Jennifer's Inspirational Declutter/Maintenance Session

We are so excited to have a guest with us today on The Happiness Bucket.  Jennifer, one of our THB readers has been conducting decluttering/maintenance sessions throughout her home and she was kind enough to share her finished rooms with us.  Jennifer is a married mom of a college student who works full time.  She is involved with her church and is an avid baker.  She loves baseball, throwing get togethers/parties and organizing/keeping things under control.  She is a woman after our own heart lol.  She was kind enough to let us ask her a few questions regarding her process.  We hope you enjoy! ***************************************** THB:  How often do you conduct declutter/maintenance sessions in your home? Jennifer:  I don’t do routine “maintenance” per se, once a big project is complete I just do my best to straighten up and keep it under control every time I clean, which is weekly.  That keeps it under control so I don’t have to focus on that area again.  I can move on to another when needed. Jennifer's Closet [caption id="attachment_3021" align="alignleft" width="267"] www.thehappinessbuckeet.com: Inspiration -Jennifer's Closet (1)[/caption]   [caption id="attachment_3022" align="alignright" width="204"] www.thehappinessbuckeet.com: Inspiration -Jennifer's Closet (2)[/caption] [caption id="attachment_3023" align="alignleft" width="226"] www.thehappinessbuckeet.com: Inspiration -Jennifer's Closet (3)[/caption]                 THB:  How long did each of these areas in your closet take? Jennifer:  The closet, which is one big space, took a long weekend over a holiday because my husband built new shelving around the top of the closet and then we had to also hang the peg board.  My clothes, on my side of the closet always look like this.  Again, just keeping it up daily.  I am a little OCD, so they are by color, for the most part, and divided by casual, and business casual. THB:   Were you working full time or involved in any extra-curricular activities as you took on these projects? Jennifer:  Yes, I work full time and I am very involved in my church with activities there, and with my small group there is always something going on. Unless you have a free weekend to do nothing but focus on a project, it can take a little time.  You just can’t let it overwhelm you.  It WILL look a lot worse before it gets a lot better! The Pantry                THB:  Was all this shelving in your pantry built by you or your husband or were they already in the home? Jennifer:  All the shelving to the right in the pantry was built by my husband.  We saw it as wasted space so I had him build shelves for cans and a rack for spices.  I don’t believe in wasted space :)   Baseball Stuff The baseball holder they made to hold their son's baseballs from the stadiums and places they have visited to get them more organized.   THB:  How does your husband feel about your maintenance sessions? Jennifer:  My husband doesn’t mind me doing this at all.  He only gets a little anxious when I tell him I need him to be involved to build something. :) THB:  During your maintenance sessions, did you purchase new organization items for every space? Jennifer:  The only space where I purchased a few new items, is the craft area.  I purchased some Thirty-one totes to give it a more cleaner look.  All the other rooms I just used what I already had in the house and available.  I LOVE organizing so I am always on the lookout for cheap, on sale, ways to organize.  You can really rack up at dollar stores.   Scrapbook Room               THB:  What do you do with the items you declutter/remove from the spaces? Jennifer:  Removed items go in a pile, in a room designated in the house, for selling. With social media, you don’t have to wait for yard sale weather for all things.  Some things you can probably sell, for a better price, online.  But what doesn’t sell by the time yard sale season comes along, gets sold or donated. ******************** We want to once again thank Jennifer for taking the time to talk with us regarding her declutter/maintenance sessions and we hope you use these photos as inspiration for your own spaces. We always suggest that you either start in your most used space or a small area.  If you start in the most used area it usually has the biggest impact on you and your family.  Make sure to try and get them involved too.  Once everyone sees the difference it makes they are inspired and encouraged to begin another project.  If that seems too overwhelming for you, pick your smallest area.  This won't have as big of an impact, but you typically still experience a snowball phenomenon, because you want to keep going when you see how easy it is and how much better the space looks.  Good Luck!