I think I have a problem!
Seriously! Look at these pictures:
- Earth to dining room table…
- Husband’s desk
- Our living room carpet looks like this 6 days out of the week…
- Console table…
- Crafts central
- Random piles of stuff all over the bedroom floor
- Closet space
And I know exactly what it is – I am lazy, I don’t like to clean, I don’t like to pick up, for some reason I want to save every scrap of paper, every ribbon, every magazine.
I keep telling myself that once we move into a house, it’ll get better, but who am I kidding – it won’t.
But nothing motivates me, I guess I am just a slob. And it’s the availability and accessibility of products here. I can go to a store, spend some money, get more stuff, but it won’t solve the clutter solution!
I have recently started an Etsy store, and one of the main reasons was to downsize my vintage collection. And yes, I have made some sales, but what’s 1-2 purses compared to a walk-in closet full of supplies, patterns, coats?
Yes, let’s talk about coats. I have an obsession with coats, I think I have about 10 of them! That’s the problem thrifters have – you walk into Savers or Goodwill and see an awesome coat say for $30, and of course you want to pick it up, because in your head you are already putting together outfits, and creating InstaCollages! And at this point you don’t realize that you have another dozen coats waiting to be worn, photographed, pinned, instagrammed, facebooked, etc.
Maybe I just need to vent, but I also function better, when more people know about my issue. I don’t need anyone to hold me accountable, I need to publicly tell everyone that modern day social networks are giving me an ADD, and that my real life is starting to go god knows where!
It’s a 1 bedroom apartment for crying out loud, how difficult could it be to clean?
So here you have it, I fessed up, and am now going to go and vigorously clean the apartment, making several trips to the dumpster!
Have a great day everyone,
Z
March 24, 2013 at 8:51 am
Zhenya! Saving every ribbon and every piece of wrapping paper is genetically constructed in our blood. We are Russians who grew up in post Perestroika time in Russia where every sheet of toilet paper was valued at the time. I did the same thing in the beginning of my marriage. Now I don’t do it anymore, maybe because I Americanized my ways of thinking. And as of the mess in your house, you don’t have a problem with hordering, just buy a shelf at Walmart for like 35 bucks, it’s a plastic stack up shelf that you will be able to put together yourself. You will see how much you can fit on it in the storage containers! I did the same thing. I’ll try to upload a pic so you can see it for yourself!
March 13, 2013 at 10:38 pm
I’m surprised, but if living cluttered works for you, don’t be down on yourself-enjoy the chaos. I make my bed every morning as a start toward organization, but the older I get the more relaxed I am about “stuff” but I do tend to recycle things every 3 to 4 months, for sure at the beginning of each new season. How about having a garage sale!
March 13, 2013 at 11:16 am
я тоже всегда избегала уборки,но по воле судьбы моим мужем стал военный и теперь уборка у меня в крови)))
March 13, 2013 at 9:59 pm
Классно! А мы с мужем в этом плане оба немного или много ленивцы, но теперь мотивируемся и перевоспитываемся!
March 13, 2013 at 10:03 am
If it’s any consolation, that is lovely wrapping paper.
March 13, 2013 at 9:58 pm
Oh thanks, that’s actually wall paper I am using for a new wall art piece
March 13, 2013 at 7:39 am
Thank you soooooo much for this post. I don’t feel so alone anymore. I am the same way, small apartment but then add 2 kids and a hubby and I think it’s more insane, I too am a DIYer, crafter, creative type of all sorts and yes, i rather craft than clean, it’s my therapy and I so need it. But I do feel like my crafty mojo is blocked when there are piles of stuff everywhere so once in a while i have to stop and clean so I can craft some more. A vicious cycle! Thanks so much for sharing!
March 13, 2013 at 10:00 pm
Thank you so much for commenting, it’s good to know that this is helpful and that there are people out there like me! Crafting is great, but we can’t let it take over our lives!
March 13, 2013 at 2:39 am
This is super brave post! To be honest this is pretty much how my apartment looks as well…. I call it organized mess
March 13, 2013 at 6:01 am
Yes, an organized mess, that’s how I’ve been ever since I remember myself! Well I did clean up, I have to admit!
March 13, 2013 at 6:13 am
Lol! Me too!
Good for you! You should post before and after pics
March 13, 2013 at 2:07 am
Hah. This is actually my apartment. There are so many more useful things to be doing rather than cleaning. Like knitting!
That combined with the very little space I also believe it will change once we have a house.
March 13, 2013 at 6:01 am
I know, knitting, sewing, DIYing, I am seriously an ADD crafter
)))
March 12, 2013 at 9:53 pm
I know what you mean, its easy to get overloaded when there are all of those good deals at the thrift shops. I finally had to tell myself that for every bag I brought home, I had to donate one bag back to the thrift store. Seems to work for me. That and a good spring cleaning.
March 12, 2013 at 9:56 pm
Yes, that too! I am going through the closet deciding on what to keep and what to toss. I think I am going to stay away from thrift stores for a while, plus I have a good amount of items to use for my DIYs and refashions. Don’t want those to pile up!
March 12, 2013 at 9:39 pm
You are so brave to invite us in. I have a girlfriend who used to be pretty messy growing up…but she grew out of it. Maybe you will too. I see lots of good ideas on Pinterest and my friend Alys Organizes for others for a living, so theres always tons of great ideas around
March 12, 2013 at 9:46 pm
Thanks, I just got so sick of it today, and I honestly think it’s one of the biggest problems in the modern day society – consumerism, but hopefully I’ll be able to keep it up!
March 12, 2013 at 8:58 pm
I’d like to see more pics when you’re done
March 12, 2013 at 9:00 pm
Will do
March 12, 2013 at 8:05 pm
I once read that if everything in your house has a specific place that it should be, then you should have no problem keeping it clean. Easier to do as the bachelorette that I am, but it really does help. Now I walk around putting things in their places, it’s easier to find things, and I don’t make big piles of random stuff around the house anymore . Best of luck!
March 12, 2013 at 8:44 pm
It’s a good point! Some things do have their own places, and I actually cleaned/picked up today and it looks better already, so hopefully I’ll be able to keep it up. Now what to do with all the craft supplies?! Any ideas on organizing those?
March 12, 2013 at 9:53 pm
You know those shoe racks that hang from the inside of the closet, they unfold like kind of like a vertical accordion with little cubbies? I have a ton of stuff jammed in those. The ones that go over the door work well too. Good luck! I believe you can conquer the messes!
March 12, 2013 at 9:54 pm
Thank you
I will definitely try! I think step one would be to get rid of some of the clothes!
March 12, 2013 at 7:30 pm
After reading your post all I could think was, “I really love that console table!” Haha
March 12, 2013 at 7:37 pm
I love it too, the best thing about it is that it was free on freecycle.org
I just need to find a better place for my Vogues 
March 12, 2013 at 6:13 pm
Look at it this way, you have a knack for find/ creating great pieces, but if you don’t ever get around to wearing them, gift them. You have a friend or coworker that loves a certain article, just surprise them with it, or you could even do a give away of some of your pieces to blog readers.
March 12, 2013 at 6:39 pm
Well that and I have also been selling them
Thanks for stopping by!
March 12, 2013 at 6:04 pm
I’m glad you posted this. No you definitely aren’t the only one! We moved into a big enough house for all three of my kids to have their own room, and there’s so much space, and it surely didn’t take us long to fill up every nook and cranny of this place! Every member in my family is a clutter bug, so that certainly doesn’t help! Maybe I should post something similar so that I’ll be more motivated to clean it up!
Will you be posting after pics?
~Jen
March 12, 2013 at 6:08 pm
See, I knew that! We move into the house and the clutter continues! I have been moving it around and trying to organize the space better, I have also thrown some stuff away since the post went up! And yes, definitely, I will post the after pictures!
-Zhenya
March 12, 2013 at 6:20 pm
I need to have a huge garage sale and then take the rest to Goodwill before I can even begin organizing the stuff that stays!
March 12, 2013 at 5:38 pm
bahaha I could have written this post
story of my life.
March 12, 2013 at 5:45 pm
Oh good, I am not the only one! I have been cleaning ever since the post went up though
March 12, 2013 at 6:16 pm
haha i cleaned when we had friends over last week and have been trying to keep it up since then. if it starts to slip we’ll be back in the dumps like we were lol lazybums unite!