Yes the annual clean up / clean out that I do in the boys room has come and gone and what fun it was. Just ask the boys how much they love participating...Byron actually begged me not to make him do it. Now aside from the joy I get from the completion of this task there are valid reasons why I put them through this torture:
1. They share a really small room and it fills up fast
2. They are growing like crazy and so much no longer fits, but still takes up space
3. Byron collects / hoards / keeps / saves EVERYTHING that crosses his path.
And so against a barrage of protests we began by dragging everything out on the bed...
And then we have all sorts of fun trying on everything. If it fits and we love it, it stays. If it doesn't, it goes. I even got Byron to clean the skirting boards in the cupboard after I swept them out. Nice shot hey?
Then, as I was refolding what had to go back in, I got Byron to empty out all his baskets and bedside drawers. There are no words to describe the things that came out of those drawers.
Lots of bags of rubbish resulted from this step alone (oh gee Byron, is that 2 asthma puffers I see there, when you assured me you did not have a single one and is that the missing charger I see LOL)
Do you guys really need more deodorant...not until this little collection is all used up!
And so we continued to work hard [ insert more whining] until we had dealt with every single thing in that room. And then it looked like this and all was right with the world.
Just so you know the bed skirts were still drying on the line...a night soaking in a tub of bleach sorted them out LOL. And for what it's worth, I walked into their room about 2 hours later and Oscar had dropped all his dirty clothes on the floor and left his wet towel on the bed before he went out. OK, so for 2 hours it was a picture!
I find going through the girls rooms to be a rather frustrating job - like I'm sure it was for you. But it sure does feel good when it's organised. How is it that organised/tidy people like ourselves have kids who aren't? I totally blame Kevin for my girls untidy habits.
Libby
Posted by: Libby | January 09, 2011 at 08:06 AM
Oh, and their room looks great - I love how clean and uncluttered it is - I guess teenage boys don't collect quite as many "ornaments" as young girls :-).
Libby
Posted by: Libby | January 09, 2011 at 08:08 AM
I was just complaining yesterday that you can't have white walls with boys and here you have it! I love this annual post and now you have me itching to clean out but I will wait til they all go back to school :)
Also i spy that your DVD's have moved from the book shelf, does this mean they have found a home in the binders, ala Jamie Lee Curtis? :)
Posted by: mel | January 09, 2011 at 08:48 AM
Also I bet you are feeling a little sentimental that there is only one set of school clothes in the wardrobe, so I am sending a big hug to you :)
Posted by: mel | January 09, 2011 at 08:51 AM
Yes Libby, I totally blame Gary for their messy ways LOL
Posted by: jody | January 09, 2011 at 10:14 AM
Just so we are being totally honest Mel...I am always wiping down the walls with the spray & wipe! And yes the cupboard is half bare with only one set of uniforms. It is what they wear 5 days a week and now the space looks empty.
The DVD's have been sorted and are now all in 2 drawers under the TV in DVD sleeves - DVD in front, cover art in back. I still have to sort them by genre (LOL) but I bow down to Jamie Lee Curtis!!
Posted by: jody | January 09, 2011 at 10:19 AM
you are better than martha. : )
Posted by: elizabeth | January 09, 2011 at 04:27 PM
Re: [the midnight scrapper] elizabeth submitted a comment to its that time once again when all things must be sorted and purged...
Oh that comparison to Martha makes my day LOL
Posted by: jody [gonggirl] | January 09, 2011 at 05:03 PM
ooh I would love to see how you did it. Did you manage to find some binders? Although I did love how you organised the DVD's on your bookshelf :)
Posted by: Mel | January 09, 2011 at 08:39 PM
Re: [the midnight scrapper] Mel submitted a comment to its that time once again when all things must be sorted and purged...
No Mel, not in binders...just in rows (3) in the large drawer under the TV stand and then you can just flip through them. Binders (very small choice) would have taken up just as much room. It just freed up so much room for a shuffle around!!
Posted by: jody [gonggirl] | January 09, 2011 at 10:38 PM
your photos make me laugh, the process, and isn't it a process. Great job, I bet you feel great even if the kids don't. Love the Ikea shelving unit...really works well there.
Posted by: Kathy | January 09, 2011 at 11:20 PM
How awesome the closet looks. And I absolutely love the prints/frames on the wall. Where did you get them from? I was looking for some ideas for my rooms too and this looks really cool. Also, where did you get the shelves in the closet floor? Happy organizing.
Posted by: Dipty | January 10, 2011 at 10:38 PM
Re: [the midnight scrapper] Dipty submitted a comment to its that time once again when all things must be sorted and purged...
Yes I love it all cleaned out, though it does look a little empty with all Oscars school uniforms gone!!
The frames on the wall are IKEA and the prints are a mixture of IKEA, etsy, and my sons drawings, nothing expensive. The shelves in the cupboard are from Howards Storage World and are made by elfa (part of their storage solutions range). And yes, organising makes me happy LOL
Posted by: jody [gonggirl] | January 10, 2011 at 11:00 PM