Some days are smoother than others. Day 12 was sandpaper.
I’ve been asked a couple of times if I have a set plan for the week. No. A large part of me wishes I did, but since I decided to do this project at the last possible minute, I forfeited my opportunity to plan my month in advance. On a good day, I have a rough idea of what I am going to do the next day. On an average day, I figure it out early in the morning. On Day 12, I spent most of the morning agonizing until I hit the point of do or die. Then I threw my hands up in the air and thought, Fine. Media cabinet.
I found a Jerry McGuire DVD at the bottom of the entry closet on Day 11. No cover, of course. I set it on top of the media cabinet, assuming the case was somewhere deep within its heart of darkness, and finished cleaning the closet. From that point forward I made a concerted effort to avert my eyes from the DVD. If I didn’t look at it, it didn’t exist. If it didn’t exist, I wouldn’t feel compelled to clean out the cabinet when I didn’t have the time, the materials, or the energy.
I was feeding the fish (they live on the media cabinet) when my eye caught a whisper of blue. Damn you, Tom Cruise, with your crazy eyes and gaspy little mouth.
The problem with this cabinet, which is actually an original built-in painted white, is only everything. The cabinet needs to be repainted or stripped and refinished. The top needs a sheet of glass to protect it from the water that splashes when I clean the fish tank. And, it sits in a room that needs to be redone from top to bottom, starting with the urine yellow walls. So, no, it’s not a good idea for a Type A perfectionist to sit down to complete 20% of the task at hand and consider it a job well done. As if!
But I did. I pulled everything out, did my measurements and space planning, and took inventory of all the contents.
Sigh.
At least I was able to come up with a cute, practical, and inexpensive way to organize the DVDs. I was pretty excited about it, actually. I mean, it’s no s’mores adaptation, but I think you would have thought it was neat. But, alas, the materials I needed were not in stock at Michael’s for the first time in three centuries. I had no choice but to work with my lovely limitations.
It’s all right. I guess.
I will have to revisit this project in the future, but for now I was able to get rid of quite a few DVDs that were scratched. The rest I put in the donate pile. Some I can’t find. I have the empty covers waiting for the day they reappear. The games I moved into Mikey’s room (we’ll tackle those another day) as well as a few other items. That’s the problem with attacking the house project by project, bit by bit: there are cabinets, drawers, and closets that look really good. The rest of the place looks like it houses the cast from The Secret of NIMH.
And would you look at that? The cover for that Jerry MacGuire movie wasn’t in there! Stupid Tom and his mocking eyes.
New here? For the next 31 days Im living according to the famous William Morris quote. You can learn more about the project here.
I am just sorry, but I can’t stop giggling looking at that Jerry McGuire CD … that’s some good times … at lest for me …
At least you found the Princess Bride!:)
Yeah! I was going to ask if that was Princess Bride next to Nemo. Such a classic. Now I need to watch it . . .
It took until day 11 for the guilt to whack me (I mean inspire me) into joining in. Our bedroom , namely my dresser top got a good organizing and cleaning. Best is my husband noticed and was very appreciative.
Thanks…. and Princess Bride is a huge favorite! Thank goodness that wasn’t scratched.
So I’ve been tackling all the closets in my home (which isn’t very large) for the past couple of weeks, and I’ve already taken six or seven overflowing garbage bags to our local donation center of choice. It almost makes me ill how much “stuff” we had in our home that WE WEREN’T EVEN USING. Here’s the thing: cleaning the closets and the cupboards isn’t really fun or easy. Some days, we might not even see immediate results. (I feel like I’m making one big mess after another. I just know eventually it will all be worth it!) But look at what we’re doing for our homes, for our own legacies. Maybe one of these days, we’ll really be people who only have beautiful, useful things in their homes. On the days where these 31 posts are hard or not-as-fun, or you’re feeling less than inspired, just know: You’ve now got a whole bunch of people working right along side you… just hundreds, thousands miles away. :) Seriously, thanks for what you’re doing here. It’s inspiring. Even on the days Tom Cruise still somehow winds up outside of his box.
I love this and I needed this. Thank you, Annie.
Just writing to say that I recently found your blog (from a link on another site, unfortunately I can’t remember which one – Simple Mom? Design Mom? Are you sensing a theme, here?) and I am thoroughly enjoying it! This post made me LOL. I’ve seen my husband take a DVD out of the DVD player and put it on top of our media cabinet, when I know the DVD box is 14 inches away from where he just placed the DVD. Why can’t he take the extra ten seconds to put the DVD in the right box? Drives me insane! :)
I’ve actually blogged about that phenomena before. It’s a very weird thing. :)
Even before you mentioned it, my eye was immediately drawn to the box-less DVD, perching smugly at edge of the basket. Stupid mocking eyes, indeed.
Also, and at this point a bit late, CD cases (the ones that are kind of like binders) are also great for DVDs. You can even find ones that look like photo albums. What I like is the space its saves…. But only if you toss the cases. I wish DVDs came packaged in recycleable material. :(
I know. :( I was looking at a nice looking binder from Walmart(!) (online, who knows what it looks like in real life) but I couldn’t bring myself to toss out all that plastic.
I am not content with this! But Google is my friend: http://earth911.com. tell it what you want to recycle, and it will help find the nearest spot that takes it! Also, check with the local library and or goodwill, find out if they can use them…
p.s. I think it was Small Notebook…
Loving your series. I’ve not been able to figure out where you are, but IKEA has some great DVD holders called Markorp. They don’t have lids–I use them like lightweight drawers. But, I must admit, I am curious about your idea….
Great improvement! I suppose after a time if you still don’t locate a missing case or dvd, they could be tossed. Why keep something that has no purpose and you don’t love?
Yes, that is the plan. I’ve kept everything organized so that when I find it at the end of the month I can put them back in their cases. If I don’t find them, then of course I’ll toss the cases.
Just wanted to chime in that your project is really inspiring! I started something similar (though not so formally) last month, but am taking a break this week to stop and clean everything before a visit from the inlaws this weekend. My biggest frustration is that while I’m working on an organizing or DIY project, it ends up taking the place of daily cleaning, since I can’t very well skip homework supervision or getting dinner on the table. However, in the spots where the project is complete, things are moving along so much better! Anyway, looking forward (sort of) to tackling my top-of-fridge cupboard, the mysteries inside our storage ottoman, the tools in the garage, and my sewing table. Next week!
Can I just say, 2 of my favorites in one post. The Princess Bride and The Secret of NIMH. My nerd heart is happy.
That could be our cupboard – ours still has pre-school VCR’s in it & my baby just turned 15 today! I know the reason I have not done anything about it is because I do not know what to do with them. No one has VCR’s these days, yet they seem too good to throw away. You put me to shame with your dedication to the challenge, look forward to seeing your next tidy space :)
Okay, I feel HORRIBLE correcting you, but from what I know about you from reading your blog for almost a year now, I know you would want to correct this: the title. “Breathe” instead of “Breath.” Right? Or maybe you meant it that way. Either way…I feel so guilty writing this, but I would feel guilty not writing it! I, too, am an overthinker! Maybe I’ll just delete it after I post it, because I LOVE that you have the option of 5 minutes, or whatever it is, to edit the comment. :)
Hah! No, you’re right! Thanks for correcting it. Sometimes things slip by me. :)
A friend steered me in the direction of your blog, and I’m so glad she did. I love your honesty and I read the post (s) that prompted your 31 days of purging. Go forth and conquer!!! It’s looking pretty awesome.
xo
lynn