away! LOL! Before I could not even get to them - everything was dumped on the floor or on top of a pile.  I also have the cabinets and drawers available for storage.  It just took over 3 years living here for me to open them.  There was too much stuff in front of them until now. How embarrassing!

3. What did you do with the "stuff" you were able to purge out of your newly organized space?

A.  Anything that was of no use to anyone went to the dump.
B.  A soon-to-be mom came and took anything she wanted for her babies (That was fun - I remember people doing that for me).
C.  Garage sale for the rest - sold cheap - less trips to the thrift store later!
D.  Whatever didn’t sell at the garage sale went to the thrift store.

4. What was the biggest lesson you learned from this experience?

Stop buying stuff!  We really don’t NEED much.  The cost it takes to keep something is more than just tucking it away to be used “someday”.  It is time, energy and sometimes money.  I have found that a lot of things are just not worth keeping.

And also....it is better to bless others with your “stuff” if it is useful to them.  Much better to have it gone than have it sucking the life out of you and taking up so much time and energy!  These things were no longer a joy to me, just a cause for guilt and a terrible feeling of failure.  Now I am free.

5. Now that you have completed the PROCESS, do you think having and keeping your space organized will make a difference in your life?

Definitely Yes!!  The garage is the first thing I see.  When I drive into it I now feel a sense of accomplishment.  That feels much better than the sinking feeling I was getting in stomach every time I came home.       

I can now have anyone come into my garage without embarrassment and I don’t have to close the door as fast as I can when we leave.  Not long ago the garage door broke.  It was humiliating to have the repair man come and fix it.  Now it wont be.  Not to mention the fact that all my neighbors can see in whenever we come or go - I just know that they all think I am the worst house keeper!

More than that I feel I am being a good example to my children.  How can I expect them to take care of their things if I don’t do it? 

Beyond the way I feel, it will be nice to be able to find things!  It will be nice to have a place to work on projects that involve painting.  Since all of the sections are labeled clearly it will be easier for my husband to find what he needs too.

All in all I believe this will make a big difference in my life and also the life of my family.  The mommy will not be so grouchy!  This is good for everyone.  We will also be able to work and play more efficiently.  For example:
*It won’t take me an hour to hunt for something we need.  Which means we have more time to do things.
*My daughter can use the space to work on art projects which is something she loves and is talented at - I really wanted her to be able to do this. I won't have to worry about the carpet being ruined.
*When it comes to camp time we can load up the truck and go - no searching high and low and gathering things from here and there for a week or so before hand - Yay!

 

Yesterday I was able to get some work done in the garage.  My husband was home and took care of the kids for me   I tried taking my daughter in there a few days ago but then found a black window spider and that was that!  No more kiddies in the garage until it is done.

I was able to listen to the Book of John on CD while I worked.  It was nice.   The only  draw back is that I had a terrible knot in my stomach the whole time waiting to meet  a scary spider...or some thing worse! 

The area I worked on has a few cabinets which I had to OPEN.  I have lived here for 3 years and they had not been opened yet - too much stuff in front of them   It was not too bad.  But it wasn't great either.  If I have one tip for you it is ...when you move out of a home deal with your stuff!  It doesn't just disappear - someone will have to deal with it eventually.  That lucky someone is me.  Here are a few pictures of some of the stuff I have found ( and none of it is mine):

I'm sure if someone wrote about the phases one goes through when doing some serious organizing what I am feeling would be considered "normal".....

If anything is left out I want to throw it away!

I want to organize every closet and drawer in our home.

I am happy when I find something broken because I can throw it out without hesitation.

I despise toys with lots of pieces

I don't want to buy anything ever again.

I don't want any presents.

I don't want any more stuff!!!

Stuff - otherwise known as clutter - is such a time waster!  I have had enough of it.  It is like an unwelcome guest who dictates how everything will be done.  It is in the way.  It is frustrating.

While I am enjoying seeing my garage take shape I can't help but think of how much time it is taking.  I'd rather be learning to sew!  I'd rather be gardening! 

To avoid ever having to do this again I must not buy things I don't need, I must put everything away when I am finished with it, I must teach my children to do the same.

Ok...I feel better now

Click here to check out the poem Laura wrote for this organizational challenge.  It's cute.

I wanted to give you all a little progress report.  I have been working hard in the garage.  What a huge job it is.  Click here to see my original post (with lots of horrible photos).  The amount of work this whole thing is taking is motivation enough to never allow this kind of mess to happen again.  Clutter really is more than just stuff lying around.  It is a time waster, energy sucker and guilt rider!

Anyway....things are going fairly well out in the black hole   Here are a few pics:

Inside the big black garbage bag is my huge Christmas tree.  I ordered an artificial tree storage bag today....I hope it gets here soon.  It will tidy up that area.

The shelves are still in the process of being organized.  If you remember what this whole area looked like before - it was a disaster - I couldn't even get to those shelves!

Here is the other area I have been focusing on:


That's all for now.  Stay tuned.......

Laura, the organizing junkie, at http://orgjunkie.blogspot.com is hosting a 30 day Organizational Challenge.  I have decided to enter!  I like a challenge, especially when there are prizes involved.  Please visit her blog for more details and lots of great organizing information. 

I am entering the whole room/area category.

What will I be organizing?  The GARAGE!!!  I am going to post a before picture so I will be motivated to work hard and get an after picture!  Here we go.......






Let me explain.......ummmm, well, ok I guess there is not much to explain...it is a mess.  It was already quite messy and then I got on a decluttering binge inside the house and much of it ended up in here - so I didn’t really declutter anything, I just moved it.   The good thing is I know I can live without all this stuff because I have not missed any of it.  When I moved here from Australia 9 years ago I only had 2 suitcases worth of stuff - what happened!?

This is a double garage.  The car can still fits - but for how long?  I want one half to be for the car and the other half storage/art studio.

What is in there? 
1.  Lots of baby clothes and baby items.  I want to have more kids so badly that I have been hanging onto things.  Even if not for me, for my sister when she has a baby some day.  I have realized that a lot of baby clothing doesn’t keep very well.  And...”there is more at the store” .  If I should be blessed with more children someday I’m sure we will also have everything we need for that child.
I spent some time going through the clothes this week and threw out the badly stained ones, packed up the extra special ones and got the rest ready for a garage sale. 

2.  Empty Boxes - We have moved a few times and I got into the habit of keeping our boxes...they might be needed!  Well, I decided to look at some of them and guess what...boxes don’t keep either.  They get old and damaged and won’t be much good for holding anything.  We don’t know how long we will be living here .  I’ll take the freedom that comes with a clean, clutter-free space rather than being “prepared” by saving those boxes.  We took 3 trips to our local recycling facility and got rid of most of them.  Yay!!!

3.  Toys - One day I decided my daughter had way to many toys and proceeded to pack up the majority of them.  At the time I was not sure if I would rotate them or let her have a few back later, so I left them in the garage.  She has not missed them and has even received more since them...so out they go!  My daughter’s favorite “toys” are pen and paper.  She draws more than anything else.  I keep her stocked up on paper and she is happy.  Packing up most of the toys in her room was a wonderful thing.  It is much easier for her to keep her room tidy now and receiving the instruction to “clean your room” is not quite so overwhelming!!

4.  Junk - I’ll just group most of the other stuff in this category.  There are lost of odds and ends out there.  Some are useful..the rest need to go.  Some of it was here when we moved in..but not enough to really blame anyone for this mess

5.  Useful stuff - Decorations, outside toys, clothes for my son to grow into (from his cousin), camp stuff.

Oh dear, this really is embarrassing .  I can’t believe I am sharing this with everyone.  Oh well!

What do I want the purpose of my room or area to be?
MY VISION FOR THIS ROOM: I would like to use one side of the garage as an art space for my kids (and myself).  There are very few areas inside the house that are not carpeted so it is hard to create any great artwork without causing a problem.  I have a wonderful table and an easel that I would like to put in the garage.  That way the kids can enjoy being creative without mommy stressing out about the carpet (this is the church house so I want the carpet to stay nice!).


PLAN OF ATTACK:

1.  Purge - get rid of everything that is not useful or loved. 
     A.  TAKE the no good stuff to the dump.
     B.  GIVE some of the nice baby things to my newly married friends who are hoping to start families right away.
     C.  SELL the good stuff in a garage sale (I hate garage sales but hubby requested one.   Since his hard earned cash was used to purchase most of what we own I think we can do that.  He knows I don’t like them so we have deal - I get it ready, he sells it.  I can live with that)
     D.  Take that which doesn’t sell to the thrift store.

2.  Group like items together.  Most things will be containerized.

3.  Divide garage into sections.  I need specific areas for clothing, outside toys, art supplies, camp stuff, gardening tools, car supplies and tools, Christmas decorations etc.

4.  Buy an inexpensive rug for underneath the art table.  Will probably need to buy some plastic containers also.  I plan to spend as little money as possible on this project.  My goal is to use what we have.  I will purchase a few things as necessary but will not exceed $50.00.  I won’t purchase the rug until the garage is decluttered and organized.

5.  Time - Do as much as I can while my mother-in-law is here to watch the kiddies.  Then work for about 20 minutes each day.  More if possible.

6.  Change my habits.
      I need to learn to make decisions in a more timely fashion.  Adopt the “do it now” principle.  When packing up clothing my kids have outgrown decide if it will be sold at the consignment store, given to the thrift store or to a friend, or save for the future.  Put it in the appropriate place right away.  If for the thrift store, put it in the car, if for the kids - put in hope chest etc.
     Force myself to deal with junk on the spot rather than set it aside for later.  If this is not possible then I will need to have a day set aside each week to deal with what has accumulated (I’d rather be an on-the-spot gal)
     Don’t buy things we don’t need!

TODAY we actually took a run to the dump.  I documented it for you:

Throwing this stuff out was a huge high.  Just as big as shopping - only without the guilt!!

My mother-in-law has been so kind.  She helped me pack up all this stuff in her truck. 

Well, that is all for now.  I'll keep you posted.