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Hello, my name is Leanne Lee, the Diva of DIY and I must admit…I am disorganized.  I don’t think anyone who knows me would disagree. It’s odd too because I hate clutter, yet I am not very good at decluttering. If I open a cabinet door and plastic bowls topple over me, I just might shove those bowls back in until I open it the next day and start the process all over again.

I have decided that the year 2015 will be my year to…GET ORGANIZED or I’ll die trying.  I started my quest by scouring the internet for the best tips and tricks for organization.  I made a list of areas I wanted to focus on and then set out on my adventure.  Where did I go you ask???

IKEA!  Can you think of a better place to find a plethora of products to organize all aspects of your home than IKEA?

Have you ever been to IKEA? I may have bitten off more than I can chew!  They have it all:  Closet Organizers, Paper Organizers, Media Organizers, Desk Organizers, Shoe Organizers, Pot Lid Organizers, 6-compartment Organizers, and on and on and on.  Did you know they make organizers for the organizers?   And if picking the size and purpose wasn’t enough…you have to choose a color.

I left IKEA with a toilet bowl brush, some uber-cute Ikea fabric and a towel bar.  See an issue here?

This experience made me realize that there are five stages to disorganization. I would like to share them with you so you don’t feel so alone. Or so you can feel awesome about yourself if you’ve already mastered the art of organization 😉

Stage 1 – Denial. Hey, those laundry baskets full of stuff I don’t know what to do with aren’t so bad. Everyone throws stuff in a catch-all basket when company is coming over right? I will go through them eventually. At least the stuff is confined in one space.

Stage 2 – Anger. “I just cleaned that room!”; “I don’t even know why I bother folding these blankets”; “The kitchen island is not the catch-all for everything!” ;  “How is it possible that we have  sixteen socks without a match?”; “Why am I washing your  baseball pants in December…Do you guys think we have a laundry fairy?”

Stage 3 – Bargaining. If only I had organized this office sooner, I wouldn’t be trapped under piles of unopened mail, mounds of unread magazines and hours of important documents to be filed.

Stage 4 – Depression. I broke down and looked at the internet again. Then I went in a downward spiral and clicked on Real Simple, Woman’s Day and Good Housekeeping . It all looks so easy. Sigh. I will never be that person.

Stage 5 – Acceptance. Yes, I’m disorganized, but I can still do something about it. If I can give birth to three children, raise 3 teenage boys, start and run a successful business and host a live DIY segment on a NBC-affiliate TV station then I can organize a sock drawer!

This house is getting organized one step at a time. I will be donating, upcycling, repurposing, cleaning and decluttering my way to organizational euphoria in 2015.

To see how my journey towards organization is progressing throughout the year you’ll want to stay tuned as I amuse you with my efforts! What is your New Years Resolution?