Zone 3: Bathroom + 1 Extra Room

The bonus room added to this week's regimen is the laundry room. Today's mission? Go through all of your old laundry supplies and only keep what you will truly need and use. Prior to this, I had been keeping all my laundry day stockpile in a large plastic tub:

As you can see, I've been putting this off for fear of losing an appendage every time I touch the dilapidated old box:

 

Deciding that it was past any hope of repair, I discarded the bottom portion, but kept the lid. It was still in good shape and can serve a temporary purpose for me (you'll see that in a sec!). We could choose to do our 15 minutes of decluttering in either the bathroom or the laundry room. Since our bathroom is at least under control, I opted to start tackling the laundry room closet. I had gone through it once a year or so ago, but it has since become the catch-all area for holiday decorations. Now that we have a dehumidifier in the basement though, it's safe to move them out of the laundry! I decided to work from the top down, so here's a quick before shot of the top shelf:

 

And an after/before shot of the shelf below it. I decided to move my newly cleaned out laundry supplies up to the shelf since I don't go for a new bottle all that often, and I'd rather have a clear floor. See the lid to our old box? Someday I would love to get a big wicker basket to keep all these things in, but until I decide for sure what I like and save up for it, the lid works just fine for keeping everything together:

 

And, here's where I was able to get to before the timer ran out:

 

I realize the *almost* total emptying of this closet may seem a little overzealous given its size and the fact that I'm planning on turning this room into a laundry/craft room, but my thought process is that for now, it is just laundry. I don't want to clutter it up with things serving any other function but to get our clothes clean and taken care of. I would rather have the space, and add a new function later, than decide I finally have the funding to add a new function and have to delay it while I open up the space. Here's to blank canvases for dreaming big! :oD

 

 

 

Zone 2: The Kitchen

Today is Day 4 in Zone 2 (The Kitchen). Every OCD bone in my body is frustrated over the fact that I'm not beginning my blog in Zone 1, Day 1, but such is life. Today's mission was to pull out a few of your most used/loved kitchen appliances and give them a quick clean (15 minutes total!). I opted for the microwave, coffee pot, and toaster. We've only recently started using a cover for our plates in the microwave, and I had been dreading attacking the nuked on splatters that had taken up residency inside. Actually though, they came off super fast with just a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser and some tap water. Now I can't wait to microwave something without cringing!

  

 

The coffee pot didn't offer a noticeable before and after difference, but it was still nice to clean off some of the water spots, wash the carafe, and remove the burnt coffee from the warming plate.

  

Also with the toaster, the only noticeable dirt was a small pile of crumbs on top. I did empty the crumb tray and interior as well, but forgot to take a before picture of that. Here it is all cleaned out.

 

Mission accomplished, I set out for the prescribed "15 Minutes of Decluttering" in the current zone. For this, I decided to start at one end of the kitchen and work my way around. Today's contestant was the paper plate/napkin drawer. Now, to be fair, many of the paper products in this drawer were here when we moved into our home. My Mommom's heart and soul thrived off of getting friends and family together for delicious, home-cooked meals. We held onto these supplies 1) sentimentally and 2) with the thought that we may someday use them, but after two and a half years, I'm choosing to let go.

 

First, I pulled everything out of the drawer and vacuumed up all of the dust bunnies and other dirt that had accumulated there over the years. It always helps me to start with a clean slate.

 

I opted not to return the lining, as I hated to cover up that beautiful wood.

 

Then I sorted the contents into things that I would truly use if I kept them, things that would be a bigger blessing to others than to us, and things that were just plain trash (like packaging and broken plastic ware). One thing that I chose to give away is an abundant supply of Styrofoam cups. While in perfectly usable condition, we have not touched these at all. I've worked for years on a teacup collection that I adore, and making hot drinks for guests is the perfect opportunity to break them out. The disposable cups could maybe be put to better use at our church, where they are set out on Sunday mornings with the coffee counter.

  

Similarly, the plastic utensils. I kept my matching blue ones left from the bridal shower, but everything else has been left untouched in years. If it's not blessing us and could be blessing someone else, what's the point in keeping it around?

  

Finally, I opted to put away any seasonal plates I had and will get them out again when it makes sense. Who really needs easy access to their snowflake plates in March, right?

 

With everything that I'm keeping placed back in the drawer, I'm excited about how easy it all is to find! Let's look back at the before shot:

 

And now the after:

 

It's amazing what a little decluttering will do to lift a weight off your shoulders. Now I'm really looking forward to picnic season and being able to quickly take stock of what I have and what I need to pick up for outdoor entertaining!