Clutter Busters

In September my mom sent Kay from Clutter Busters to organize and clean out both of the kids rooms. What a dream come true!

I was so excited when she got here that I totally forgot to take before pictures. :( We started in Rhett's room. I had lots of things stuffed and stored up on the shelf in his closet. Stuff that I didn't really need, but since it was out of sight out mind I had forgotten about it. She helped me go through each and every article of clothing in the closets and drawers and get rid of stuff he had outgrown. She meticulously checked every tag then bagged up stuff to be donated, set aside stuff to save for the baby brother, and then folders or hung up everything else. Then she busted out her label maker and went to town. It was awesome! It took us 6 hours to do these 2 rooms. The hallway was full of trash bags and donation bags. 

I learned that I really ok purging most things, but when it comes to children's books I struggle to let any go, but she talked me through it and I agreed to give away a small box full of books and now his book shelf looks great is so much more manageable. 

Then we headed to the hot mess that is Kellyn's room. 

I remembered this time to take a before and after picture. 

    Before                                                                                                                                 AFTER!

When I went through Kellyn's bookshelf with her I discovered that she wanted to get rid of all of her picture books and replace them with chapter books. This was sad for me. It was a transition from her being a little girl to a big kid. Some of her old books that she used to love I just couldn't part with so I kept just enough that would fit in that box then sold the rest. 

I ended up only needing to buy draw dividers. Because I got rid of some much stuff it freed up some of the baskets and bins that I already had in there. 

In November my mom sent Kay back again! This time we did the garage!

Before

AFTER!

Before

AFTER!

Again she was able to use now empty bins that I already had. She just sees things so differently that I do and grouped things so practically on the shelves. 

Lastly, Mom sent her back in January, one more time before the baby comes. 

She did the pantry and 4 cabinets in the kitchen and the top of the refridgerator. She took off 1 large yard bag full of trash and 1 full of donation items. It feels so cathartic and cleansing to start the new year with an organized pantry and kitchen. I was surprised that she didn't reuse many of my Container Store items, but did use every last Dollar Tree basket. 

Some of her organizing tips are to label things, keep things in clear bins or baskets with no lid so they are visual and don't become out of sight out of mind and never get used. Use draw dividers and keep a small box for each year of your kids' school keepsakes and papers. If it overflows sort through it and toss a few things. I love being organized!!! Now if I could just train Max to maintain it. My moto is, "Everything has a place." His seems to be "lay it down and ignore it."