{p,h,f,r}: the purging edition

I am late to the {p,h,f,r} party, but it was still Thursday when I started this, so I think it's all good.

January always makes me want to purge the house and start fresh.  I think it has a lot to do with putting all the Christmas decorations away and trying to get more streamlined.  There's something about hauling a giant tree out of the middle of your living room that makes you feel like your house has doubled in size.

Of course that illusion is shattered about five minutes after the tree hits the curb and I realize that approximately 754 new toys need a home, but it's nice while it lasts.

A friend of mine, who is a professional organizer, started a 6 week clutter clean up challenge on Facebook.  Since I am practically wallowing in clutter, I joined up.  Space is at premium around here and I need to make sure I am using every bit wisely.

I admit that I haven't been able to keep up with each assignment as she has posted them, but I do manage to get to them eventually.

So, some very {real} before and after photos:

The closet in Mopsy and Sally's room.  Most of this stuff belongs to neither Mopsy or Sally, so what is it doing in their closet?  Plus, this is apparently where all the hangers in this house go to die.  

I had a very cute "helper."

Here is the finished product.  I was able to sort out three bags of clothes to be donated.   Neatness is so pretty.

This was the terrible state of my hall closet.  Its location in the house makes it ideal for housing the cleaning supplies and extra paper goods, but the disorganization negated all that convenience.

Much better now; I can feel myself starting to breathe again!  I'm not sure if the picture above this one conveys how messy this closet was, but consider this: when I sent Fiver to get a roll of paper towels after I cleaned the closet, he came back saying he couldn't find any.  Knowing that we had some, I said, "Really?  You didn't see any on the shelf?"  He said, "Oh, I didn't know they went on the shelf!  I was only looking on the floor."  Sheesh.

Messy boys' room closet.

After!  I even managed to empty that dresser out for Baby's clothes.   Around here we like to play a game called "Guess which room your clothes are in!,"  since not everyone gets their own dresser in their own room.

This was just a start, but I feel better already knowing that these closets are finished.  It gives me a little confidence before I consider tackling the storage room.  Shudder.