As you can tell, nothing has changed!

It was simple to fix this problem. It was just a matter of putting things away. I’m just lazy and far too often just leave them here instead.

It didn’t take long to get to the bottom of the pile. There is still a stack of shorts and capri pants that need to go into storage, but I need to buy another under-bed box … my summer shoes took over the one I used to use to swap out my pants!

Actually, we could always see the clock from the bed, even with all my clothes towering above it.

So tomorrow or later this week when I buy a new storage box, the last of the pile will be gone. Joey the cat, however, comes and goes as he pleases!

Yesterday, I was thankful for the rehearsal-free evening. True, I had more time to clean. But today, I realized I actually missed singing and seeing my friends from the chorale! Even after that long, long week of rehearsals and concerts …

I am thankful that I belong to such a great community choir, and for the friends I have made there.

Will the horrible messes never end?

This is the top of my dresser. Aside from the lotions and jewelry, I tend to put anything I might possibly need later in that basket in the middle (that you can barely see). I’m sure 85% of it can be thrown out. Same goes for the green basket on the end.

I purchased a couple more baskets to help organize. Here’s what I’ve managed so far:

There was A LOT of dust under there. And little baggies with extra buttons that come with clothes. I actually have a container for spare buttons. I just have to start putting them in there when I get new things, rather than pull off the baggies when I get dressed and deposit them on the dresser!

Confession: the middle basket has not been sorted out yet, and the green basket from the top right in the “before” picture has been temporarily moved.

This project was a bit too ambitious for one evening!

I normally have choir rehearsals on Monday nights, but we were given the evening off since we just had a tough performance last weekend. This free evening gave me time to hit the store (to pick up organizational baskets), and to do quite a bit of cleaning.

Today, I’m thankful for my evening off!

But I could have!

I was in Rack Room today, contemplating buying a pair of round-toe, low heel shoes. A friend of mine recommended them highly for comfort. I’m always looking for comfy dress shoes, since I have to stand for long periods of time during chorale concerts!

So why did I leave without them? I didn’t see anything else I wanted. They almost always have a buy one / get one 1/2 off sale … so I figure I can probably still get them some other time when I can take advantage of the sale!

Also, they would throw off the shoe storage system I set up yesterday. All dress shoes and ballet flats are hanging behind the door, and there aren’t any spaces left!

In cleaning news … I decided to organize my running clothes and switch out the spring/summer clothes today. I have a storage box on top of my husband’s armoire for the off-season stuff.

In general, I have issues with putting my clothes away. I’m hoping once I get my act together and do a major closet clean-out, I will be able to keep up with it better.

So … the running clothes. Some of them are in the drawer like they’re supposed to be, but they’re a bit of a mess:

That’s my auxiliary dresser — the one from my childhood bedroom. My everyday clothes go in the main dresser. This one handles the running clothes, T-shirts and pajamas. Perhaps I don’t need a whole drawer of T-shirts (mainly unisex shirts from races, etc.), but that’s another project …

Anyway, back to the problem of putting things away:

I don’t put my running stuff in the dryer, so I hang it around the house to dry. You can also see the pile on top of the desk in the guest room from a previous wash. These have been dry for quite some time now.

I picked up some drawer dividers today in hopes of keeping some semblance of organization in this drawer. Pants on the left, divider, shirts in the middle, divider, then sports bras and tanks on the right.

Here’s how it turned out:

Yes, there’s still a pile of crap on the top. That’ll be another day!

It’s a bit of a tight fit, pants take up a lot more room than shorts. I am not allowed to buy any more running pants!

I also cleaned the litter boxes today, but you don’t need to see that.

Today, I am thankful for lazy Sundays. I slept in with the kitties for a long time. I didn’t get out of bed until 12:30. Whoa! Which would actually be 1:30 if the clocks didn’t roll back. Yikes!

Hey, it’s been a tough week!

Seeing how I got home around 10pm tonight (after performing Brahms’ Requiem with a community chorus I’m a member of), I only had time for a minor clean-up to fulfill my NaBloCleanMo promise to myself.

Today’s project: the bathroom shelf:

We don’t have a medicine cabinet, so everything is either under the vanity (another project), or up here. While the top shelf doesn’t look too bad, the bottom one is full of things I only use rarely. And I don’t know why, but there is a pair of sunglasses in the basket.

I took everything down and wiped down the shelves. While everything was temporarily on the counter, my cat Joey decided he’d like to sit in the sink. Then he freaked out for no reason, knocking half the stuff on the floor.

That glass Nivea face cream container sure is sturdy.

Back to cleaning … I put all of the rarely-used face masks in the basket and threw away some random junk that was shoved up there. A few things were moved below the vanity. The only items remaining on the bottom shelf are ones I use regularly.

Then I wiped down the sink/counter for good measure. Not a major difference today, but every bit helps!

Now for today’s tidbit of thanks …

I am thankful that it is the weekend!