Project REAL Life Friday ~ Week 4

Week 4 ~ organize to simplify.

I am skipping week 3 for now b/c I still have a few pictures that I need to print off and I ran out of time.  But, week 4 is ready so I’ll post that this week and then go back and get week 3 next week.  YAY for being flexible, b/c usually I would have stressed myself out to get those pics printed off, into the spread, photographed, etc.  But by letting go of that self imposed pressure, I feel so much better.

CONFESSION:  This week came together so much easier than previous weeks.  I think that might be b/c I didn’t have to put a lot of thought into it, and there were no people I had to coordinate photographing.  It was all just things.  I just picked up my camera one night and walked around and got all the pics I needed.

I have noticed that on a few of the subject matters, I have taken pics of my phone.  I was going to try and photograph something else but then I realized that it’s OK to have more than 1 pic of my phone.  It’s an integral part of my life b/c it’s used on a daily basis.  So, that’s only natural that it would appear frequently in my PRL spreads.  I know that seems silly, but it was a real breakthrough/AHA moment for me.

Not So Organized ~ This is the closet in the guest room & it is a HOT MESS!  When we moved a year ago I just put all the wall art, Project Life, and craft stuff in here.  And it’s still sitting here a year later.  This is my, “I’m-not-sure-what-to-do-with-this” junk dumping area.

Super Organized ~ I am a jewelry junkie & have so much that I had to find a way to keep things organized.  I got these earring holders at Sam Moon’s.  I like knowing where things are when I need them.  Plus, this helps me not go overboard on jewelry purchases b/c if I don’t have room for a new pair of earrings, I have to get rid of an old pair.  That helps me to only get new earrings if I really, really, really like them.

Technology ~ My most vital items that help me stay organized are my phone & computer.  It is essential for me to have all of my pictures organized.  I put them in monthly folders & name them by year first & then month (2012 11 for example).  That way they stay in chronological order.

Pick A Closet ~ This is the closet in my master bedroom & I LOVE it!  It’s huge and since ‘m single I can use as much room as I want b/c I don’t have to share.  I have a dresser, shoe tree & lots of built in cabinets for storage.  I just noticed while looking at this pic that I’m not even utilizing the space on the shelves above the clothes.  YAY for big closets!

Laundry System ~ We don’t really have a set laundry system b/c I just wash clothes whenever we need to.  But, we do keep our dirty clothes in laundry baskets in our closets (this is a pic of Autumn’s closet) since we usually undress in our rooms to put on pajamas each night.  It works for us.

Media Storage ~ I used to be so anal about having all my videos/DVD’s in alphabetical order.  But, I’ve relaxed on that b/c Autumn used to pull them off the shelves all the time as a little kid and it wasn’t worth the daily battle.  Now they’re all mixed together on this bookshelf in the guest bedroom.

Food ~ Since we eat dinner at Mom & Dad’s almost every night, we don’t have a lot of food at our house.  But, I do organize my shopping list on my phone b/c I always have that w/ me.  It’s easy to add & delete things on my list right on my phone instead of trying to keep track of a piece of paper w/ a list on it.