The Last 30 Days—Organize Everything

There’s a movement called “The Last 90 Days.” The idea is to end the year strong, concentrating on October, November, and December to improve yourself—whatever that may be. Personally, I think it’s a gimmick to buy feel-good guru Rachel Hollis’ merchandise. Still , either with or without journals, checklists, etc., it’s a great idea since most of us wait until the New Year to improve ourselves.

Since I missed October and November, I decided to start in December and rename my foray into self improvement The Last 30 Days. Sure, December can be a tough month because of all the extra holiday doings we force upon ourselves. But there’s still room to be better, at least there is for me.

There are lots of things I have to do before I can move to my retirement place, wherever that may be. I was going to start with kitchen new appliances and living room furniture this year. The latter might not improve the resale value, but it will make me feel better, which will give me a sense of peace and encourage me to do more Then…

Then, I finally realized there are things I can do to get ready for home improvement, so why not start there. And that is Organize Everything. And I do mean everything! From closets to paperwork to, kitchen cabinets to hobby supplies. Even my computer files and this blog need better organization. Over the years, I’ve collected a ridiculous amount of stuff. (Someone once asked me if I’m a hoarder. I’m not, for the most part. I’m just lazy about getting getting stuff out of the house.)

One of my greatest downfalls is my inability to plan. (Follow-through is also a problem.) Since I’ve decided to work on one room each month, I sat down on Dec 1 and made a list of everything I need to do in the kitchen. It’s daunting list… and I just now thought of two things I didn’t put on the list. Oi!

Making the list is the easy part. Now I have to go through each subspace and decide what stays and what goes. That’s not easy. And 2020 just made everything harder. There are things I’ll throw away, but some things I’d like to donate. Apparently Goodwill and Salvation Army are taking donations again, but they no longer have those convenient drop-off bins. I guess it’s either load up the car and make a trip, or call one of those charities who will pick up donations. Or, I can always call 1-800 Got Junk. Yes, they’re expensive, but I have 3½ flights of stairs to navigate. Better some young buck navigate those than my old self. Besides, what else am I going to do with the money? Travel? Nope. Buy new appliances? Probably not until mid-2021.

One thing I have organized—my knitting needles! I made a “cozy” for my double pointed needles a couple years ago, although the larger needles (size 13 and above) don’t fit. That’s something to resolve another day.

This year, I finally devised a way to organize my circular needles. I bought a large binder and a set of tabs with pockets. Now my needles are organized by size. Interesting, I discovered I had two size 4, 16″ circular needles. Which is weird because I’ve made very few things with size 4 needles. And I just ordered a set of that includes even-number sizes up to size 13 (which takes the place of 12, which doesn’t exist—don’t ask). So now I have three size 4, 16″ needles.

It may look like a jumbled mess, but now I can easily find the right size needles in a minute—literally, 60 seconds. So, score 1 for knitting supplies!

I’m now 1% done organizing.