Organization

One of my big goals right now is organization.  Our house doesn't have a lot of storage space (that big shed in the backyard is meant to be a workshop, not a repository for all our stuff), and the space we do have is being used inefficiently. Last weekend I went through the bedroom closet and pulled out five bags worth of clothing to get rid of, plus we cleared out some random crap from other areas of the house.  It felt good to clean all that stuff out, but just getting rid of stuff isn't enough though - we also need to organize the things we plan to keep.

I've come up with two plans towards improving our organization:

1) The Put-it-away-or-get-rid-of-it-box.
     This is simple: we have a box, and everyday we have to pull a couple of things out of it and either find a place for them, or add them to the donation pile (or trash, depending on the condition of the item).  The way I see it, if we pull something out of the box and can't figure out a designated place for it, then we just don't need it.  I don't want to specify how many items we have to take out of the box everyday, because I know Ryan too well.  If I say "put away 5 things," he'll pull out 5 nails and put them in his toolbox and consider his task complete.  I know this from experience.
    We already have a box started - I pulled it out of the shed to see what it was, and discovered that it was a box of things we haven't touched since we moved in.  Better organizers than me would have just chucked the whole box; I can't do that.  I have to look at it all first, just in case.
   Tonight, to get moving on this, I'm adding everything currently on the breakfast bar to that box.  Also, Ryan doesn't know it yet, but tomorrow when he's at work, 95% of the stuff on top of his dresser will end up in the box as well.

2) The Five-Minute-Project-List
    This list does not exist in physical form yet, but it might soon.  Even without an actual list, we'll still be able to get stuff done.
     The theory is that there are always little mini-projects that take less than five minutes to do, but they just don't get done, possibly because they are too small to worry about.  So the goal is to finally tackle these and do a mini-project everyday, and eventually, the whole house will be neat and organized.
    Today, for example, I am in the process of fixing the mirror that hangs next to the front door.  It's been there for about two years, and for that entire time it has angled toward the floor, because of the width of the hook and the fact that there are no bumpers on the bottom to compensate for the hanger.  I just cut up an old winecork and painted it black, and when the paint dries, I will glue the pieces to the back of the mirror.  This has taken me less than five minutes, and it will make the house look marginally better.
    I may even do two five-minute-projects tonight.  I might go to the Arizona room and scrub the two dirty baby handprints off the tile.  They've been there for months, and have survived other floor washings.  Really. We do mop.
     Ryan doesn't know it, but after he finally gets the baby to sleep (she's been fighting him for an hour and a half) he has a five-minute-project of his own.  I need him to finally install the baby safety lock on the bathroom drawer - it's the only way to prevent a poltergeist who gets everything out and drops it on the floor every morning while I'm brushing my teeth.
 
In non-organization news, the vanilla sugar was a success.  I used some to make sugar cookies, and I guess they were good because the whole batch lasted less than 48 hours.

UPDATE: Actual conversation with Ryan regarding my mirror-fixing project:

Me: Where's your gorilla glue?
Ryan: Here. Do you want me to glue the mirror for you?
Me: No, I can do it.
Ryan: You can't just use it like regular glue. You have to read the instructions.
Me: Nevermind. You do it. It sounds too complicated.
Ryan: That's what I expected.

So I guess that doesn't count as my project and I do have to go scrub the handprints off the floor.