Welcome to my first official Crap to Clean before Spring post.
But I won’t lie. I had instant regret when I posted last Sunday that I was going to clean something each week, then post it Sunday night.
BLECK. How in BLAZES could I give myself such a death sentence?!
This is not creative! It’s… UGLY.
So I walked into the middle of the upstairs, spun around… and crawled under the blankets with my cats.
I wanted to. But no. I didn’t really do that. Only at night.
But I was completely and utterly overwhelmed. If I cleaned one thing, it would make another thing messy. Everything is connected to another.
It’s always so hard to start, isn’t it? It’s the worst.
So I did the only thing I could think of. I wandered to the room I used the most. And opened the drawer I used most.
The drawer of doom.
Well, one of them. I have a few.
This is what my cutlery drawer looked like. And generally looks like. There’s always gaping holes, to overstuffed. And I was always out of forks and spoons of human proportions.
Who else cannot understand little forks? What were little forks invented for? Pie? I don’t eat pie. Ok, teaspoons are good for AM coffee. But that’s all I use those for too.
I’m even procrastinating writing this post. Did you notice?
Bike ride, anyone?
Not. Going. Well.
SO… when I spotted the cutlery drawer like this, I decided to do something very nice for myself.
Last Christmas, I gifted myself with new cutlery I never did open.
That would be, over 365 days ago.
Even the boxes got dirty, they’ve been shoved around for so long.
So I gutted the drawer, then I allowed (ALLOWED) myself to unpack it, and wash it up.
Ohmygoodness…. why did I take so long to open this?! It was so pretty, and felt as smooth as silk!
Then I made a promise to myself. I’d only put back what I wanted to keep. Just like those pretty condo rentals had.
Just enough, and nothing more.
Sigh.
The ugly instantly turned into a sparkling gift!
Do you remember when you first moved out, how you unpackaged all this new stuff, and set up house? Everything was new, and neat and tidy looking!
That is how this felt. This over 10 year old drawer just needed some new friends.
And that’s when I convinced myself that I needed to host a ‘bridal shower’ (for no bride) for myself. Throw out the grungy stuff, and slowly over time, go treat myself to new.
Maybe you do this already for yourself. Good for you! You should!
But I rarely, if ever do.
And I think that’s a mistake. That could be a very big factor on why I let things go to the degree I do. Who wants to keep shuffling ugly ‘ol crap? I want to see some of my efforts sparkle.
It’s no different than when we decorate rooms. Shuffling old stuff doesn’t bring new life into anything.
Gut.
Clean.
Put back only what you love and have room for.
Replace the stuff you don’t love.
Love your space again.
It’s quite simple really, isn’t it?
So, this little boxful that came from ONE drawer, is going to the thrift store.
And this was my final draft.
Just enough. And nothing more.
I cannot tell you the pure joy I get out of opening this drawer, grabbing these silky smooth utensils. It makes even a simple cup of coffee feel so fancy!
Now this is the kinda purging I can handle…
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So… did this inspire you to go gut a drawer or two?
What did you clean this past week? Or what will you?
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From Crap to Clean before Spring! – Join the challenge!
If you wish to share your own cleaning progress, feel free to join my Crap To Clean closed Facebook group HERE.
Bloggers, if you wish to blog about a mini before and after, join the above Facebook group to sign up, and we can link to each other before event day!
Or, just sit back, and watch for the posts as they roll in.
Just maybe… the dust free, minimalist bug will hit you too!
I am always shuffling ugly ole crap. Heavens, did I really admit that? I am in the mood and think I need some newness. Recently I read how some women were talking about how stark and blah our homes look after the Christmas tree and decorations come down. The idea was to winter decorate. I am so excited. I won a new white lantern at a Christmas party and I placed it on a mirror on a table in the living room and put frosted white greenery in it with white lights. The mirror helps to bounce back the white light(at least that’s what I’ve read). Ah, it looks white and green and bright and it makes my heart smile. Now, I’ve got to take a photo and post it. I think I’m on a learning curve here and it’s not as daunting as I thought. Your cutlery drawer looks so clean Donna and NICE. I have a dickens of a time keeping crumbs out of mine. It’s located right under where I do all my food prep and I’ve got a habit of leaving it open an inch or so when I’m making lunches. Got to remember to close it the whole way. Thanks for the post. I enjoyed it a bunch. Happy New Year!
this post made me smile. I just cleaned out my cutlery drawer and bought new
cutlery. I was tired of the mixed match.
Cathy
YES!!!! I’m daring myself to do my upper cabinets in the kitchen now. If I can get them streamlined and pretty, debating on removing them to put up shelves. Gulp… that would be a big, daring move. May not happen, but I dream about it all the time.
Can you imagine all pretty white dishes? Sigh… Now where to put my vitamins, spices, 20 million mugs…
Just had to say that I love this post and the idea of treating yourself by giving yourself a clean space to put a gift long-unopened. It really is the little things. And I love that you saved those little plastic tags from perhaps a bag of bread…just in case you need it.
You don’t have to keep something just because it might come in handy. You are off to a great start. Keep on treating yourself well.
OH BOY…my favorite thing to do..organize and purge but I don’t do it often enough..really becomes a once a year kind of project. You are correct, one mess leads to another. I took on my craft room closet. UHG!…took everything out and sorted, purged, re-organized. Funny how you find stuff you did not know you had thrown in that closet. More craft projects on the horizon found.
Thanks for being honest about getting motivated; I too had this closet on my mind for several weeks. Feels good to have it done. Now on to the next shelf or drawer. We can all be done by Spring for sure, taking one step at a time!!
After a 5 year spending freeze to reach a financial goal by January 2017 – praise God for surpassing that goal- I went out and splurged on a package of new wash clothes a couple of weeks ago! It looks so beautiful to me to open my bathroom cabinet and have fresh new wash clothes and they feel so soft! I know I appreciate the new even more when haven’t had new for awhile.
Cleaning and purging is one of my top 5 hobbies so I look forward to your posts.
Happy New Cleaning Year!
Ohhh… SO overdue for anything cloth related. My stuff all look like car rags. haha
Good for you Ann, it does feel so much more special!
Good for you on your financial goal setting, btw. That is amazing! 5 years… I bow down to you.
I just now finished loading about 10 photo frames and an old phone with Magic Jack in my backseat of my car. When it’s full, I will stop by Goodwill. There is already 2 coats and some other stuff in there. I have some art work that I keep shuffling from place to place because I don’t know where to hang it! I had myself drawn at a lovely place in Paris and a beautiful print of the Eifel Tower. I really should hang them. Also a nice big print of geese that I love. Shame on me for not getting these hung up somewhere. I’ll put that on my long list. Kudo’s to you Donna…your cutlery drawer looks beautiful. Feels good too doesn’t it?
Keep up the great work 🙂
I had that “bridal shower” moment earlier this year! After my divorce (eh gads… 17 years ago!), my china and silverware was relegated to the attic, as I didn’t have room for it in my small home. My utensil drawer was much like yours – a little of this, a little of that, some of this, some of that. I got tired of it all and decided to get rid of all the crappy stuff and bring down the “good stuff”! Wow!! I, too, feel fancy using nice matching utensils (and plates, for that matter!) It made me realize that I’m worth it.
Good for you!
Good for you Judy! We ARE worth the good stuff! Here’s to it seeing daylight again.
Donna,
After reading your post this am I hopped out of the chair and headed to the kitchen drawers. They were a mess, kitchen tools we have not used in years. So, out the drawer they went. I have been wanting to do this clean up for sometime and you motivated me. Now I can actually see what is in the drawers. After that, I headed to the closet and I am making progress on that. If I do not wear an item of clothing in a year then out it goes. We have consignment stores we can give them to or upscale second hand clothing stores. They love getting them. I love my clean closet. So a win win situation. Your silverware drawer looks nice.
Thrilled, is what I am to read your words. SO GLAD my cutlery got you out of your chair! Who knew!!
Purging and cleaning is so unpretty, but it feels like such a reward afterwards, the pain was worth it!
Oh my goodness, that looks so nice! Why don’t we treat ourselves more often? After reading this post I have started sorting out my kitchen. There are some changes to be made and I am going to repaint. Then I think I have a few purchases to make as well! Nothing fancy or expensive, just things I have made do with for too long. Thank you for the motivation!!! ❤️
Jennifer, I am THRILLED this weird little nothing post inspired you. Now you’ve inspired me to keep going! I wanted to drop this one like a hot potato… haha
I can’t wait to tackle one of my junk drawers in the kitchen! Yes there are 2 of them. One has utensils that our family rarely uses and that drawer would be much better used for my dish towels! Those are stored in the othe room so far away from the sink! Thanks for the inspiration! Happy New Year!
I tackled the pantry and the medicine cabinet in our bathroom today. Fish oil tablets from 1997 had to go. Now that I think about it, why were they even here? ha!
Wow, I look at my silverware drawer and I see a mess too. Not only mismatched patterns, but why oh why do I save the plastic utensils they put in with take out food orders? Those are going to be the first to get tossed! I solved the dilemma of messy cupboards a couple years ago – I put glass fronts on my upper cupboards. Same thing like open shelves – it forces you to maintain order and keep it clean. My spices are in one of those cupboards and I went out and bought some smallish wooden crates that they fit into – looks nice through the glass and all the spices I use are corralled together. That was another purging – all the spices I had and I only seemed to use a couple on a regular basis! I purged all those “one time recipe” spices that were several years old – that felt good! Keep up the good work!
Even at 5:40 am, I feel inspired! My cutlery drawers were purged about a month ago, but your smallish suggestion reminded me of other ways that seem small can make such a difference. For example, I have containers around the house holding pens and pencils. How many of the pens actually work?! So, today, one of my projects will be to get rid of the useless writing tools. It’s a start! Thank you for this inspirational post!
I was just cleaning my drawers when I took a break and saw your post. Is that wonderful or what! I get too overwhelmed thinking about taking on a whole room so I try to break it down to a corner, drawer, shelf, counter top, etc. Thanks so much for getting the organizing juices going. Could you tell us where you got your drawer organizer? Looks like it would work for me. Thanks, and good luck!
Sandi
I love this post! It’s something we all need to remind ourselves to do. I’m putting off purging for retirement. How bad is that?