Organizing and Cleaning in the New Year

So the other night I was watching a football game that turned boring (or so I thought, turns out it ended up being a nail biter and went in to overtime, but I digress ...)

I flipped channels and ended up watching that show "Hoarders". I had heard about it, I'd seen commercials but I'd never watched it. Just the thought of that much mess gave me the willies. I wasn't sure I could stomach watching it.

It's funny - I remember going rounds with my mom when I was a kid over my messy room. I remember her telling me I couldn't hold on to everything forever. And then - somewhere - I flipped to the other side. I became a total neat-freak there for a while. Now I'm not as neat-freakish. With a husband, three kids and a cat, I had to let go a little. BUT, I can still purge with the best of them and when I get going on cleaning something - you'd better stand back. I like to organize my messes. A labeled box for everything and everything in a labeled box. The Container Store is like a little bit of Heaven on Earth for me. And yes, there are those who would say I am just the slightest bit OCD .....

My husband is NOT this way. He stashes and stows and eventually goes through stuff looking for things and makes a huge mess which he then re-stashes and re-stows. It used to really get to me but I am learning to live with it.

Anyway, I told him about this "Hoarders" show I had watched and how I was so fascinated and yet repulsed all at once; I couldn't stop watching. I told him how they threw out 4,000 POUNDS of garbage from INSIDE HER HOUSE. I told him how they found TWO DEAD CATS buried under the garbage in her kitchen. It was so gross and she was LIVING IN IT!!!

Apparently my husband thought I was directing my comments at him. I swear I WASN'T. I was just telling him about this show. I was telling him that now I wasn't so upset that we threw out one bag of garbage from each of the older girls' rooms. I was saying maybe I should actually be thankful that it was only one bag and not thousands of pounds. But he is on a kick now. He is going through everything on his side of the storage room in the basement and he is getting rid of stuff right and left. And while I SWEAR I was NOT playing passive/aggressive wife when I told him about the show and it was NOT my intention to spur him on to this massive cleaning out .... I will say, I am kinda likin' it. He has cleaned out so much and now he is taking measurements and talking about building shelves! Woo Hoo!

*I have made major headway in cleaning out Audrey and Amy's rooms - just need to tackle the clothes next.
*It's the annual Elfa Sale at The Container Store and David says we can do our kitchen pantry and maybe the linen closet in the kids' bathroom as well.
*And now it looks like my storage room is gonna maybe get all organized in BOXES WITH LABELS on SHELVES even.

Ahh ---- I am one happy girl
(Remember, there are those who would say I am a little OCD. Things like this truly do make me so very happy .....)

I'll try to take some before during and after pics and get them on here ......