I'm going to sort out and tidy up every drawer and cupboard in my house. Want to join in?

[MaryCondom]

This morning I woke up with a kind of itchy compulsion to sort and tidy every single drawer and cupboard in my whole house. I have no idea why but I'm snapping on my marigolds and reaching for the Zoflora.

I don't have a week or a fortnight off work to do one big blitz. I'm going a drawer or two at a time, and saving the big jobs (like under the stairs cupboard) for weekend days.

Today I've sorted out my two bathroom cupboards.
I've dumped all the old, out-of-date medicines, combined all my body cream remnants into one divine-smelling body lotion soup, re-positioned everything in order of actual use, and put everything on 'themed' shelves in one of the cupboards.

I've scrubbed the inside of the cupboards and they're now lemony fresh. Unfortunately, one of them's going a bit rusty and the other one is stained with Harpic 😯But they're clean and tidy.

I am very proud of myself and now rewarding my efforts with a caramel chocolate digestive.

Anyone want to join me? We can support each other, update on progress, perhaps share picture if you'd feel comfortable to do so.

Fortunately the worming tablets are huge and very meaty smelling plus I’m a paramedic so fairly clued up on drugs etc. Meaty smelling tablets are definitely a no no. 🤣

I did this for my elderly sister at the start of the year, her daughter (who lives abroad) asked if I would do it as DS was getting overwhelmed with 'stuff'.
I had a massive clear out of her kitchen, bathroom, two bedrooms and her airing cupboard. I ran (nearly) everything I was getting rid of past her, but she will not cull her clothes ( 46 pair of trousers/jeans/leggings at the last count.)
I still have her bedroom and lounge to sort, but I'm leaving those until after the summer.
My sister LOVES her organised home, and the fact she can find things is a constant joy to her! No more repeat buying items because now she can see what is in her cupboards/ fridge/freezer.
I enjoyed doing it, but by the end of the month I was knackered! I only fully retired at Christmas, but I don't seem to have stopped since!

@Recycledblonde Okay, that's good. I wondered if it'd be like Fat Balls: The Sequel. But you're clued up, that's good.

@Lagershandy Ah, what a lovely thing to do for your sister. It sounds like you're both very happy and satisfied with your efforts. Good job!

On the other hand DH may be tempted. If he persists in random drawer allocation I may be forced to ram a worming tablet in his coffee.🤣🤣

Morning Tidy-ers.

Please behold and be amazed by my newly tidied sock drawer and bedside cabinet.

I switched these two around. Before I had all my socks balled up and stacked on the top shelf of the bedside cupboard, and they'd avalanche out at me every single morning. And it meant I had to bend down or sit on the floor every day to get socks and pants out. Ugh, no thank you.

I've also switched my underwear from the bedside cabinet to a drawer and Marie Kondo-ed that as well. But I shall save you from a photo of my giant, flowered, M&S knickers. No-one needs to see that. Not without strong sedatives.

It must be that time of year because I had an urge yesterday to start sorting out and tidying up too! It would be my ultimate goal to have every cupboard and drawer in the house organised but I am taking small steps!
I started yesterday in my bedroom and emptied out 4 drawers, 3 of clothes and 1 of toiletries, cleaned and organized them. Also the School fair is coming up and they are looking for donations of toys and books so I have 2 boxes for that, stuff which I will be glad to get rid off. Kids have outgrown the items and they are just taking up space.
You just seem to accumulate so much stuff over the years. Feeling rather tired today after yesterday's efforts so will keep watching the thread for inspiration.

This was a few weeks ago but I thought you all might appreciate the one drawer I have managed to sort out in my kitchen. Gives me a thrill every time I open it. 😂

Before it was a mess of rice and pasta packets.

@Stressmess Whoa, you did absolutely loads yesterday, well done!!

This thread is all about small steps. We're not blitzing it, we're not aiming for the sky. We're just doing a drawer or cupboard at a time and slowly working our way through the whole house.

Even just one drawer or cupboard a day will get us there by July 18th.

@Rainbowshit 😍😍😍That is a thing of beauty 😍😍😍

Health issues mean that jobs/things here pile up (literally!) and then become overwhelming to sort out.

My wardrobe had been getting worse over time, I recently finally tackled it. It took a few days to sort as I paced myself. Got everything out and into another room. Cleaned down inside and then gave it all a lick of white paint, including the floor.

Sorted through the contents. I’ve got a few bits I’ve put away to try and sell myself. Quite a few bags for the charity shop. The rest organised and back into the wardrobe.

If you’ve got clothes that aren’t good enough to be donated, check with your charity shop. Mine takes bags of stuff that they get paid for by the kilo - just need to make sure they’re labelled as “rags” or similar - it saves a trip to the dump.

Not sure how much I’ll get done at mine as have just started the process of decluttering my mum’s place - her health isn’t great and things are overwhelming her. It’s going to take a while as it depends what I can manage each week. If I do get anything else done here then I’ll try to update.

Bit embarrassed to post my wardrobe photos as the before is really bad, but what the heck! Will hopefully spur me on to continue.

If anyone wishes to assist completely tidy up a house just bring here:

1. A combine harvester.
2. Four Caterpillar earth-movers and a JCB.
3. A long lease on the local authority landfill site.

Then we are in business.

Hi @Furries Amazing job on your wardrobe, it looks absolutely fantastic. That storage unit makes all the difference. And the white paint - so much brighter and lighter, love the floor painted that colour too.

I hope things go okay with sorting your mum's out.

And thanks for the tip about rags and charity shops. I've got a pile of rags under the bed waiting for me to lug into town to H&M. It'd be a life-saver if I could just nip them up to the local charity shop.

Small baby step but I've just done the utensil drawer. It wasn't that bad but was bugging me as had ended up with stuff in it that shouldn't be there (e.g. stuff that should have been in the baking box)

@Furries that looks so good! Honestly I don't think the before is embarrassing, wait until you see mine, but it does look hugely better.

Also if anyone has any tips for something other than those spring drawer dividers please let me know. They never stay in place.

Looks great @Rainbowshit

I hate those spring dividers. Sorry, no better suggestions.

First cupboard done. It’s amazing how much stuff just get stuffed into random cupboards just to present an illusion of tidiness, then I waste time searching for things and money buying duplicates because I can’t find the original.🙄

Check out The Minimal Mom on YouTube. She's brilliant.

I'm going to be moving this year and even though I've been chipping away at the extra stuff for thirteen years, this time it's going! My kitchen was easiest, I did it last year and basically I pretended it was in a holiday home/static caravan and just kept what I'd find in those kitchens. Because we cope on holiday just fine! I also kept some extras like birthday candles, hotpot, some tupperware, but generally I don't need three frying pans, nine saucepans and three different flavours of spatula. Plus kitchen is the least sentimental place to start

@Recycledblonde Looks amazing!

Two more kitchen drawers done. Sorry, I forgot to take before pictures.

I've just emptied out my under the sink drawer of doom so will tackle that this afternoon.

I have been doing this but very slowly so my wife doesn't really notice. She will keep everything just in case. But in reality the just in case very rarely happens. I have made around 60% progress this year. 🤗

@DRS1970 Oooh, sneaky. I like it.

I too recommend the minimal mom, she's weird as hell, and a lot of her ideas unravel when you realise she just keeps her basement stocked with all the superfluous stuff, but she makes really good points about fantasy self, just in case and living in the 'season of life' you're in now.