Project Simplify Week 3: Closets, Drawers, and Cabinets... Oh My!

Closet:

So this week has been a looong week for Project Simplify.  Early in the week I started weeding through my clothing and the boys' old clothes to find items for donation.  My goal was 6 bags (including household items) and I am almost there!  I have four bags of just my clothes for donation, but I forgot to get them outside for the free pick-up so now I have to take them to the Salvation Army truck down at Wal-mart.  No problem.  Here is an "after" picture of my closet:

I have all my hanging clothes that I really love, a stack of jeans, a stack of long-sleeve layering tees, and a stack of PJs above that.  On the tp shelf, I have my lesser worn, seasonal clothes (bathing suits, winter gloves, etc.) separated into baskets, and my heating pad... Hey, they come in handy! :-)  To the right of the pants hanger begins my husband's clothes, so I think I did a good job of fitting my wardrobe to the space available.

Here was the "Before" picture:

It was almost empty because I couldn't open the door! :-(

Drawers to Cabinets:

I decided that for drawers I would go through my scrapbooking things to pare down what I had.  My markers, stickers, punches, etc. were in the yellow drawers from the office. (Pictured in my BEFORE pictures)  While I was sitting there looking at it all, I eyed my nemesis "The Paper Bin."  This is a 68 quart plastic tub filled to overflowing with my 12x12 scrapbook paper.  To say the least, it's overwhelming... actually, I should say it WAS overwhelming.  I downsized! :-)  

I know some scrapbook-making friends would say I am crazy for getting rid of so much, but I just lost all desire to make pages when I faced the daunting task of choosing papers from a 3-foot bin.  I went through and ruthlessly pulled all the prints and colors that I knew I wouldn't use.  I went through the big stacks that come bound and pulled out only the papers I really wanted and threw the rest in a stack.  My god friend is a Girl Scout leader, so she has inherited the entire stack, all 7+ inches!  I also added the stickers, stamps, and punches that I no longer used.  It's such a huge stack, I know her girls are going to love it!  

Now that my scrapbooking stash is much smaller, I was able to relocate it to the living room where I actually end up doing my crafts.  I was able to box everything neatly and even had room for my little printer! Those empty cabinets in the living room sure came in handy!  Here is the "after" picture of my scrapbooking stuff:

Ribbons, thread, and embellishments are on the top with the drawers with my remaining markers, adhesives, and colors.  The second shelf down has my craft sewing machine, stamps and chalks, and inspiration notebook along with the picture album from my childhood that I have been converting to a scrapbook for my brother and me.  The bottom shelf holds all my remaining paper.  This cabinet is only 11 inches deep, so you can imagine how much paper those Girl Scouts will have.  The plastic folio in the middle holds all of my remaining stickers, sorted be theme, and those cute quote books.  Now when I want to make a page or two for the boys, I just have this cabinet to look through and not a huge tub plus drawers.  *sigh of relief*

Now I need to get back to the playroom to finish what I started weeks ago...