Organizing those Hot Spots

I consider myself to be a pretty organized person, but kids have definitely sucked my brains right out of my head so as time goes on I feel less and less “together”. My thoughts are haywire; I have to make lists of everything I need to do or I will forget; I can’t remember where I put…..what was I trying to find again?! You know what I am saying!

With all that being said, I still try and stay as organized as I can given the craziness that having two kiddos brings! My house as a whole stays pretty organized, but I have a few hot spots (as fly lady would call it) OR hot mess spots as I would say! Whatever you want to call it, we all have them in our house. It is the spots in your house where all the everyday stuff just starts piling up and before you know it, those areas become the disaster zones in your home and make you feel yucky when you have to look at them. For me, these spots are my pantry, my laundry room, garage, and desk in the kitchen.

With being such a busy body, we are rarely home for large stretches at a time and when we are, we are outside playing in the neighborhood. Don’t get me wrong, I love staying busy and have such a blast with the kids, but then I get home and think, “I don’t feel like doing house stuff”! It is a never ending battle in my head…..I want to cherish this time with my kids so I spend gobs of time with them. Then, my house starts to fall apart. Then I spend a day getting “my things” done and then I feel guilty that I haven’t spent a ton of time with the kids. This weekend, for example, we had nothing planned, but a party on Sunday. I thought I would get all this stuff done around the house, but we ended up living at the pool all day Saturday, Sunday and Monday! It was so hot out that it was the only thing we felt like doing and once we were in the water having fun, we didn’t want to leave!! We had such a blast, but come Monday night, I look around and noticed once again, nothing got done! Ugh, it never ends! It all goes back to that balance right?! Things are a bit easier now because the kids have each other to play with or there is always someone in the neighborhood out so I don’t feel as guilty when I have things to get done. Yes, I know it is good for them to keep themselves occupied, but I still feel bad! Aren’t we always battling the mommy guilt for some reason or another??

With running constantly, I decided to schedule some time for my friend, a professional organizer who authors Organize 365, to come out and help me get started on tackling my paperwork mess that took over my desk in the kitchen. I knew if I had it scheduled, I would MAKE the time to do it!! She had me start by reading her ebook: 10 Steps to Organized Paper, before she came. This is a MUST have for anyone needing help getting control and organizing their paper clutter. You can purchase her ebook for only $5!! Click here to view more details. She was here for 2 hours, got me started and gave me some GREAT tips and ideas. It actually only took me about 2 more hours after she left to complete the whole project!! Lisa can really personalize things for you so if you are only interested in having her come out to give you ideas, get you started and light a fire under your behind then you can have her to that. She will also come out and do it all for you so it just depends on your needs!

Here are some before and after photos!!

Here is my desk before. I know! EVERYTHING gets thrown on this table in the hopes that I will go through it, but I don't so it just keeps piling up!

I had been shoving stuff into these drawers also. I really wanted to be able to utilize the entire work space better, but just wasn't sure how to do that.

Yes, I was crazy enough to do this with the kids here! And yes... Lisa totally made me open ALL my messy cabinets on top too!!!

I could not believe this was all the paper she pulled out. I swear, I am not a hoarder (well maybe I am secretly)! She got all my paper work out and then started helping me organize it into piles (one for bills, one for blog stuff etc.)

H-E-L-L-O beautiful!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

What I love about this is that she helped me utilize all my space!!! The top cabinets are for my baking/ cooking needs other than the shelf on the lower right. That is used for some paper, my binders and a basket for keys, sunglasses etc. Then the desk is just for my Thursday basket. This concept is GREAT because it gives my OCD mind permission to not even look at my paperwork until thursday and then I have a day every week that is scheduled in that I HAVE to go through it all, which will cut down on the clutter all together!!! The bottom two cabinets are my FAVORITE! A lot of what piles up on the desk, other than paper, is stuff I need to get back to people, returns etc. and house projects. Well, Lisa recommended to make one cabinet for house projects and one for outgoing so now I don’t have to look at all of it building up on the desk, but it is organized in its own space so that I can easily get to it when I need it!!!! Genius :)

Seriously?! Now my OCD body and mind can take a rest and stop twitching every time I look at this area!!!

It is amazing how much more peace you have when you get your hot mess spots organized! I felt SO much lighter!! If you have paper madness that you need help with Lisa is hosting Paper Organization Workshops all through the month of June!! You can check out the link for more information. If you are interested in attending, mention that you were referred by Surviving Motherhood and she will give you the workshop 50% off!!!

Lisa also sells Clever Container products and I am DYING to get their Sophisticated File Tote for the rest of my “active paper”. You can check the tote and all of their other products out at Clever Container. If you find anything you like, click Surviving Motherhood party at check out and then SEND ME YOUR PICS of what you got and how you used the product so we can share with other mamas out there!!

What areas are your hot mess spots?? How do you think you would feel if you got them all cleaned up?!