Photos by Laurie Mustard / Winnipeg Free Press
Mustard has tidied up his bedroom — he even made the bed he lays in.
Let’s play a little game called before and after (B&A).
Thanks to isolation, I’ve been playing B&A for a while now, and the great thing about this game is you can’t lose.
And let’s be honest with one another here, what else have you got to do?
It goes like this. For some time now, I’ve been going through every room in the house, selling some stuff, giving some away, and now I’m putting everything I’ve got left to go through or find a destination for in one big bedroom in the basement — so it’s all in one place and ready to deal with.
The goal is the rest of the house becomes organized and totally free of stuff. Whenever the spirit moves me I just go down to that bedroom and bring out a box and process another pile of stuff. It’s a good system and so far has been very rewarding.
Now of course you can’t go through everything you own in one day, so today my suggestion is to choose an area you know deep in your soul really needs a solid going through. Pick that one room, or maybe even just a closet or a dresser that keeps you awake at night and dive in.
The goal is by the end of today you have to have this job done. Once complete, you stand back, admire your accomplishment, feel good, and start thinking about what area to tackle next. By playing B&A and tackling one space at a time you will conquer your clutter, which is also very healthy for decluttering the mind. It will really change your home in a positive and productive way.
It’s also huge fun and you’ll probably find things you surely thought were lost forever.
Say you get really ambitious and decide you want to take on a whole bedroom, including the closet. Take a picture before you start, and one when you’re done. It’s good to keep a record of your accomplishments. What you want by the time you’ve finished that bedroom tomorrow night is to have that room completely organized, drawers included, totally free of anything and everything that isn’t necessary for everyday living, and to know exactly what you have in there, and where it is.
You WILL find stuff to throw out (which feels good), stuff you’re done with to give away or sell if it’s worth it, and then maybe a little, or maybe a lot of stuff to take to your staging area to deal with later. When you have time, grab a box full, sort through (final decision time), keeping only what you need to make your life better.
Perhaps, because you’re in it every day, one of the best choices for this weekend’s B&A challenge is your kitchen.
Empty every cupboard and drawer, wipe them clean, then decide what you’re going to put back and what you’re not. The stuff you’re keeping doesn’t all have to go back where it was. You can surely reorganize to make your kitchen more user friendly and efficient and now is the perfect time to do it.
Sort through your dishes, pots and pans, utensils etc. If you’re like most people you’ve got about double what you really need, and that includes spices, that half empty bag of brown sugar that’s turned to cement, and SO many cups and glasses, five cutting boards, that old coffee maker you haven’t used since you brought home the — the list goes on.
What’s in your stove drawer? Do you even know? There’s probably seven mostly unused things in there that could be reduced to two. I did my kitchen a while ago and it felt great.
Decide whatever area of your home you’d most like to play Before & After with and attack.
If you aren’t feeling that ambitious maybe just sort out one junk drawer. Even that will feel great when finished — but beware — stuff found in the junk drawer is some of the hardest stuff to throw out.
GOOD LUCK and let the games begin.
Comments and feedback are always welcome!
lmustard1948@gmail.com
