Peace of Mind Organizing

Got cabin fever?

11 December 2014

A winter storm has hit both coasts of the US, bringing rain, snow, and generally unpleasant weather to much of the nation. If you find yourself trapped inside by the weather, here are some organizing tasks you can accomplish. (I published a similar list in a February 2010 post called snowed in?)

Clean out a junk drawer. In my opinion, there’s nothing wrong with a junk drawer. But if yours has become hard to open and close, now’s your chance to clean it out. Empty it, weed out the inevitable trash, sort the contents and put them back in the drawer, with like things together. Linus drawer dividers from The Container Store.

Work on your holiday cards. Now’s the perfect time to buy some holiday cards and sending them to your friends. Why not let it be easy?

Take a look around your bathtub. Are there abandoned shampoo bottles, slivers of soap, old disposable razors or any other items that you don’t use regularly littering the edge of the tub or the shower caddy? Take a couple of minutes and spruce up that spot.

Clean out a bookshelf. If you have a difficult time putting away books because your shelves are crammed (or if you have to store some books on the floor, or sideways atop the other books), take 15 or 30 minutes and weed out a bookshelf or two. You can sell your unwanted books to a used book store, on Craigslist or to
Powell’s Books (like I do). The result? A tidier bookshelf and perhaps some money in your pocket.

Pick up your pet area. If you have pets, you probably have an area where you feed them that perhaps is a little messy with dropped bits of kibble or what have you. You may have a tangle of leashes stashed somewhere. And, if you’re like me, your pets might have scattered their toys around. Take a few minutes to pick up after your pets. It won’t last forever, but it’ll be nice while it lasts!

Just taking a little time to do something productive might help make it easier for you to relax during your weather-related confinement. You’ll get to enjoy the fruits of your labor while feeling justified in wrapping yourself in a cozy blanket and waiting out the storm.

Tagged with: cats, clutter clearing, disorder, dogs, snow, weather, worth repeating

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