Organizing Fool

I'm actually making headway in the organizing/decluttering department! It feels do-able. I gotta say, it is definitely a lot easier to aspire to organization in my current life situation than it was pre-Mexico and pre-Stay at Home Mom. There are so many options in Canada; life is just forcibly simpler here in many ways.

We're not accumulating the same way we might in Winnipeg. Also we have fewer activities available to us, so that means less to organize. For instance, we just stuck all our sporting gear in the storage room and done! Organized.

Now that I am a Stay at Home Mom, my life is very focussed. I know for sure what is most important to me, and it has become easier to decide what stays and what goes, because I now have a very good idea of whether I will ever use it. One other thing that makes organizing easier here is that there are really just two seasons- HOT, and not as hot. In Winnipeg, we needed 4 seasons worth of clothes, work and casual, plus clothes for all our various activities. Now I pretty much just need hot weather casual clothes and a couple of sweaters. No need to keep much in the way of winter clothing, because it will be out of style by the time we need it again anyway. Our wardrobes have been whittled down nicely. I'd like to mention that we've both come to the conclusion that it's absolutely worth it to spend the money on a good quality piece of clothing that fits great and feels great. Now only if we had time and opportunity for more than the mad dash into Old Navy! I have such a love/hate relationship with that store. I mean, I can almost always find lots of items that fit and look good for all of us. However, they only last for a season for a variety of reasons. Also, and importantly, Gap has been involved in more than one child labour/sweatshop scandal.

I'm big into plastic bins right now. Ok, they're not very environmentally friendly, but the big advantage is that goods are more likely to be found and used when needed. Which I think is a positive impact on the environment. My environment, anyway. Less consumption because I'm not re-buying stuff I already have, and easy to locate and give away items I no longer want or need.

Ah yes, one other very important factor in my increased organization. My housekeeper takes anything, and I mean anything, that I am done with. This takes care of my previously largest obstacle to organization. Redistribution. I don't like to throw out anything that's still 'perfectly good', but never seemed to have the time or energy to take it to a redistribution point or points. So it just piled up. Now, every week I have a couple of things that Licha takes home with her. It's an excellent arrangement for both of us, I think. This week she's getting a video camera and a Zip drive (remember those?).