Resolutions

Here's my big one. I am terrible about letting clean laundry build up in a basket and I basically live like pull things out of clean basket, get dressed, throw in dirty basket. Sometimes if I do a small load, I'll fold and put stuff away, but after awhile, the majority of my clothes are out of the drawers. Every few months I get fed up, wash everything whether it needs it or not, and reorganize. I always feel so much better when everything is properly put away and I realize when it's all done that it's really not that bad to put things away. I get really hung up on small details like where to put things away and how they'll fit and how to organize that I can't see the big picture and just DO it. But the truth is I have a lot of storage space now. More drawer space than I've probably ever had in my life. I have one 6-drawer MALM chest and one 4-drawer MALM all to myself. There is no need to stress myself out anymore about trying to jam things in.

So I'm going to make an effort to just put laundry away like a normal person and be less of a slob in general. I've also found I've felt so much more motivated and productive these past couple of weeks because I cleaned the hell out of my apt for my friend's visit last weekend, then I made an effort to keep it that way (company ready) knowing another friend was coming over this past weekend and it's been really cool to know every day that I don't have a cluttered living room or bedroom or kitchen to deal with. When I sit down and watch TV, I truly have nothing else to do. I want to keep that feeling going.

SO. 2011. Less slob, more daily picking up. I know myself and I know I can handle little things. Hell, even when I finally get around to conquering the mountain of laundry, I wind up dividing it into piles (t-shirts, short sleeved shirts, long sleeved shirts, sweaters, jeans, pants, skirts) based on how they're organized in my drawers and it's much less overwhelming. I need to remember this and make it stick this time.

CURSE YOU, IKEA!

Three weeks ago or so I got two DRONA boxes in teal. I posted them in my August 14 post. Went back to Ikea today intending to get two more, as it turns out I need more storage. Turns out, THEY NO LONGER MAKE THEM IN TEAL. Ugh. So frustrated. I got two black and I'm sure they'll look fine but ugh. WHY.

I've been a terrible blogger lately and I'm sorry. Haven't done much and it turns out I left my camera cable at my old place when I moved out so I gotta get that. Why does the iPhone camera suck so much? Grr.

Yesterday's Haul, Non-Furniture Related

On top of the furniture from yesterday, I managed to drop a decent amount of cash on some other things. Namely, for organizing and decor.

August 13, 2010... by flannfry

Top:

DRÖNA box in teal (2) to go in the Expedit bookcase that will be moving to the dining room. I spent a long time debating the teal vs. the black and settled on the teal after trying both in the black-brown Expedit floor model. I'm trying to incorporate more color and decided to take the plunge. I like the way these look better than the glossy black drawer or door options for Expedit. They're also fantastically deep so I'll be able to stash a lot of stuff in them. Like, say, a set of plain white dishes, which I'm toying with picking up cheap because it'll go better with my new birdie linens ... Shhhhh. Don't tell anyone.

KASSETT boxes in orange, one set each of magazine and DVD size. These are to organize my massive collection of sentimental junk. Cards, pictures, play programs, letters, trinkets, old school papers, newspapers. Two rubbermaid totes, a shoe box, and a milk crate full. And it has no rhyme or reason. Particularly after packing for my most recent move. I shoved smaller stuff inside of a box that hadn't been opened since my first apartment in Hartford, way back in 2004. So now that I have majorly reduced storage/closet space, I'm making a commitment to organize and pare down.

I'm looking forward to/dreading the trips down memory lane I'll be making over the next week or so. I love mementos and old letters, obviously, otherwise why would I keep them? But some of them are hard to read, or bring back the kind of bittersweet memories that can be hard to take. I do also intend to take a very strict hand with myself. If I can't identify the item within a few seconds, it's going. I'm cursed with a photographic memory so I doubt I'll be able to toss many of those. I'm also going to try my best to whittle down my massive greeting card collection, taking a really hard look at what I've saved. Things like cards signed with just a first name that I can't identify. Undated Christmas cards with no personal inscription, particularly ones that I receive every year. We'll see how that goes.

Anyway, on to more fun stuff!

Middle:

SUPERFIN vase in pink for my bedroom dresser. I picked it up on impulse and I really like it in there. There is a LOT of neutral in that bedroom so I want to play up the pink a bit with little touches like this. I'm also on the lookout for a pink ceramic soap/lotion pump to put my lotion in and put on my dresser. Something more elegant than just a plastic Bath & Body Works squeeze bottle.

Bottom:

SALONG vases in turquoise. Another (sort-of) impulse purchase. I knew I was on the lookout for teal/blue/turquoise glass to put in the dining room area and these three really jumped out at me to group together.

Ikea can be entirely hit or miss with decor items. Some things can be had for a song (the vases I bought today) and some other items I look at the price and think "Really, Ikea? That seems more like a Bed Bath & Beyond or a Target price ..." Ah, the pursuit of a bargain.