Dream ~ Act ~ Plan ~ Believe

Even though I haven’t blogged on lately on the Trash Bag Tango I have continued to dance my way throughout the house. I was amazed at what your bedroom had in it. It isn’t exactly the picture of relaxation. I have plenty of unfinished tasks stored in there that remind me of unfinished business. No wonder I have had a difficult time sleeping.

Peter Walsh, says in his book, It’s All Too Much, that the only thing that should be stored in the bedroom is the bedroom furniture and your clothes. It leads it a sense of “calm and well being.” He also said to never allow the kids to bring toys into the room and we found plenty of them.

He outlines a plan to divide your home into zones. The purpose of the room determines the zone. Our bedroom has been a zone to sleep in, watch movies in, an office, a place to sort laundry, a room to do paper work in, and play zone.

We found:

• Match box cars (my only boy is 15 years old, and our daughter’s haven’t really played with them so who knows where that came from.
• Play dough sculptures.
• Barbie Shoes
• Several little girl purses.
• And much more.

Our large king-size bed was one of my daughters favorite place to play. She could spread her doll house out and create mountains out of the blankets. But now she’ll have to create a new town somewhere else in the house. Our bedroom is now a No Toy Zone, and a rest and relaxation zone. My daughter complained the first few days but is slowly getting used to the idea.

So just as little girls post signs on their bedroom door that says “No Boys Allowed,” this big girl is posting too:

Now about that TV…

Posted on January 18th, 2008 by Leisa
Filed under: Clutter Control, Organization Tips, Trash Bag Tango, Zone Your Home | 1 Comment »

We have all experienced it. The missing sock phenomenon. It’s one of the worlds great mysteries. Why there was even a song written about it. At least since the invention of the washing machine people have speculated as to their disappearance, and there are many theories.

Major General Panic over at Everything2 has several theories. He outlines evolution, sock gnomes, wormholes, dark magic, communism, and Schröedinger as possibilities.

Over at Yahoo Answers they say it could be conspiracy by the sock companies to line their pockets with more profits.

Then there is the theory about the sock monster. Maggie over at SockMonster.net outlines specifically what a sock monster is and is creating a animated documentary on the sock monster. She’s nearly done so you’ll want to check back next month to view it. You can track her progress on her sock monster process page.

If you want to add a little humor to the somewhat serious situation you could turn your laundry room walls into a “most wanted” poster by using the wall-paper pictured above. Interested in helping the cause - just click on the picture.

There is some evidence that cats may be the culprit. Just check out this video of a cat opening a drawer and stealing a sock. Or this article: Missing Socks? These Two Cats May Have.

The problem is so widespread that there has even been an organization formed to assist with locating missing socks. For assistance on locating your missing socks you could visit THE BUREAU of MISSING SOCKS.

I have an entire laundry basket full of single socks right now. You see, just like C. Jeanne Heida, I am “eternally optimistic that eventually the missing socks will show up and can be reunited with their mates. ”

The good news is that I made a major step towards recovering a good share of our socks yesterday when I did the Trash Bag Tango. I found several single socks in the office. They were hidden throughout the room; under the desk, and even behind a book on a book shelf. (Not the first place I would look to locate a missing sock). Naturally, they went straight into my IKEA bag.

My husband and I also did the Trash Bag Tango in our bedroom last night and found several in there as well. (That sounds kinda bad - doesn’t it). Upon closer inspection we found them in nearly every room it he house. Many of them I don’t even recognize. So if you are missing some socks send us a description. Perhaps they are here. It could be my cats fault, or my home is a haven for the sock gnomes. Who knows?

Posted on January 11th, 2008 by Leisa
Filed under: Laughter, Trash Bag Tango | 2 Comments »

Tales of the Trash Bag Tango

I just completed another Trash Bag Tango, again concentrating mostly on our office. I filled up another bag for the dumpster, and finished filling up a box to go the the thrift store.

Yesterday I explained my concerns that their may be a bear in our office. Today I am happy to inform you that all signs of a bear are gone. I think there is a good chance that they were scared away by the pirates. Yes, you read it right - Pirates!

How do I know?

Just take a look at the evidence that I acquired:

• 1 Pirate Sword
• 1 Spy Glass
• 3 Eye Patches
• A Pirates Earing
• And a whole lot of pirate loot.

Who knows what I will find in my office tomorrow.

Posted on January 8th, 2008 by Leisa
Filed under: Act, Trash Bag Tango | No Comments »

Well after two days of doing the trash bag tango I’ve made a modification. I now start with:

A trash bag -for trash.

A box - The stuff to be carted away and out of the house just isn’t strong enough for a plastic trash bag. And luckily I have discovered that I currently don’t have a shortage of boxes so that’s where the stuff I take to the local thrift shop goes. That way I get rid of the box at the same time. Brilliant!

And a large IKEA bag. The blue and yellow bag they sell at IKEA for .59 cents. Perhaps you have one as well. They are great for holding all sorts of things. Into the large IKEA bag goes the stuff that I come across that belongs in other rooms in the house.

I’ve coined my dejunking process the Trash Bag Tango. I want something clever to call the IKEA bag. Because it has IKEA in big bold letters its needs to be a phrase that starts with IKEA. Something like “I Keep Everything Anyways,” but that’s not the phrase I’m looking for. After all this is about dejunking not keeping everything.

So what ideas do you have?

Go ahead and leave a comment below with your idea. If I select your entry as the name of my bag you’ll win 100 Entree Credits. Not a lot, I know. But hopefully fun. And I’ll throw in a copy of the business book Made to Stick by Chip and Dan Heath. I’ll also have a random drawing for another 100 credits from those who comment on any post in my blog during the same time period.

Remember, that the bag holds things that belong in other parts of the house so that I can carry it to it’s rightful home (assuming it has one), and put it away. Each letter in your phrase needs to start with an I, K, E, and A respectfully.

I’ll decide on a winner on Sunday afternoon so I’ll accept entries until Sunday, January 13th, at 12:00 mountain time.

By the way, I worked on the office today. It’s amazing what I found to put into the IKEA bag. It’s embarrassing, so I can’t believe I am telling you. But perhaps you’ll find it amusing. I’ll post it next in the first installment of the Tales of the Trash Bag Tango. Stay tuned.

Posted on January 7th, 2008 by Leisa
Filed under: Act, Clutter Control, Organization Tips, Trash Bag Tango | 4 Comments »