Holiday Vacation: Home Edition

January is national organization month! As in home organization, not political organization or unionizing, which is fun, too, and would make sense given that I've been blogging mostly about politics lately. But I got tired of my header and switched it out for something much more simple and less topically limiting. I'm also taking what widgets off I can get away with. Maybe the political theme will come back (but really, I doubt if it will leave, since even the personal is political!), and I'll keep talking about news & Obama, don't worry. But I'm done with the semester and want to take it easy, and not stay glued to the news 24/7. So I've started a house organizing project. We'll see how long it lasts, but I'm aiming to get each of the five rooms done in the next couple of weeks.

It's always good to start with a blank slate, so here's what the house looked like on moving day, July 2006 before we moved everything in. As you may have noticed, it's a small house. It'll be tricky getting the clutter down, but if we clear a lot of it out and send it to Goodwill, then place what we've got very carefully around the house, we just might able to pull it off. Stay tuned to see how it goes.

Bedroom: right now, the wardrobe on the right, plus two dressers, is all the place for storage here.

In the dining room, we've got a too-big table taking up the majority of floor space. Just a tiny shelf unit for dishes, plus this desk in the corner, a filing cabinet and a little table in the corner it what's in this room. I ultimately want shelves, and better light, in this room. 

The space below the counter wasn't being used very efficiently, so my project today was to consolidate a lot of containers, and now a lot more is under there. It would be nice to have cabinet doors under the counter. On the wall on the right side of the kitchen is our washing machine and mini freezer, for which I would like to build a countertop to go on top of, but be removable (either flip up or roll away) so we can access the appliances when needed. Finally, there's carpet on the floor, which people in Richmond seem to like. I don't, and I want it gone.

The living room is tricky because it's small, but it's the room we use the most, and every space is precious. We have a love seat on the wall to the right, and a book shelf to the right of the doorway. I'm compromising to get rid of the big chair that sits in front of the shelves and put in our futon. The shelves on the left were my first project this week, making videos/dvds, games & oversized books fit much better. I want shelves all along the wall on the left. 

The study/2nd bedroom is crowded with shelves of stored stuff I either want to throw away, send to Goodwill, reorganize, or send to the attic (which is a project in itself thanks to the lovely drop panel ceiling). Additionally, the futon takes up half the space, as well as a big desk I made from filing cabinets and scrap shelf wood. It's also the library and laundry room. And this is the smallest room in the house! I suspect this will be the last room I tackle.

I'll post updated photos as I take them, so come back for updates!