Summer Clutter Detox Day 8: The Linen Closet

Listen and Subscribe to Our Podcast

It’s been a few days since I last updated you on the status of my summer clutter detox project and let me tell you why.

Originally, my plan was to “take the next few days off” and merely oversea the girls as they “happily” (insert sarcasm) SBO’d their rooms. That being said, my girls had another agenda which involved work, basketball, music lessons, and lets not forget binge watching Netflix–so I decided to pick my battles and revisit their rooms at a later date.

Meanwhile, Josh was out of town visiting everyone’s dream job place, GOOGLE (or maybe it’s just Erika’s dream job). So everything he normally does around here, falls on me, resulting in my patience being than favorable. By Tuesday night I was over it and had a “crazy mom” episode.  I’ll spare you the details,  let’s just say it wasn’t one of my finer moments, but it will make for a great blog post (teaser alert for another time).

Thankfully by Wednesday morning all was better and we started the day off on a good foot.  Both of my girls went off to work, and I had several hours of peace and quiet to get work done and get back on track with my clutter detox.  

My original plan was to work until 3, then head upstairs to declutter the linen closet (which was next on my list).  However when 3:00 came around, I was knee deep in a project and didn’t want to lose momentum.  By 4:30 when I was wrapping up for the day, Zoe was just walking in the door, and I had to begin prepping the evening routine of dinner, feeding the dogs, etc.

When I finally had a moment, the last thing I wanted to do was go upstairs and SBO anything! 

Which got me thinking about routines, peak productivity times, and how they both play a significant role in the organizing process.

In chapter 10 of my book, HOT MESS: A Practical Guide for Getting Organized, I talk about identifying your Peak Productivity Time, which is essentially the time of day when you are most productive. (I also talk maximizing your Peak Productivity Time in episode 012 of This ORGANIZED Life Podcast.  Click HERE to listen).

There are certain habits about myself that I know are true:  

•I am a morning person
•I am basically useless after 9pm for anything that requires brain power
•I prefer working out in the morning (once my day is started, forget it!)

I am constantly making analogies about the similarities of exercise to organizing, so why on earth did it JUST dawn on me that my most productive time to tackle my own decluttering project is in the morning?

The writing was on the wall the whole time-DUH!  Who was I kidding thinking that I could just mosey on upstairs at 3:00 and start a project like that?

So I decided that first thing on Thursday, after my first cup of coffee, I was going to SBO the linen closet-BEFORE I started my day. And guess what?  It worked.  

An hour of my time was spent pitching old sheets, refolding towels, and labeling baskets (you can check out our IG stories to see my handiwork!). When all was said and done, I was still at my desk at a reasonable time, and could focus on being productive with the rest of my day.

The moral of the story is to “figure out how to incorporate organizing into your world without increasing your stress.”

Remember, the goal is to help elicit calm, not add to the chaos.

NEXT UP:  My Basement Pantry