The Return of the COP In 2022 (Cleaning, Organizing, Cleaning)


Do you remember the beginning of 2020 when I was excited to start the journey orf cleaning, organizing, and establishing a regular cleaning schedule to keep my home clean? And how did I do that for about six weeks before the world collapsed? Well, I’ll bring it back to 2022.

I did well in 2020 in about six weeks. I cleaned up the amount of stuff in an entire room, cleaned the kitchen cabinets and drawers, made some custom storage solutions for cabinets and drawers, and I was on a roll. Then I stopped. Kay 2020.

Well, come back. At the end of December, I said I would spend some time deep cleaning my house so I could start the new year on the right foot with a sparkling clean house. Well, I did very little, but I didn’t do much. I ended up spending two weeks just hanging out with Matt, relaxing, watching a movie, relaxing, reading, and relaxing. 😀 So now I’m trying to play before jumping back into the bathroom fix, which I plan to start on Monday next week.

Right now, my house is cleaner than it might have been in two years. Maybe even longer. I mean, I got out of the stairs and wiped all the mold around the windows and doors, I cleaned my pantry and kitchen cabinets from the top molding of the crown to the foot kicks and every square inch. between. I took the glass out of the lights and washed it, and then wiped off all the metal parts. I even cleaned the crown molding in every room, cleaned my windows, washed the pillowcases, cleaned my carpets, and so on.

Everything was so beautiful. I really like my house when it is clean from top to bottom. And when I open the cabinets and drawers that I organized in 2020, it’s so nice to know that things have a place, and I have a system for things. And the systems I put in place in early 2020 remain the same. I use them, and I love them. Here are the photos I took this morning…

I kitchen drawer organization by the stove keeps things in order, and keeps me from hanging things I don’t use. I find it easier to hide things now than to drop them in a drawer more like a pit. You can buy organizers at places like Bed, Bath & Beyond, however it’s very easy to make your own so they can be customized to the exact size of your drawer.

I spice drawer still very good for me. My spices are all where I can find them, and other than having to find the pen solution I’m using (it smudges), it’s neat and organized. You can find the simple DIY project here.

organization of spice in kitchen drawer

the cabinet I made pull-out storage for cookware I use it every day which also works well. I know where these things are going, and in my system in place, I use them. You can see how I did it here.

organization of pots and pans in the kitchen

and the pull-out pan and casserole dish storage pantry drawers (for things I need occasionally) are also good. I really know where these things are going, so once I use them, wash them, and dry them, they go back to their place. You can find DIY details here.

pantry cabinet - storage for cookie sheets and casserole dishes

So even though I’m not a naturally neat and organized person, I’m the type of person who follows established systems when they are put in place.

But here is the issue. I really have to spend time and effort thinking things through and deliberately and deliberately building a system, because again, these things don’t come naturally to me. Even if I had a general idea of, “I want to use this cabinet for so-and-so, ”It is not enough. A general idea is not enough. I need clear objectives, established systems, and helpful organizational tools. Then I follow them.

If I didn’t have that, my cabinets would be like this.

pantry cabinet for cleaning utensils

Yes. You see what I mean. That’s the cabinet “cleaning supplies” in the pantry. And since there was no organization and I had no system in place, I literally opened the door and entered the thing. That’s my system. Open and push. And my open and shove system means there are things missing in the back that I can’t see. And if I can’t find something, I think I don’t have it anymore, and I’ll buy more the next time I go to the store. And then to put the new one in, I opened it and pushed.

I use the same “open and shove” system for the cabinet under my kitchen sink.

cabinet under the kitchen sink - before the organization

And even worse is the cabinet in the hallway. I made this beautiful cabinet with lots and lots of storage space, but I never built a real purpose for this cabinet. I never made a deliberate decision, or put systems in place. So it became a pit of entropy hiding behind closed doors.

storage cabinet in hallway

Whenever I have something I need to find somewhere, I think, “Well, there’s a cabinet room in the hallway.” So it became a place where a random mass of things were kept together just because I had no established place for them anywhere. I don’t have a system in place.

So that’s how my brain works, and I have to keep going on this journey. I know myself well enough to know that if I have organizational systems and tools, I can use them. But if you never really set up a place for everyone, and make deliberate and deliberate decisions on how to use a particular cabinet, this is the sad mess I ended up with. There is never a naturally organized cabinet or drawer that happens in my house that I am not conscious about making decisions and putting processes in place. And it’s so discouraging to feel good about my glittering clean house, to open a cabinet like this and this mess makes fun of me.

And frankly, the worst space in my house right now is the back room, which is called the “sunroom” on every floor plan I show, even though it’s not very bright in the sun. That room was nothing but a storehouse of things I would probably never use again. It hurts so much that, at this point, there is no way I can share a photo with you all. Very disgusting.

Because I had no intention and purpose in that room, it also fell victim to my “open and shove” way of storing. And if you use that method for an entire large room (and not just a cabinet), the result can be frustrating and stressful. It needs help. It takes some serious cleaning, and then some deliberate organizational systems put in place so that that room has a specific purpose other than “the general storage room.” Those generals don’t work for me. My brain takes the generals as a license to “open and push.”

So I added cleaning, organizing and purging back to the master list of home goals for 2022. How are you? Do you have to go on this journey with me? And if you’re at the point where you feel like you’re burdened with a lot of cleaning your household necessities, I highly recommend the book burning under me in early 2020. I got the audio version and listened to it as I started cleaning my house, and then I was so excited and inspired to clean my house of everything we didn’t use, want and love. That’s called the book Decluttering the Speed ​​of Life: Winning Your Eternal War With Things by Dana White. Very nice, and very inspiring!



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