Clearing the Clutter: Post One

Now, don't let this post fool you - there's waaaay more clutter around my house than what I have pictured here. But this was all I had time to deal with show you this weekend. ;)

Really, though I do have lots of "before" pictures waiting in queue, but I'd like to wait to post them until I have the "afters" to go alongside. So Post One will be for Lorri's Loveliness Fair; Post Two will come soon ... I hope.

This is how the front of the refrigerator looked on Friday. A mish-mash of stuff that at one time or another was, well, timely:

Earlybird's speech therapy homework went out to the shelves where I keep his books. The party invitation went into last week's folder, while the VBS papers got filed in that of the coming week's. The miscellaneous artwork also got, ahem, filed. I removed a lot of visual clutter and we ended up with:

I just bought two more magnetic photo holders for the left hand side ($1 at the craft store) and as you can see I have yet to fill in the August calendar. Actually, I don't use this calendar much at all; I rely on my own spiral bound calendar for planning personal and family activities and I just bought a large hanging calendar for the kids to use this year in the learning room. So really this dry erase calendar is moot - and yet, I don't have the heart to part with it. I guess that would make it clutter, lol, but it's just so cheerful and cozy! The other problem with it is whenever EB gets even a whiff of dry erase marker the jig is up - and the markers end up all over the place, mostly on EB.

Next we have my coupon packet which was stuffed with long-expired coupons:

Do you know what I did? I set Bookworm to work on the problem. In no time flat he had all the expired coupons discarded and the envelope all buttoned up neatly for me:

I realize this is probably not the best way to organize coupons - they are all rather jumbled in there - but I have yet to find an organizer I like. At one time I had one of my grandmother's (from the 70s, I think) and I loved it. Unfortunately it fell apart after much use. (Any suggestions for coupon booklets, dear readers?)

And now a brief photomontage on the evolution - and devolution - of dining table clutter:

The dining room table Friday morning: admittedly, a mess.

The dining room table Friday afternoon: not so bad.

The dining room table Saturday morning: spic and span! But can it last?

The dining room table Saturday afternoon: alas, cluttered again! But in a good way!

You see, I simply can't live without a smidgen of clutter - it keeps the creative wheels turning - but I also find it hard to live with much more than that smidgen. The trick is finding the happy medium.

Well, stay tuned for more of my clutter-busting adventures and in the meantime, stop by the Mac and Cheese Chronicles for the Loveliness of Clearing the Clutter Fair. I know I will - it is sure to be just the shot in the arm I need!

Comments

[Heather Duncan]

If clutter keeps the creative wheels turning, then I must have an over abundance at my house. Ever since my husband broke his ankle, I can't seem to keep on top of the cleaning. My house has always been cluttered.

Trying to fit stuff from three families in one house is a pain. My stuff, my hubbys stuff and my inlaws stuff. My inlaws have been dead for 3 years and I have been married for 7. One of these days we will finish. LOL

[Jen]

Your coupon caddy is almost perfect, just add a few dividers (thin cereal box board) so you can divide the restaurant, department store, food (perishable and non), health and beauty, and cleaning supplies. Organized in a matter of minutes - about 20 minutes.

[Kristina]

Hi Dawn,

I have seen coupon organizers at The Dollar Tree, The dollar spot at Target and Big Lots. I have found that the cardboard ones at Dollar Tree get worn rather quickly. The ones at Target were plastic with fun jelly colors, but they seemed to have less dividers. I recently purchased the one at Big Lots.. it was the nicest with a soft blue-green floral print and a sturdy design. It also has a nicer clasp and ample dividers. I think it was $1 or $2.

Blessings!

[Julie]

Hi. My name is Julie and I am a homeschooling mom to 4 boys. I have been visiting your blog for a few weeks now, gleaning great organizing tips and nature lesson ideas. (btw, my 2yo loves to jump in my lap and look at your flower pics.) I set up a file system like you describe and am so pleased to report...it works! I have tried so many "systems" in the past for organizing papers but they have all failed me. Your idea is great...just the other day I was running around wondering where I had put a coupon for a new store's grand opening and a lightbulb went off...it's in the file for the week it expired! And it was there lol! Sorry to ramble on here, just wanted to thank you for having such a beautiful and useful blog.

[Allison]

I love seeing the BEFORE and AFTER pics. Can't wait for more. You continue to be an inspiration. I hope to do something similar.

I have my coupon bag hooked on my garage door, hoping that I will see it and take it...but do I?

[Gill]

We don't have coupons here... so without actual experience, it struck me that maybe on of those cheap "brag" style photo wallets might be useful? You could colour code the sections with stick-on tabs, and slip relevant coupons into the pockets, each clearly visible. Just a thought! Gill.

[Wendy]

We use sheets of baseball card holders for our coupons and put them all in a three ring binder. There are nine card pockets on each page and it makes flipping through the coupons so much easier as they visually are right there in front of you. I have dropped too many other organizers and made a complete mess. Feel free to come over and see our money saver! :)