Now, Where's the __________ Part 1

Some of you out there might be very organized. Some of you might even manage to keep a clean house. Notice how I say some of "you," because I am obviously not in this category. I am the type of person who has everything everywhere. I always have been. That was the one thing my parents were always getting after me about- my room!

I'm pretty good about knowing where everything is. When I was in high school, I could walk across the floor of my room in the dark, and not step on a thing, even though there was no path to the normal viewer. Oh, and if you needed to know where something was, I could tell you that it was in the 3 pile next to the dresser underneath the pair of jeans.

We've lived in several apartments, and I kept a lot of stuff boxed up, because it wasn't things I used all the time. But if I needed something, I knew exactly which box (maybe two) I'd have to search through.

We bought our own house a couple of years ago, and we have a ton more space, but things still seem to be everywhere. It's gotten worse the longer we've lived here. Maybe it's because I'm slowly unpacking some of those boxes. Maybe it's because I am collecting more things. Maybe it's because things don't get put away. Whatever it is, it's starting to drive me nuts! I can't find things that I need, and I hate having a cluttered house that everyone can see when they come over. I really want to organize everything, but I am so overwhelmed! I don't know where to start. Oh, and did I mention that we don't have the money for those nice shelfs and plastic boxes to organize everything in?

My husband collects comic books. He then takes those books and stores them in boxes that are 29 1/2 inches deep, and about 10 inches wide. They are too deep to fit on normal shelves, so we'd have to get the big ones, which happen to be a lot more expensive. Oh, did I mention that he has 23 of these boxes! Well, right now, those are taking up about half of our basement. Then his parents brought over everything he has kept at their house, since we "have our own place now, and we can store it here." So he's got random things there taking up another wall in our basement. I have my corner where I keep all my craft things.

Ah, the craft things. That is one of my biggest problems. I have lots of fabric and extras used for sewing and other crafts. Do I need it all? "Absolutely," would be my answer. I probably don't need it all, but my mom is getting rid of a lot of her things, and giving them to me. I only take the things I can see myself using, so that way I save lots of money by taking hers, instead of buying new things as the need arises. I also sew and make things for my business, so my sewing machine is always in use. It is currently sitting on the kitchen table, which is also covered with other fabrics and craft items. We never eat at the table, but we will when our daughter gets a little bit older. I need to get things moved off before then.

Well, this was so long that I decided to do this in two parts, so stay tuned for the rest of my ramblings!