Welcome to Apartment 409

After years - my whole life, really - of being a pack rat, saver, sentimental collector... after nine+ years of marriage to another collector, and two children with an unequalled collection of fast food toys and junk from the junk dispensers at the local diner... after trying FLYLADY for five years or more and still not "flying"...

I think I'm ready to do it. I am finally going to get my apartment, my car, and my life decluttered.

The other day I picked up two books. One was "Apartment Therapy" by Maxwell Gillingham-Ryan, creator of the apartment therapy blog, and the other was "Clutter's Last Stand," by Don Aslett. I'm hoping these two books (which I am still devouring), along with the Flylady principles I've picked up and am still trying to implement, will help me get going.

Well if Flylady could see into my head, Don Aslett is LIVING IN MY BRAIN. His book is so awesome and I think it's finally given me the courage to throw out some of the emotional and physical clutter that is suffocating my family and me.

In the world of Flylady, a new month started yesterday, which means we are focusing on the foyer and dining room. In 409, this means a long, narrow hallway with a coat closet, coak hooks, storage bench shelf and shoe rack, along with a small half-room that has our too-big dining table, and overstuffed china closet. Flylady says "15 minutes a day" but most nights I can barely swing five minutes. Still, last night, I managed to clean off the shelf over the bench. I put two items on eBay (a pair of new Ninja Turtle slippers without tags, and some coupons from a casino guidebook), two items on my local Freecycle (a circular fluorescent lightbulb that was the wrong size, and a pyrex measuring cup), and one item on Half.com (a CD that my hubby never opened, didn't want, but felt guilty returning). I threw out a broken picture frame and an old, ripped tote bag we were using for one of our many diaper bags. From inside the bag, I tossed a dirty disposable bib and some wrapped, bent straws. I moved the bag's clean diapers to a basket in the bedroom (even though my 3 year old daughter just gave up diapers). I put the spare briefs and socks (my 6 year old son's) back into his drawer. I added the little fast food toys to the ever-growing pile (an issue for another day). Of course, all this did take longer than 5 minutes, but now I have a shelf that is clean except for 2 bike helmets and a bucket of sidewalk chalk. I'm hoping to move some of the outdoor stuff from the closet floor, where it is a jumbled mess, onto the shelf.

Have to remember to take before and after pictures.

As for the Apartment Therapy book... it presents an 8 week "cure" for apartments, which is probably too ambitious for me. Still, in the last 2 nights I've gotten it started - bought flowers for the table, and made a list of necessary repairs. Other chores for the week include a thorough vaccuming and mopping, sitting for 10 minutes in a room I never sit in, and putting one large item out in the trash.


.... Lookie! More toys for us!