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Minimalism & Decluttering

Cleaning the Closet Clutter :: Craft Area.

Filed Under: Minimalism & Decluttering 9 Comments

Today’s Closet (Area) | Craft Desk.

When we moved into this apartment a year and a half ago, I wanted this specific one because of the built-ins. There is a wall of built-in bookshelves in our living room/dining room and a desk in Gabe’s room with shelves that span the entire wall. I just love built-ins. They add so much character and we can own less furniture, since it’s already in our apartment. Plus, it made putting up the awful wooden paneling in Gabe’s room worth it. My mother likes to make some renovations once in a while and add antique furniture. She used to buy some pieces at Fireside Antiques online store, so she wants me to have a look as well just in case I find something interesting to add to our interior. We agreed to do that together next week.
I’m lucky enough to use the desk in Gabe’s bedroom as my sewing/craft area. Until Gabe gets old enough to demand I stop taking over his room, anyway. I absolutely adore how I can display my fabric and have other, less pretty craft supplies tucked away behind the built-in cabinets. This room also feels less cluttered because of the new replacement doors we added, we have so much extra space in our house now. Texas offers a broad range of opportunities for junk removal companies, especially in the Dallas TX Location | E.Z.D.J.R. region. As a local company, we are available to assist the residents deal with junk in an environmentally friendly manner. We recommend verifying our license status with the state of Texas prior to hiring us to remove your junk. If you prefer, one of our customer service representatives will send you a copy of our business license via email, fax or snail mail. We want to make things as easy as possible for you without jeopardizing our professional relationship in the process.

Before:

This has been one of the messiest areas in our apartment. In every apartment we’ve lived in, there has been a Very Messy Room (aka: the second bedroom), where everything would get thrown when company came over and which would double as storage. We usually would hire HCS Clean services once in a few months and that is the only time the room looked like a person could sleep there, and not as a storage room, I have a cleaning company that makes us deep grooming every so often the best Cleaning Services in Las Vegas.  Until my born-again minimalism conversion, Gabe’s room was this spot in our house. A laundry basket shoved full of papers and so much other random, random odds and ends was under the desk, while the surface was filled with clutter.

Because of the walk in closet organization, and because it’s in Gabe’s room, and thus inaccessible when he’s sleeping, the desk has a tendency to morph back to its earlier, messier days. Behold:


Yikes.

After

Annotated:

 

The Process:

1 – Throw out or recycle trash. (There are no trash cans in our bedrooms, and I can surprisingly lazy as a result.)

2 – File paperwork. (So much paperwork.)

3 – Get rid of craft stuff I no longer use or want.

4 – Reorganize supplies, refold fabric, continue to declutter and dispose the waste at a Junk removal service.

5 – Realize it still looks cluttered, and remove all the picture frames (I hardly notice them, anyway) and replace them with the pennant I made for Gabe’s birthday party.

6 – Revel. This has been, by far, the best transformation thus far. I keep peeking in Gabe’s room to marvel at the clean, empty space. It’s just begging to be used.

The Casualties:


Lessons Learned:

  • Go through and file paperwork monthly, not annually.
  • Stuff will accumulate on the desk top. To combat, go through daily or weekly and put things where they belong.
  • Continue to declutter and get rid of any craft stuff I don’t use. Be honest with myself. The less stuff I hold on to, the more likely I’ll use the stuff I have. Next I will also rent one of these skip bins in adelaide so I have a place to throw away my garbage. 

ALSO:

I am giving away or selling all of this:

It’s basically just shipping, so check out my Etsy shop or email me if you want something!

// <![CDATA[

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January 18, 2012 · Tagged With: cleaning, cleaning the closet clutter, etsy 9 Comments

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Comments

  1. Suburban Sweetheart says

    January 18, 2012 at 4:49 pm

    Wooo! Lookin’ good, girl. Your posts inspire dme to organize my office lastw eekend, & I LOVE it!

    Reply
  2. Deana rooks says

    January 18, 2012 at 10:04 pm

    I am interested in the stamps! Email me please. :)

    Reply
  3. Becky says

    January 18, 2012 at 10:43 pm

    So jealous of your built-ins! I’m getting my act together this weekend and plan to link up with you on Wednesday next week! Can’t wait to tackle my linen closet! (And totally emailing you about the cupcake stuff now!)

    Reply
  4. mudnessa says

    January 18, 2012 at 11:16 pm

    Your before pictures look like my after…..you do not want to see my actual before pictures. LOL. I feels good to clean stuff up and reorganize.

    Reply
  5. Cassie says

    January 19, 2012 at 1:36 am

    Totally just messaged you on Etsy about your fabric!! <3

    Reply
  6. Holly says

    January 19, 2012 at 11:01 am

    Hello! I am new to your blog. Just found you thru Bite Buff and her redesign. :)

    Sounds like we have a lot in common — trying to work from home, crafting and being frugal! I love your organized space. I could really use something like that.

    I look forward to reading more.

    Reply
  7. Liz says

    January 23, 2012 at 12:19 pm

    Love this. It always feels so good to declutter even if you don’t get rid of a ton of stuff and just put things in the right spot. I should really jump on board to the Monday and Wed thing but we have been updating the house and I haven’t had the time.
    I have been reading your blog for about a year now. I think I happened on it while looking for cute baby picture ideas and came upon Gabe’s pictures. He is adorable by the way. I have a son William who is about the same age. Hope you and the fam are well and keep up the decluttering!

    Reply
    • Ashley // Our Little Apartment says

      January 26, 2012 at 11:57 am

      Thanks so much, Liz! I love the name William. :) And good luck with all the updating and your house!

      Reply

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Hey, I'm Ashley & this is my blog

web designer · vegetarian · coffee addict · obsessed with goal-setting · imperfect mother · wife to an academic · wannabe minimalist

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