Messy Drawers

(Note:  NOT my closet...just a random photos from the internet)

 I am NOT a slob, but I'm not neat.  I don't dust or vacuum as much as I should.   I don't make my bed.  (I DO straighten it every morning, but I don't "officially" go in and "make" it.  I can never get it right, which is why while I will do the laundry, it's my husband makes the bed when the sheets come out of the dryer.)  My mother would be appalled.  She was incredibly tidy. (Except when it came to the basement of the house which she basically ignored which is why when my parents moved, my husband and I had a heck of a project.)  

Perhaps the neatness "gene" skipped a generation.  My son is very neat and always has been.  He makes his bed every morning.  Of course he does leave glasses (often half full of water) around the house when he is home.  And his art studio (formerly my sun parlor) is very much in disarray.  (But isn't that an artist's prerogative?)  Come to think of it, the bathroom is usually a little "chaotic" when he's home.  So while he does his own laundry, he often leaves the clean items in the dryer or in the basket for a day or so before he puts it away.  (He does fold everything very nicely.)  Maybe he's not as neat as I'm giving him credit for?  (Or maybe I should just shut up now.)

However, what I am talking about today isn't an unclean house, but messy drawers.  (Which I don't always close all the way...another one of my mother's pet peeves.)  When we moved to the Poconos, I neatly folded all my clothes and put them in drawers.  Somehow by the end of the year (or maybe even before), nothing was folded any more.  All my drawers (and my shelf in the closet where I store my t-shirts) were a mess.  And, if I am to be honest, the items hanging in my closet weren't doing much better.

Something got into me this morning (I don't know what), but I could no longer take it.  I was looking for something to wear. (Because we are in the season of do I wear a sweater or a long sleeve shirt or a short sleeve shirt with a cardigan over it or a 3/4 length sleeve shirt...it's cold, but it's going to get warm, but not that warm and it's cold now and...) Anyway, I pulled out a long sleeve shirt and put it on. I didn't like the way it looked and decided I needed to donate it to the local thrift shop. But in doing so I noticed how all of my t-shirts, both long and short, we're falling over each other on the shelf. Then I went into my bureau drawer to find a different shirt and everything was all ratted up. (That’s a mom term.) It's not that mysteriously overnight a gremlin got into my drawers and messed up all my clothes, it's that I have a tendency to just throw things back in the drawer after I'm finished with it. 

So I started a mission this morning. I began with one drawer in the walk-in closet. I took everything out of the drawer. I assessed everything to see if I really, really needed it. (This is one of the hardest parts.). Then I folded everything up, or actually I tried to roll it up so that I would have more space, and put it back into the drawer. I did this drawer by drawer in the walk-in closet. 

However in doing so, I noticed how disorganized my hanging items were. There were sweaters falling off of hangers.  There were pants that were all askew. So I stopped what I was doing with the drawers and went through everything that was hanging. I rehung most of everything there. I organized the items by what season I would wear them. And again I culled out items that I no longer wear often or don't fit. (Unfortunately there are a lot of items that no longer fit me as I have gained weight but that's another blog post.) 

Once that was done, I went into the bureau in the bedroom and reorganized most of the drawers there too. Three drawers with tops / blouses sorted by different seasons. I even went through my pajama drawer. I will admit that I left my underwear and socks drawers alone. Maybe that's a project for another day. 

Then I went back into the closet and organized my shoes as best I could. I reluctantly gave up a pair of shoes that I love and cost a pretty penny, but never really fit right.  (Sperry, I don't think you know what a wide foot is and I have no idea who does your sizing but I am a 6.5 wide in every other brand. In yours I'm not sure what the hell I am.) 

Finally I organized the two shelves that held all of my pocketbooks, purses, and two bags. I lose and gain weight. My size goes up and occasionally goes down. But a good pocketbook always fits. And that is my obsession. So I organized them carefully, again by season. Because I am a person who changes out her pocketbook at least once the month. By the way, I have more than 12 purses.

I have filled two (large) bags with items that I will be donating to the thrift shop. I have to admit that I have a lot of clothes and a lot of accessories, but the majority of them have come from through shops. Otherwise I wouldn't be able to afford half of what I have in my closet or my drawers

For now everything is organized. It actually looks pretty good. The question is how do I keep it that way? I know I should take the time to carefully put things away after I have washed them, but... Let's be honest is that really going to happen? I try. However for most of my adult life I have failed. 

Does anyone have any suggestions, any tricks of the trade, that will keep me organized and neat?  Let me know because I certainly need your advice. And in doing so, would make my late mother very proud.