Here’s our linen closet:

You can’t tell from the photo, but things fell out when I opened the door. Also, the door wouldn’t actually close all the way, since the stuff on the floor was trying to escape.*

There are still a lot of random items left, but now I have room for them. Well, we’ll see once all our sheets and towels are clean. There are at least two loads in queue!

Much better!

I’ve got book club after work tomorrow, so I don’t think I’ll be able to end NaBloCleanMo with a bang. I’ll see what I can do, but I might have to postpone my final post until Dec. 1.

Not that I’m going to stop. There are still messes to be conquered!
Ugh, I’ve got problems if I have more than 30 messes …

I know I’ve said this already, but I’m thankful for my clean house! Since I should probably add a new one, I’m also thankful for chocolate. Maybe I should go find some …

* After I was done, I called my husband upstairs.
Me: “Honey, you should look in the linen closet.”
Hubby: (starting up the stairs), “Hey, the door is closed!”

I won’t consider it finished until I vacuum, but all of the clutter is history!

It went through several stages … and finally we’re here:

Phew!

That took longer than I expected … but, I did need to break my cleaning into some smaller sorting projects (like those baskets) for days (like today) where I don’t really get home until after 10 p.m.

It’s difficult to clean and post by midnight!

Now that Thanksgiving is over, I’m almost ready to start embracing the holiday season. It still feels early, but I have started Christmas shopping!

I still get as excited about Christmas as I did as a little girl, though now it’s about giving as well as receiving. I am thankful that the holidays still have that sparkle!

Apparently, I have a difficult time throwing out empty hairspray containers and/or using the last bits before I start on something new.

Also, I experiment a lot. I’ve got somewhat curly hair that doesn’t really hold the curl well, so I’m always on the lookout for new products. No one product works alone, so I mix and match. Of course, the length of my hair / how long since my last cut also affects how they work.

All of this hair stuff (plus toilet paper storage and cleaning products) caused a bit of a disaster. This was the cabinet in our half bath, the one I use as my powder room to get ready in the morning:

See that large box behind the toilet cleaner? I’m pretty sure that’s been there since at least 2002, judging by the receipts I found in there. Though, I suspect it could have been longer. I used the box to hold all of the items stored in this bathroom when I painted, and I know I didn’t let the salmon pink cabinet stay that way for too long. We’ve been here since July 2001.

I nearly filled a large kitchen trashcan with recyclables, as I dumped out the last few spritzes from over a dozen bottles! (Actually, some were already empty. Either I’m that lazy, or the last bits dried up. They have been nearly empty for several years!)

Anyway … after clearing everything, I put most of my still-usable hair products into bins I bought, however, I kind of underestimated how much stuff was in there. They’re overflowing!

If I get a couple more, I’ll be able to neaten that up and get rid of that black box still holding some odds and ends.

I’ve kept the products I’m currently using daily in the front … and when I run out I’m going to try to work through all those others. It might take years!

And I will throw away those that suck or don’t work! I couldn’t remember if I abandoned a product because I hated it … or just found something new.

I am thankful that I won’t be wasting time in the morning looking for my gel and picking up the bottles I’ve knocked over anymore!