Digging in Closets

I have closet issues!  Big time!  If you have followed my blog for anytime at all, then you might remember this February 2007 post where I revealed my bedroom closet.  If you're not a "link clicker", let me save you and just show the evidence of my closet frenzy THAT day: 

I threw EVERYTHING out of my bedroom closet.  It looked like the picture on the left.  I spent two full days and a heap of money on organizers to get  it to look like THIS:  


 Then in October of that same year, I wrote this post about my linen closet.  My linen closet (which holds much more than linens) looked like this picture on the left.  Do you see a pattern here?  I am starting to wish they had "messy closets" anonymous!  Anyway, I learned this VERY COOL sheet folding technique while I visited my blogging friends in Savannah.  And I put it to work on my closet and created this:

And then.  Two years went by.  Two years!  It was January 2009 and it was 3:31AM.  And my closet CRASHED!  Yes, I do mean crashed.  Here's THAT evidence photo.  I didn't do an "after" photo of that event.  It took me a little longer to get it all fixed up after that.  And honestly,after the crash  it never really went back to the way it was in 2007.

When I was younger, I had a friend, Carol.  She knew that if anything ever happened to me, that she was to go in and clean under my bed and my closets before my Mother got there!  Since I've been in this town, I've half-joking told one or two friends the same thing. 

I TOLD you have closet issues! 

Fast forward to last night.  DH and I met with LG's case manager.  She has to do a complete home study to deem us ready for adoption and an appropriate placement for LG.  Now, the interview process is long and quite personal on many levels.  They talk to you together as a couple and alone.  They pry.  They dig.

As we were rapping up our 90-minute interview last night I asked her, "Is there a time you need to inspect the house further for this paperwork?"   She hesitated and said, "Yeah...at least one time I need to walk the entire house and look in the closets to make sure you don't have any skeletons in there."  I'm telling ya' my heart SANK!  I could let her pry into our personal lives all night long, but the closet comment gave me hives! 

I'm no fool.  I know that my closets are not going to be a deal-breaker for an adoption.  I mean I've been in some pretty filthy homes that were deemed "acceptable" by child welfare.  Still, though, I'm feeling the urge to purge once again.  Before I do, let me just start by saying,

"Hello, I'm Susan I've fallen off the wagon and I've got messy closets!"

The Facts and the Lessons

The morning after the closet fell, I sat staring again at the MESS and found my thoughts like this: "cheap builder supplies" "WHO didn't anchor it right?" "I'm sure it was the humidity" Finger pointing. Finger pointing. Finger pointing.


And, then the evening after, when I was actually able to start digging out, reality started to set in. DH was so sweet. He said, "The boys can help." I immediately said, "No, it's not their mess or their closet." He reminded me that they live in the house and that it would be a quicker process with five of us emptying it vs. just one. He's SO PRACTICAL!


It was a bit more than five minutes, but it certainly didn't take long with them helping. The boys were a great help...even if they made me endure their smirks each time I piled their arms full of clothes and purses and STUFF. And thank goodness DS 1 isn't home, cause his room is now "my closet" until we can get the repairs done.


After we dug out the stuff that was actually ON the shelf that fell, I was SHOCKED. I mean, there is still a lot of stuff in there. STUFF. That's all it is.


Scrapbooking STUFF.
Christmas STUFF.
Letter-writing STUFF.
Cards and STUFF.
Memory boxes for the boys' STUFF.
Sweaters I "might" wear again someday STUFF.
Tote bags that I have picked up at conferences STUFF.


Now, none of this stuff caused the fall. It's planted firmly on the floor of the closet and on the shelves that were under my clothes and other STUFF that fell. I'm going to have to do some serious purging both of things that were hanging and stored and those things that are underneath it all because there is simply no NEED for all of it.

I don't know what the tipping point was. I don't know what it was that suddenly made it give way at 3:31am. It doesn't really matter now. There is nothing I can do but clean it up and move on.


And, because we can learn so much from everyday living. I realized a few things:


This is kind of like life isn't it? We all have STUFF inside that we most likely ignore and pretend doesn't exist. I mean, if you look at the bottom picture of my CLEAN closet, it was organized. It was FINE...right? Maybe. And maybe not.

Sometimes there are things hidden inside that we simply have to clean up and purge in order to be the best we can be. Sometimes things hide and we don't know they are there until suddenly the anchors break and the light comes flooding into every crack and crevice.

So, while I clean up my physical closet, I am also going to reassess my spiritual closet. I'm going to ask some questions:

Are the anchors secure?
Is there a load that I should not be carrying?
What STUFF is in there that may need to be purged?
If something breaks, will I find things I didn't realize existed?
What can I clean out now to prevent a serious problem?

Every once in a while we have to ask ourselves the question...

How are MY closets?

It Was 3:31AM...

...and I WASN'T laughing!! DH and I were startled awake by an enormous noise this morning at 3:31. We immediately jumped out of bed to see what the crash was. Honestly, I thought one of the cats might have done something, but it was TOO BIG even for them. When we went to our closet, this is what we saw:

MY WHOLE side of the closet completely came off the wall and CRASHED!! Oh. My. Gosh. My first thought? "Laughter is my word for the year, Lord and I'm sure I can do that right after I CRY!" Then, DH started with his reassurance: "At least we HAVE closets and lots of things to put in them." OK, it was kind of one of those "Eat those nasty veggies cause there are starving kids in Africa" comments...and I wasn't amused in my "Cranky I just got rudely awakened at 3:31am" mood. So I did what my Mother taught me, "If you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all." And I layed there wondering just HOW I was going to get to whatever I needed to wear to work. Let's just say you go for the closest thing you can find.

Now, before you go judging that mess up there, let me remind you that I made a true confession when I deep cleaned it a while ago. And the result, when it's normally hung is over here to the left.

Other than the fact that there was a bit on the floor on the right side that still needs to be put up from Christmas, this is pretty much what it looked like before it fell. You can't tell it from the angle of my evidence photo, but the back rack and my husband's rack (on the left side) are JUST FINE.

So, I'm going to start digging out tonight. Doesn't that sound like a BARREL of FUN??

And, I'm guessing it will be better when the sun comes up...

And I'm quite sure I WILL laugh!! Just in case I don't yet...maybe YOU can have a laugh---HERE, it's on me!

Have a great day...

By the way, if you haven't voted for my boys' video, will you scroll to the post below and see if you think you might be able to help them out? Today is the last day to vote. They'd so appreciate your help. And, yes, you can only vote ONE time.

Can you hear me SCREAMING??

If you listen real close, no matter where you are in the world, you might hear me scream! Actually, it's not quite that bad, but I AM frustrated.

You might remember I wrote that we were going to put wood floors in our house back at Christmas time. Well, we decided that was a bit crazy to try and do all that and decorate and entertain and remain sane. So we put the project on hold.

Now, here I am three months later and ready to move forward on the floors. I went to the flooring store on Saturday and the guy once again gave me the price on the heavy duty laminate that I liked. The guy I talked to is actually their "installer" whom I had not met previously. He told me that he'd lay it for 50cents less per sq. ft. That's a bit of a savings, so I invited him to come out yesterday to do the formal measuring and give me a bid.

Let's just say, based on our Saturday conversation, we figured one price and by the time he left and revealed all the "other stuff" we'd need to buy, our cost was almost double what we were thinking! Grrrrrrr!!!

I immediately got in my car and went to all the competitors in the area...explained that I wanted to know the rock bottom...no surprises. I brought home MORE samples and am now more torn than EVER about what to do. They are all in the same ballpark, but I must say that I am leaning toward the other stores that were up front from the beginning.

The other thing I noticed yesterday is just how DIFFERENT something can look when you see it in the store vs. in your home! Right now, I'm waiting for a call from one of my new "flooring best friends" to tell me when they get their brand new hot off the press samples in the store.

I hope to make a decision by tomorrow so we can put this little project behind us. And I'll try to keep my primordial noises to a low roar so as not to disturb any of you!!

Raw and Uncut

It pains me to admit that my linen closet looked this way ever...but you all know how much I wanted to get it straightened up with the new Folding technique. Soooo...here are the before and after photos. I think the boys and DH thought I was crazy when I threw everything from the closet on the floor!


In the end, it was definitely worth it. In all fairness, I did give one sheet set and about three towels to Goodwill...BUT I added six games to the game storage!


Now, I PROMISE I'm done talking about sheets and folding for a while.

Sheet Folding...Savannah Style!

I came home today, but must share what I learned while I was at the Blogging Babes' Slumber Party last night. First a little background:

In January, Sandy posted this informational post about sheet folding. I TRIED to get mine as neat as Sandy's friend, Tootsie taught her to do. I simply couldn't do it and ended up balling them up the same as always and decided I simply wasn't cut out to fold sheets so flat and pretty.
Last night, that all changed as Tootsie came over for some sheet folding lessons. Now I should tell you that Tootsie is RUTHLESS! She demonstrates. She walks you through the first time. She sets you off on your own while she coaches you. And having an audience just ADDED to the pressure! ;-) I'm telling you, these ladies spare no expense on good entertainment.

Just to be sure you understand, this is how to fold the ENTIRE sheet set, Flat, Fitted and Pillowcases in a nice flat manner. When she started likening it to making a "samich", I suddenly could relate. You start with the "bread" (flat sheet)...add the "meat" (fitted sheet) and then put on the "mustard and ketchup" (the pillow cases).

And just when you get it looking all nice and FLAT with all the sheets and pillow cases folded together, that sneaky woman grabs it and throws it all on the floor again for you to START OVER!

I tried to stop her. Really I did. I KNOW how to play Tug-o-War. But with all eyes watching, I had to do it again. No, there's NO competitive bone in my body!

BUT Tootsie, it turns out, is a great teacher---or, as she would say, "Teachuh".

I did it all myself and felt the urge to head right home and refold all my sheets in the Linen Closet. That Tootsie is ONE SPECIAL SOUTHERN Gal!

Now tomorrow I'm tackling that linen closet!

I'm Out of the Closet!

Have you ever written a post that you didn't publish? I did, on Saturday...I was having a fit because I was being swallowed up by clutter! I keep saying I'm going to do something about it and on Sunday I did. I THREW everything....EVERYTHING....out of my closet. I emptied it completely out. This pile in the photo represents only one semi-small portion of the MESS MOUNTAIN (dust bunnies and all) that I made on my rampage.

It only took a few minutes for me to dump the entire thing into my bedroom and bathroom. Once it was done, though, I wanted to sit in the middle of it and CRY--but there was NO WHERE to SIT! I thought, "What the HECK (OK I might not have thought "heck") did I do???" But I promised to get it done before DH came home on Tuesday. So I had to start whittling away at it. {Note: I did email him in the middle of this to tell him what I had done....and that sweet man said, "Don't worry about it....it will all be fine..."}

Since I am a Pottery Barn catalog nut, I know all about containers for organizing. I love that look. Knowing no one is really going to look at my closet (except now the blogging world via these photos), I decided it would be ridiculous to spend THAT much money on organizers.

My second choice for container shopping would be Ikea...but that's no where near me. Soooo....I did the next best thing....I headed to my favorite hangout in town...TARGET! I bought two shelf units and a cubbie unit the wire "milk crates" and the canvas containers. I had plenty of plastic storage crates to "fill in" where there were gaps.


I started by putting things in the back of the closet that I do not use regularly....my Christmas Gift Wrap, cards, and boxes are now up there. Then, I moved to the gift items I keep on hand for special occasions. I WEEDED out a TON and kept some "just in case".

Next I went through every piece of clothing that I own and either hung up or put in the "give away" pile. Actually, I had to do this to be able to go to bed last night. It's a good thing DH wasn't home, because there was only room for me in the bed...and there WAS no room to turn over. Anyway, I hung everything up by type and color. I've had it this way before...but "the best laid plans..." I like being able to locate things quickly, so I'm going to give it a try again.

The "give away" pile was HUGE...by the time I got done with the clothes. Early this morning, I loaded my van with bags and boxes and headed to Goodwill (knowing full well I might have another trip). The guy kept thinking I was done and I'd open another door and pull out more stuff. It was like the "donation Clown Car". He said, "I'm SURE you want a receipt." I took it and left.

My closet also has to house my scrapbooking supplies. So, today that was my focus. I wanted to bring some order to that total chaos. I spent today pretty much weeding out cropping stuff and
finally organizing those photos that were out of sequence. You can see the black sorting boxes under my shirts to the left. These house all my uncropped photos from 1986 to the present. They are now labeled and in order.

I was also able to put paper and supplies on the shelf next to these boxes and my travel cropping bags on the other side. They fit beautifully. I can't remember the last time I cropped. At least this way, I can get my hands on just a few needed items and do a little bit instead of having to make an entire production out of it.

Is it done yet? Yes, the closet is pretty much done except for one load of laundry that has to be washed and folded...and hung in its proper place.

On Saturday before this all started, I found a quote about clutter and I put it in my unpublished post. Here's a portion of it:
Feeling drained of energy? Never seem to get anything done? Perhaps one of the contributing factors is clutter.... Whether it is a cluttered desk, cluttered house, a cluttered room in the house, or even a cluttered mind trying to keep track of too many things; clutter is around us everywhere. Using a system based on Feng Shui [the author] leads you through the process of uncluttering your life and returning to a more relaxed state.

I don't know if its truly "feng shui", but I know that I feel better about it and I actually DO feel a bit more relaxed...tired and sore too...but calmer when I think about it. So, now the only problem...to find my "relaxed state" means I have to be "in the closet" until I tackle the other areas in my house that need attention. Oh well, at least there's room to sit in there!

Have a GREAT week everyone!! I hope to catch up on your posts soon. I've missed you all!!

I know my limitations....

We all have areas that just aren't our forte'. Today's been filled with gentle reminders that it's OK to have them...and that I DO have them....

**My "Alice" called me from my house today and said, "I've torn your house up and I don't want you to be shocked when you get home." She cleans my house and does our laundry for us every week. She is a GOD-SEND and a very dear friend on top of it all. Anyway, after I reminded her that it's her job to pick up and clean up not to tear up...she told me...."we've got to tear up to clean up." M (her DIL) cleaned all my windows (inside and out), the screens, and their tracks. R (her son) moved a lightswitch for DS 3's new room. As I talked to her tonight she said, "I know you don't know where to start sometimes, so I started for you." My limitation (in this case) is totally HER strength. For that, I am thankful.

**I WANT to be superMom and be able to cook and keep up with the boys. The fact is, they are going in four different directions. Tonight was a late night (I have a meeting every Monday until 6:00pm). I totally understand why my Mom didn't want to cook when she got home at 6:00pm. It'd be all I did...so for those of you who live in the vacinity of Moe's Southwest Grill, "If it's Monday, it must be Moe's." We got their $5 for any burrito, chips, and drink deal. You can't beat that.

**DS 3 is doing his Math homework and just called me into the room. He started with "I know you're probably not the one for me to ask this, but..." (He already knew my limitations in this area.) Math is simply NOT my thing. Never has been. Even worse, however, is that he is doing the Math that I disliked the MOST of all: Geometry. I sat down with him. I looked at the samples. I tried to think aloud. I listened to his rationale. I offered to call my friend, Debra, who IS a Math Whiz. He says he got it when he talked it out with me. I could only shrug and say "OK". I'm limited for certain in this area.

**After the "Math Lesson", I went into MY bathroom. It's the first time tonight I've been in my room. SOMEONE clogged the toilet today and didn't plunge!! After 20 minutes of plunging, it finally unclogged. You might say, "if you got it, then it's not a limitation." The limitation here is that I simply am NOT cut out to be Mrs. Fix-it. I'm glad it worked this time. Being a plumber, however, is not a hat I care to wear too often.

Isn't it amazing that despite our limitations, God provides for our needs? I'm thankful for the fact that we have limitations is not a sentence for failure. Instead, our limitations are avenues of blessing from other people and situations. For that, I am thankful.

Thursday Thirteen

Thirteen Things SUSAN did on her day of Hookie (yesterday) 1. Shopped for graduation plates, cups, and napkins at TWO Targets 2. Sorted and organized more cropping stuff so that I can get it put away 3. Made the Blueberry Granita from Southern Living Magazine 4. Spewed frozen blueberry stuff all over the kitchen when I tried to stir it but didn't wait until the blades slowed enough. 5. Went on a blueberry stain hunt to clean the kitchen (man that thing can shoot) 6. Took DS 4 to my in-laws so I could get my haircut 7. Went to the consignment shop (see yesterday's second post for that adventure) 8. Got my haircut 9. Read part of the Real Simple Magazine and a Cottage Living Magazine 10. Drove through Mickey-D's with DS 4 for dinner (he later gave me a foot massage for taking him there...We might go there more often!) 11. Watched Deal or No Deal while I sorted more pictures 12. Watched American Idol (I'm so sad for Elliot!!) 13. Listened to DS 1's tape where he talked to Middle School Youth tonight about having a passionate relationship with Christ (and I CRIED again!!!!!!) After listening to his tape, DS 1 and I had a wonderful talk. Did I get everything done I wanted to? Nope...But, in some ways, it was a perfect day. Links to other Thursday Thirteens!

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Junk!

Today has been "clean-up" and "clear-out" day at my house. With DS 1's graduation next week, I want to not be making the last minute CRUNCH for cleaning up...so we have been decluttering.

Now, I suppose that you have to have a picture of the task that was before us. I don't have a snapshot--I couldn't bear that online for the world to see. I'm going to give you a word-glimpse....

As you may remember, just before the holidays, the boys formed this neighborhood band. Their stuff now has a "place" in what used to be my dining room...I was TIRED of walking over cords and trying not to trip over guitars on my way to my room. There are cords, cases, stands, amps, and one large drum set in my dining room.

My garage....was definitely drowning!! Bikes galore! You cannot live in a house with four boys and not have bikes, sports stuff, etc. start to take over your garage. In addition to that though...Christmas was still kind of strewn about my garage.

Three years ago I got a BEAUTIFUL 10 ft. artificial tree at Home Depot..the only catch was there was NO BOX. Last year, ds 2 and I wrapped it in plastic as best as we could and tucked it into a corner of the garage...this year, we simply pulled the top two feet off and put it out there. We didn't wrap. We couldn't push into the corner as some other stuff had moved into its space.

There was a refrigerator that no longer worked, a dryer that broke earlier this year, and other "stuff" that had been carefully placed in the garage to be "out of sight and out of mind". I have been warning everyone for two days that it was time to "set our sights" on the junk and take a trip to the dump.

This morning I was glad to see that DSs 1 and 2 rounded up their friends and were ready to load up the refrigerator and dryer for a trip to the dump. As they drove off, we continued working on throwing out, giving away and sorting stuff. Soon, they returned with the van still FULL of the junk they were to dump. The old dump has been closed for two years!!

Thankfully, dh found another dump and we were able to get rid of it for $11.51.

I took one trip to Goodwill with a van full. And now...I am sitting here and looking at all the stuff that now has to be moved around and put away inside.

We made progress....junk is disappearing. That feels good!

Laundry Blues

Our family of six generates a lot of laundry! Piles. Mounds. Sometimes I think the boys put things in their baskets after they just try it on to see if it's "right". And in that regard, they may be worse than girls their ages! Luckily, I have a house assistant who helps us out with this task each week...I know, it's an "extra" that is a total blessing for our busy schedules. We lovingly call her our "Alice". Imagine "Alice's" reaction when she realized this week that the dryer was broken...

She called me frantic on Monday and said, "You better get someone out there quick...the laundry is going to pile up and take over."

I finally called on Tuesday only to be told they could come "next Wednesday"...EIGHT days away!! They obviously don't get it. And the piles grew.

Dh called Sears this morning and found out they could come this afternoon. They came only to inform us that the dryer is broken and while it could be repaired, it would cost about the same as getting a new dryer. The "duh" factor came into play and that WONDERFUL MAN I am married to...rushed down to Sears to get a new dryer. HE gets it!!

He selected a nice new dryer with some great features for our busy family. Sears agreed to deliver it NEXT week. They didn't get it.

But, my wonderful dh and his wonderful father drove to Sears tonight...picked up the dryer and are now assembling it in my kitchen in preparation to be moved into its new home. They're bonding and my laundry piles are waiting.

The laundry blues will soon be over...the dryer will be well broken-in before the morning comes....everyone is waiting on their laundry to be done...and Alice will be thrilled that she can bring order out of our laundry chaos.

I am pretty sure all will be right in the world by morning thanks to the man that understands just how important time is when you are talking laundry...six people...and boys! Gotta go check those piles. Now, whose pile to tackle FIRST????

HOW does this happen????

Just before Christmas we had an Open House for our friends and family. My house was clean and picked up. Of course, by Christmas, it looked a bit different because there is NO WAY to have a "neat and tidy" Christmas with four boys and the busy-ness that defines our family.

Just after Christmas, I decided that I would work on those scrapbooks that have been much neglected in my closet. I decided to use my dining room table to do it so that I could spread out. My goal: To finish my scrapbook for 2003 (YES, I am that far behind)by January 1st, 2006. I did really well...I started in Dec. 2003 and got back to May 2003 within a few days. Then the busyness hit again and like so many times before "the best laid plans" went astray. I left it all out on the table "just in case" I had a minute to sit down and crop.

So there it has been for now 2 and 1/2 weeks...the "cropping mound" on my dining room table.

Tomorrow is ds 4's birthday party. We are doing it at the bowling alley...but my family and a few of his friends are coming over here after the party. Of course, that means that my cropping mound has to be put away so as not to create an eyesore for all who visit here tomorrow.

I started putting it away (and doing a bit of organizing of paper and stickers) around 9:00. Do you see the timestamp on this blog? It's NOT done yet. It's almost done...I just needed a break.

So here I am wondering just HOW this happens. How is it that something that was so neat and tidy one week can be SO messed up the next?

The truth be told, I think life is like that. We tidy up...get on our best behavior and exhibit the best habits one day then suddenly it all goes down hill and we find ourselves in a pile of junk.

HOW does it happen? The same way my scrapbook goes unfinished: we lose our focus. If I would have stuck with my plan it would be done now and in an album for all to see. But it's not. I've got to go finish tidying up my table and plan just how I'll get 2003 finished. I am also going to contemplate just what it is that I need to tidy up on the inside. Then I am going to pray for focus and ask God to help me get rid of the "stuff" that sometimes gets in the way of me being "complete". The thing is, I KNOW He'll finish the job! ;-)

Storm over...all is well....

The cleaning storm went extremely well (probably only a category 2 storm vs. the category 4 that it is sometimes)...The news reporter and her camera operator were here for all of about five minutes. NOW I can enjoy the calm AFTER the storm!!

The Calm before the Storm

I spent the morning getting my hair done. The salon I go to is a bit like those you see in Steel Magnolias...conversation is often four or five way. It's small and welcoming and everyone loves seeing the transformation from the time you enter until you leave. Anyway after my visit this morning, I was relaxed and calm.

Then I came home.

I walked into the house and all seemed fine and normal. Then, my darling husband (who is the epitome of calm) announces that our local cable news network will be here by 3:30. HERE? At MY HOUSE??? Admittedly, my first thought was "WHAT did the boys do?????" I have no history that causes me to jump to such a conclusion...it's just how I'm wired.

After I had that moment of shock, dh explains that it's the one year anniversary since our church was devastated from hurricane Charley. One year. We are still cleaning up and repairing the building that was damaged. It seems like forever on most days. The news channel interviewed my husband last year and they are doing the follow up. Of course, last year's interview was done on the CHURCH property (which is 35 miles from our house). So much for my after-salon calm.

Why today? Why here? It's beautiful outside today. It's sunny. There's not a cloud in the sky. Dad has already prepared the boys that the turbo cleaning and picking up will begin. Even though it's quiet and beautiful outside (and really calm), as soon as I finish typing this blog....hurricane MOM will hit at our house as we start to tidy up and get ready for our unexpected visitor. It's not all that different than one year ago when Charley visited...except he TORE up during the storm.

I guess that I'll hope for "calm" and "normal" on another day!