Winter Cleaning

I'm sure you've heard the phrase, "There's no place like home". That's what I kept in mind while I was in California for two months. Don't get me wrong, I loved visiting all of my friends and family there, but I really missed being in Belgium and in MY house. My bed, my office, my kitchen. my stuff...mine mine mine. I think that because I was gone for a while, I was able to assess what I want to keep / sell / toss considering my Belgian house is pretty tiny...and we have A LOT of stuff. Given, we've found some pretty awesome goodies since we've been overseas, but we also dragged a lot of stuff with us over here that is pretty useless or we'll never use. Once I got back here, I truly realized how much we have in terms of knick knacks and random bobbles that can find homes where they'll be appreciated more.

With that being said, I'm falling in line with what Stefanie has started to do, which is getting my house a little more organized.  Pretty much, write out a list of places in your home that are repeat offenders when it comes to getting rather cluttered:

"Junk drawer"

Spice cabinets

Pantry

Kitchen "tools" drawer

Pots & pans area

Stoneware racks

Under the sink

Refrigerator / Freezer

 Storage shelves 

Cabinets

 Laundry soap storage space

Under the sink

Medicine cabinet

First-Aid supplies

Old towels

Makeup bags and drawers

Desk top

Drawers

Filing system

Junk drawers

Storage cubbies (I have a ton of them in my house)

Pampered Chef inventory

Tastefully Simple inventory

Scentsy over load (I have WAY too many waxes & warmers)

Scrapbook supplies

Drawer of random electronic knick knacks

Entertainment center (inside / outside)

Mini entertainment area

Under all of the furniture

DVD / video game storage

Drawers in the coffee table

Blanket trunk

Couch (you'd be shocked with what you find in those things!!)

Under the bed

Nightstands (two)

Closet; mine & Erics (shoes/tops/jackets)

Dressers; mine & Erics (tops/pants)

I've already made a pretty good dent in the kitchen and I feel LOADS better! Even though it's not visible to someone right when they walk in, I feel the difference and that's all that matters, lol. This week is gonna be where I really hammer down and start purging lots of junk because my house is making me feel rather claustrophobic...yes, really! Lots of boxes, random things just hanging out..so, if it doesn't have a spot or we haven't used it in a year, it's going "bye bye" :)