30 Day Organizational Challenge -- Before and After

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Amazing! I actually did it! I got the basement decluttered and organized! Yay, me!

The charity is picking up in our area on December 4th, so all the items for donation will be gone by then. This weekend I am taking the books and electronics to their designated locations. The recycling will go out on the curb the next garbage and recycle day. The freezer, etc. will wait til Spring but it will be gone.

Laura posted these questions for us to answer...

1. What was the hardest part of the challenge for you and were you able to overcome it?

The hardest part of the challenge was getting started. I knew what I wanted to do but I didn’t know quite where to start. Once I got started, it was easier to keep going.

2. Tell us what kind of changes/habits you have put into place in order for your area/room to maintain its new order?

The biggest change is that I now have a spot for almost everything. There are a few things that I still need to figure out a better location for it but that will come with time, especially once we begin furnishing the basement. For the most part, things have a home, and the basement will NOT become a dumping ground again, if I have anything to say about it!

3. What did you do with the "stuff" you were able to purge out of your newly organized space?

One box of books donating to the Children’s Hospital Book Sale
Two huge boxes of miscellaneous items donating to charity
Three bags of clothing donating to charity
Medicine cabinet and exercise bike to charity
Left-behind-by-previous-owner freezer and various pieces of wood as well as the doors from the cabinets will be taken to the dump when we can find someone who can haul it for us.
At least 2 garbage bags full of garbage thrown out. (actually more garbage than that, as sometimes I just took it up to the regular garbage)
Lots of empty boxes recycled.
Some items were given away to family and friends who wanted them.

4. Now that you have completed the challenge, do you think having and keeping your space organized will make a difference in your life?

I know it will make a difference. In time we will be able to furnish our basement and utilize it as a living space, not just a dumping ground for anything and everything.

5. Why do you think you should win the challenge?

I think I have made some good changes in my space, but I was unable to afford to do as much as I would like to, such as buying more shelving and better storage items. I did purchase 4 medium size see-through containers, a stand-up Christmas Wrap container, a wreath container and one small container. (Hoping to re-organize some of the Christmas things after the holidays) The rest of the containers you see in my photos I already had, and they were full of things that have been purged, or categorized. Even if I don’t win, I feel like a winner, for I am starting to achieve my goal of having an organized home. We moved into this house just one week before our daughter died, and the grief I have been burdened with really put me off track with organizing this house. It took me over a year to finally start unpacking anything other than the necessities, let alone start any organizing projects. I feel that this is a step forward in my healing process.

Well, without much further adieu here are some before and after photos!

The Family Room Before:

After:

In the Laundry/Storage/Utility Room
Before:

After:

Before:

After:
(the Christmas stuff is out here, I plan to see if it can be more organized after the holiday season)

Before:
(I forgot to show what it looked like inside. Mostly it was yardsale stuff which is now in my purge pile)


After:
(I took the doors off, which I think will encourage me to keep it more organized!)



The Purge Pile:
(including the freezer!)



Here are my other posts on this subect:

Post #1
Post #2
Post #3
Post #4
Post #5