Everyone seems to focus on organizing and decluttering at the start of every year. Unfortunately, most of the tips I read online and in magazines are not for a family of six living in a 1970s home. One “expert” tip from this month’s BH&G kept me laughing for a while. It gave guidelines for towels and sheets to stock down a full linen closet. Here’s what we would need to accommodate our family and two guests:

- 20 Towels
- 20 wash cloths
- 12 sets of sheets

Maybe we can build an addition specifically dedicated to storage. It would include the world’s first ever walk-in linen closet (although, these days, it probably has been done).

Lining shelves with adorable, brightly colored canvas bins with carefully etched labels is not a practical option in our house. Instead, each kid has a massive Step 2 or Little Tikes toy box. Our humble master closet looks like this:

I lost my mind when we bought this house. I went from a sentimental pack rat to someone who can’t sit through an entire movie without feeling the urge to get up and organize something. I tackle a certain cabinet, closet, or drawer about once a month to stay on top of clutter before it gets out of hand. I scan almost everything and pay all of the bills online to reduce paper clutter, and I sort through the mail every day. And yes, the photos of our house reflect the way it looks every day.

There is some good that comes with keeping our “stuff” down to a minimum. I sort through everyone’s clothes at the end of each season and donate everything they have outgrown. That is a much better feeling than trying to orchestrate a yard sale or selling lots on eBay. I also love that, while I don’t have a closet full of a million matched towels, we do have luxury towels that I found on clearance shelves in home stores.

I wish you all a wonderful New Year! Enjoy it, and don’t spend too much time decluttering!

Happy New Year! Our last project of 2008 was the addition of closet doors in the family room. It makes the room look nicer, and we added some white shelves inside. We kept the chalk wall, and the kids can still access their “clubhouse”. My parents visited for Christmas, and Dad used moulding and other pieces of wood from the garage to add height to the bottom rail.

Next up: A new furnace and hot water heater. We’ve known this was going to happen sooner or later, and it looks like the old furnace isn’t going to hold out much longer. Our tax return can’t get here fast enough!