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A More Uncluttered Life: Project 333 – an introduction

June 4, 2013Home and Organisation, OrganisationCleaning, Clothing, declutter, family, Home, Project 333, Unclutter, Wardrobesubversivereader View all 17 comments

One of my biggest clutter traps is my wardrobe. I have a tendency to throw my hands up in the air when it comes to fashion, bemoaning the fact that I’m always frumpy, never fashionable, and I never know what to buy! So I end up buying half a dozen trendy things, most of which don’t fit very well, and I find myself reverting back to my ‘frumpy clothes’ before I know it.

Recently I came to a bit of a realisation about my wardrobe – I don’t need to be trendy. I need to be comfortable. I need to be able to keep up with Squirm and dress appropriately for the occasion. But I don’t need to emulate my friends, other bloggers or people I see on TV – I just need to be myself!

Turns out myself is actually pretty comfortable in jeans most the times, particularly in autumn and winter. Myself also loves nice t-shirts, cardigans, scarves and funky shoes. And once I’d bought some well fitting post-pregnancy jeans (my pre-pregnancy ones were falling off me) I realised I liked the way I looked when I left the house – and I was comfortable.

Which is where Project 333 comes in. I’d seen this around before – a friend of mine talked about it recently, and it’s similar to some other clothing organisation challenges I’ve seen before. The idea is simple – wear 33 items or less for 3 months.

At first that seems too limiting – but then you realise that 33 items doesn’t include underwear, sleepwear, exercise clothes or in-home lounge wear. Suddenly the project looks much more accessible and doable. In fact, it almost starts to look exciting.

So today I started looking through my clothes and I started counting. I realised that I mostly wore three pairs of jeans – my two new pairs and an old pair (which I don’t wear out of home, but I wear to ‘work’ at home, therefore should be counted. I pulled some cardigans aside, as well as a black dress, a skirt and my jacket. A handful of t-shirts and I still hadn’t made 33 items.

This is where it got tricky for me. I’d already decided I wasn’t going to include scarves into my ’33’ – I’ve spent too much time crocheting nice ones not to wear them! But would I include shoes or not? In the end, I decided not to – I really like my shoes, and I do rotate my way through them pretty consistently. I made a deal with myself, instead, that I could only include shoes which fit into my wardrobe shoe organiser – and I had to declutter that first. (I ended up throwing a pile and donating another pile.) I’ll keep an eye on that though to decide whether more of them will go.

So, 33 items. The rest of my clothing was packaged up or put into the washing basket to be tackled this week (I’ll go through them soon to find a few bags to donate, because even packed up they won’t fit in the space I have.) The dirty clothes in my 33 were washed today, the rest hung on the 33 coathangers in my wardrobe.

My shoe organiser – I even managed to fit my slippers in!

Project 333 Introduction: Adventures of a Subversive Reader

33 Coat hangers ready for 33 items. A lot of my chosen clothes needed to be washed, so I got onto that today 🙂

What am I trying to achieve with Project 333?

To see if I can enjoy the clothes I have more
To look for different ways of putting an outfit together
To keep up to date with my washing
To look for more things to declutter
To make life easier when I’m getting dressed

Could you only wear 33 different items for 3 months? Or could you do less?

Living a More Uncluttered Life

June 3, 2013Home and Organisation, Opinion and Other Random Things, OrganisationCleaning, family, Home, Organisation, Reflection, Studysubversivereader View all 2 comments

Last post, I told you about how I’d been uncluttering my study. I’m nearly finished with it, especially since the garbage will be picked up tomorrow, but I’m already noticing a few differences. In fact, one of the first things I did was pick up my crochet hook and begin making some little crocheted characters – something I hadn’t done in ages.

Why did I return to crocheting creatures? Because it was easy. Because everything was right there where I needed it – I could easily lay my hands on the right hook, the right yarn and even the eyes. And then I had space to work.

A little decluttering is a powerful thing.

So, I wondered, what would happen if I consciously chose to unclutter my life in other ways. If I chose to do more with less, chose to spend less time on inconsequential things? If I created a house that makes me truly happy. And how can I go about doing this?

Well, it turns out there are lots of books and websites on being more uncluttered. So I plan to peruse them, to find things that some something to me and to try them out. Then I will, of course, share the results with you. Because if decluttering one room feels so good, what would it me like if more and more of my life was in the same state?

What would you like to declutter in your life?

How I Decluttered My Study

May 29, 2013Home and OrganisationCleaning, declutter, Home, Organisation, studio, Studysubversivereader One comment

Do you remember this?

Last November, I wrote about my study and the problem I was having getting it tidied. Since then, I’ve been able to do very little – the study was just too close to Squirm’s room to get anything done during nap times – and the mess just kept piling up and up and up.

Finally I decided enough was enough. I don’t need a study, so much, but I want a studio to work in. I want a place to keep my crochet things safe and a place which will inspire me. And I want a room which is welcoming for Squirm. As it was, this room was far from welcoming.

So with the help of baby wearing and a pile of empty cardboard boxes to keep Squirm amused, I’ve set out decluttering and cleaning. I started with the books, setting targets and going through my bookshelves again and again, to remove any books I didn’t truly love or need. I gave 6 bags of books to a teacher friend, 3 bags to my cousin, 8 bags to op shops. Slowly I opened up shelf space, not to mention being able to find books I wanted to find!

The next step was organising craft items. Some of them were so old that they really needed to be thrown out. Others I’ve put aside for a friend. Some of the new shelf space was repurposed to hold yarn.

The hardest part – old ‘stuff’ I’d collected over the years and things from my parent’s house – was next. Suddenly I was throwing out invitations to Year 9 speech nights and Year 9 graphics assignments (I sucked at graphics; why on earth did I keep those?) Suddenly I was having to ask myself if I really needed things, if I really loved things, what might happen if I threw things away.

And slowly, I moved past my need to hold on to everything, and started throwing away. And slowly the room started clearing up and seemed bigger. And I felt lighter.

It’s not completely finished yet, but I feel like I’m getting somewhere. I feel like it could be a beautiful room to enjoy.

Just Getting Started Photos

Study declutter: Adventures of a Subversive Reader

There’s a desk under there somewhere

My bookshelf

Study declutter05Study declutter: Adventures of a Subversive Reader

Halfway Through Photos

I see floor!

Getting rid of those cardboard boxes was actually harder than getting rid of some of my other ‘stuff’ – I kept telling myself that I ‘needed’ them

Nearly There . . .

Have you ever taken on a big decluttering mission? What was the hardest part for you?

Home Organisation 101: The Living Room Before

November 14, 2012Home and OrganisationCleaning, Decorating, Home, Home Organisation 101, Organisationsubversivereader One comment

So, Home Organisation 101 moved into the Living Room this week. This is The Room in our house. The room we’re in most of the time, and the one where we do the most things. We watch things, read things, listen to things, play, drink tea and craft in this area. So it often contains all the detritus of life.

Here’s some before photos:

The arm chair and worst of the crafting area

The living room. Now with bonus baby!

The couch and coffee table

TV, DVDs, books etc

So, what to do here? Well, I’ve started by throwing out tonnes of old video tapes, which freed up room for DVDs that were taking up room in my study. Now I need to organise everything just a little bit neater. And then dust everything a million times 🙂

A Subversive Reader Guide to Ikea

October 29, 2012Home and Organisationbaby-wearing, Exploring South East Queensland, Home, shoppingsubversivereader View all 10 comments

So, last week I decided to head down to Logan to visit Ikea and to visit another library in my library tour. While there, I realised with my extensive hours of shopping there, I could write the definitive Subversive Reader Guide to Ikea*

Tip #1 – When dressing for Ikea, wear the baby

If you’re intending to visit Ikea accompanied only by a little one who cannot walk (or who cannot walk for long) you’ve got three options. 1. Bring a regular sized pram or stroller and accept that you won’t be able to buy very much. 2. Bring a pram the size of a small 4WD and accept that you won’t be able to fit it in some parts of the shop. 3. Wear your baby and have your hands free to push a trolly or whatever else you need.

I wasn’t the only one to feel this way – I saw three soft structured carriers and two other ring slings in the time I was there!

Tip #2 – Join the Ikea Family

The Ikea Family offers free tea and coffee Monday to Friday. That’s worth spending 5 minutes joining up at one of the numerous booths around the place. There’s also other deals and specials available

Tip #3 – Have a vague idea of what you’re going to Ikea for

Are you going to buy cushions or to buy furniture or just to look? Have a vague idea or who knows what you’ll come home with! Though, no matter how good your plan is, you’ll probably come home with something you didn’t go for (Unless you’re Mr Pilot. He once went to Ikea, selected and bought the furniture he wanted and got out in under an hour)

Tip #4 – Don’t join the opening rush

Since the cafe opens in Ikea before the shop itself, there’s lots of people hanging anxiously around the entrance. I’m not sure why, but some of them take on the opening like it’s the Boxing Day sales. I found that hanging back 15-30 minutes meant there were less people all peering at the same small spaces at the same time

Tip #5 – Stay for the food

By the time I made it around the upper floor of Ikea, Squirm was gearing up for a feed. So, I got myself some food (I recommend the mousse) and my free coffee and made my way to one of the quieter corners of the dining area. Squirm and I enjoyed a quiet feed and I enjoyed the free wi-fi!

So, what did I end up with? Cushions, lamps, toys, organising things and a few good ideas. An excellent day out 🙂

My Ikea Haul

What are your tips for surviving Ikea or other big shops?

*Note this is not definitive. And I reserve the right to review this advice at all times. While eating cake. Also, I did not receive any kind of payment or good for these tips. I’m definitely not that big! Though if Ikea is interested . . . 🙂

Home Organisation 101: Squirm’s Drawers

October 27, 2012Home and Organisationbaby clothes, children, Cleaning, Decorating, family, Home, Home Organisation 101, Organisation, squirmsubversivereader View all 4 comments

Find the A Bowl Full of Lemons post here.

This was a pretty easy week. The task was a child’s wardrobe. Squirm doesn’t have a wardrobe, instead he had a set of drawers. He’s also much too young to use them himself, so this was about creating a system for Mr Pilot and myself to use.

Before Photos

The top drawer – this is where we keep the wipes and other small things – as you can see, our change table is on top of the drawers

The clothes drawer. So many clothes! And baby clothes are so hard to fold neatly!

The wraps and burp cloths. This is the neatest drawer, but very over crowded

The too big and too small drawer. It’d be really nice if babies could just stay one size for a while 🙂

Our biggest problem is the sheer amount of clothes in different sizes that comes with having a baby. There were clothes that Squirm had grown out of and clothes he hasn’t grown into yet. Both sets of clothes had to be dealt with. We also needed a very flexible system – something that was easy to alter for the different clothes and seasons.

I ended up buying two shallow tubs that are designed to fit under the bed. In one I sorted the too small clothes, the other held the too big clothes. This freed up a lot of space in the drawers. I also took out so e winter stuff that we din’t need now we’re going into summer. Those two tubs fit nicely under Squirm’s cot.

I kept the newly emptied bottom drawer and the one above it for burn cloths and swaddling wraps. There’s also room in there for bags and wearing wraps. The third drawer became the clothes drawer. The cooler clothes,are at the front – mostly singlets and cotton onesies.

The top drawer was the last to be organised. Because we use reusable wipes, we have a wipe system (two containers, one for clean wipes, one for dirty) set up in the divided,drawer. I moved the bibs forward (since we’re using them more now) next to the wipes, then put all the shoes and socks into a small container behind the wipes. Hats went into the corner. In the other side of the divider I put dry wipes on one side and wet bags on the other, with the wipe container at the front next to things like nappy cream.

So far, it’s been much easier to use and find things. I also realised how many clothes Squirm had, and realised we can probably pull back on buying so much. We do need to buy a couple of night things for the next size up, both not much more than that.

After photos

Plastic tubs for the too big and too small clothes

Top drawer. This one had the most organising and it’s the one I feel is working the best now

The clothes drawer. Not perfect, but an awful lot better. I’m going to try to put washed clothes underneath clean ones so that everything gets worn more evenly

The pretty empty drawer with burp cloths and a couple of lighter wraps. We were washing on the day I organised the drawers, so there were more things to put away later

The bottom drawer with heavier wraps

Find other Home Organisation 101 posts here

Home Organisation 101: The Master Bedroom completed

October 24, 2012Home and OrganisationCleaning, Decorating, Home, Home Organisation 101, Organisation, Photo postsubversivereader One comment

Find the challenge post here

I feel like I’ve been working on the Master Bedroom forever. In reality it’s only been a little over two weeks, but there’s been some big changes in that time!

Before Photos

I started by buying some new bedding. We rotate two sets of sheets – our old ones were pale green and pink and were starting to look and feel old. I bought a set of sky blue sheets, along with a new pillow for each of us. I also bought pillow protectors and finally bought a mattress protector, so I feel less anxious when Squirm is in the bed with us! I also bought a new set of green sheets which go on the bed today. We still use our old quilt cover and matching cushions, which are pink and green, but the blue in the room brightens things up!

Then it was onto my bedside table. (I’m letting Mr Pilot attack his own side). I cleaned up the top, removing a lot of books I’d already read. Then I used the tins my sister gave me at Christmas to hold a bunch of stuff from the drawers and then act as bookends. I also finally finished rereading Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (it’s a sad ending! If I don’t read it, Harry won’t be sad!)

The insides of the drawers were pretty easy to clean out and I ended up with not much in them, which was nice 🙂

The top of the dresser was always going to be more difficult due to my necklace buying habit. I was kind of displaying them, but I wasn’t real happy with it. I ended up taking the cork board I was using and covering it with fabric. I’d used a fabric marker to draw a map on the fabric, which continues a map theme I’ve been trying for in the whole house. I then sorted my jewellery and ended up throwing a lot away. Most of the necklaces are on the board, a few are tucked away in other places.

Finally, I needed to add some decoration to the room. On the top of the trunk at the end of the bed, I put two baskets, along with a cushion and my old teddy bear. I added a vase and fake flowers to the dresser and bought two lamps for the bedside tables. Finally I put up hooks to display Mr Pilot’s hats and arranged a collection of pictures on the wall above my bedside table. I think I might put some more decoration in later, but for now this looks great.

After Photos

The dresser with our clothes baskets on either side

The bed and bedside table

The other side of the bed. Usually there’s two wide brimmed hats hanging here

Detail on top of the dresser

The end of the bed

Bedside table

Jewellery board detail

: The bedroom with the lamps lit up

Home Organisation 101 – Sneaking a peek at a nearly finished Master Bedroom

October 23, 2012Home and OrganisationCleaning, Decorating, Home, Home Organisation 101, Organisationsubversivereader One comment

You can find the prompt post here

I’ve only got a few things to do to finish up in the master bedroom, so I thought I’d give you a little sneak peek at what I’ve been doing:

It used to look like this

And now parts look like this:

Another couple of days and I’ll be 100% finished with my first full room of this challenge!

Heading to Ikea

October 22, 2012Home and OrganisationExploring South East Queensland, Home, shopping, travellingsubversivereader Leave a comment

Today Squirm and I are heading down the highway to visit Ikea. It’s the first time I’ve headed down there this year, which means it’s the first time I’ve ever gone with a baby 🙂 This trip is mostly about looking at ideas and getting a few small things – and Mr Pilot says I’m not allowed to get anything that won’t fit into the boot of the car!

There’s a lot I enjoy about going to Ikea, but this will only be the second time that I go there on my own (since Squirm is too young to give his opinion). I’ve gone with family, friends and Mr Pilot (the only person I know who can go in and out of Ikea in an hour – it took us longer to put the table we bought together), but going on your own is always a different experience. On your own you can take your time to dream over certain sections, and quickly pass by the sections which hold less interest. You’re not held by anyone elses wishes 🙂

So, what will I specifically be looking for today? I want to get lamps for the bedroom and I’m looking for some wall decoration. I want to spend a bit of time looking at textiles as well as some storage ideas.

I promise that I’ll update you on my progress when I return!

Home Organisation 101 – Linen Closet completed!

October 18, 2012Home and OrganisationCleaning, Decorating, Home, Home Organisation 101subversivereader One comment

I finally (after three weeks) finished one of the challenges! Announcing: The Linen Closet.

You can find the blog challenge here

Our linen closet is a rather big, built in wardrobe in the hallway. I have cleaned it out fairly recently (just before Squirm was born), but only the actual linen parts. The closet also holds cleaning equipment, my sewing machine, candles and decorative stuff, board games and some of the cutlery and glasses we use more rarely. It also has our wedding album in there.

It’s hard to get a good photo in there because of space issues, but I did my bestest . . .

Before Photos

As you can see, it was mostly just untidy. Although the challenge called for pulling everything out all at once, that isn’t really practical with a 10 week old. So instead I tackled one shelve at a time.

I wiped each shelf down, then put the items back in neatly (I did get rid of a few things we no longer require too). Then I organised the cleaning items into a metal bucket and a covered container

Finally, I made some paper bunting to cheer the closet up a bit 🙂

After Photo

And, presenting the final product . . .

I had heaps of fun finishing this one up. I think it looks much better, and it’s easier to find things. Now to get back to finishing the master bedroom and the laundry!