Attack of the clutter!

So it's a new year, and with that come many resolutions.

I resolve to eat healthier, to get more exercise, to keep up with the laundry.....the list is endless and far too often New resolutions start off with a bang and fizzle out by....oh the 7th of January. Oh look what today is.

So, that's the reason I didn't make any resolutions - even though I could have, and perhaps I should have, but I know myself too well and, well, the truth of the matter is that resolutions generally aren't 'fun' and beyond motivation they also require accountability - which is something I don't *really* have.

I don't *need* to lose weight; yes I'd like to, but I'm at a BMI that is considered in the healthy zone (admittedly at the upper end of the safe zone).
I exercise enough that I'm not a complete couch potato - but it's hardly regular. I walked the kids to school this morning, so I can appease my conscience for about 3 or 4 days. Again, no real accountability needed. When it feels like -25C outside - I don't feel the least teeny tiny pang of guilt for sitting in my nice warm car to pick the kids up from school.
As far as laundry goes, well the kids had clean underwear and socks this morning - so what more can anyone ask for.

But the clutter. The clutter is something that annoys me.
I like things clean, and tidy, and clutter makes me feel claustrophobic. When my kitchen is messy (which it often is these days) my head feels jumbled and I can't think clearly and when the house is tidied up, I feel a sense of calm and happy and contentment.

My stress level is already fairly high at this point. Being a mom will do that to you. Raising kids is not easy in this day and age and raising kids with special needs adds just a little more to that challenge. While I can say that we have had our fair share of difficulties, I think we've weathered them fairly well - but the kids are still young, and I suspect there's a whole lot more construction on this parenting road we've been on. I have to keep them alive for another 13 years or so before I can say that I've successfully raised 3 people to adulthood.

Which doesn't bring me back to what I was saying earlier, but I'll bring myself back, because tangents tend to happen when I get distracted and unfocused, and unfocused is how I feel when I'm surrounded by clutter (oh look, I did find a way back).

So in order to simplify my life, and make things less stressful and more happy calm - I need to de-clutter. The whole house. For real.
It's not good enough for me to clean up regularly, because clutter still accumlates - for one good reason. I don't have a proper place to put everything that we own.
There is a simple motto: 'A place for everything, and everything in it's place - That is my goal for 2010. Not to just attack the clutter zones, but to eliminate the underlying problem that creates clutter in the first place. I notice that when things are where they are supposed to be - even the kids seem calmer. They want and need structure, and stability - and having an organized home is a huge part of that. Plus, with 3 kids in full time school next year - I will need more organization to keep homework and school stuff clear. With kids so close in age, it's not always easy to look at an assignment or homework sheet and determine 'is this grade 2 work or grade 3 work?"

So - all this preamble to outline my devious plan for 2010. I call it "My devious plan for 2010"

1. Attack the clutter.
2. Stay motivated.
3. Be accountable.

This is where you my faithful readers will come in. Yes, I will be posting more often, so you'll have to get used to that.
I will take care of the clutter, and you help me stay motivated, and be accountable - Sounds easy right? Here's how YOU can Help ME.

I know a few people who are doing the project 365 - which is to take a picture on every day of the year. I was going to do it, but I didn't remember it until others' started doing it - and by then it was like the 5th, so who wants to do project 360? Not me, I'd probably just spin around in circles - but it did give me an idea on how I can make this project work for ME (with your help of course).
The plan is to take one area of clutter (just one) and photograph a before and after pic.
I'm not going to say that I'll do it every day - because I don't want to set myself up for failure - But it will be at least once a week. Perhaps I'll even save all my clutter shots and post them on a particular day of the week - like Friday. Friday is a good day to take pictures because all the recycling and garbage goes out on Fridays, so that's when my house feels the most Zen.

Help keep me motivated by posting lots of comments to my newly cleaned clutter zone(s) of the week.
Help keep me accountable by giving me a cyber kick on Fridays - comments like "Hey, slacker - where's your clutter zone this week?" will both remind me and make me want to please you by showing off my lovely uncluttered area.

Some weeks it will be just one area, as it may require me to go out and purchase items to keep said area clean, or to organize said area, or to physically create a place for things that accumulate in that area.
We don't have a huge house, but it's not small either - and when the basement is completed* we'll have even more room to put stuff (in an completely organized and non-cluttery way of course)

*If you feel the need to bug my husband about his role in finishing the basement - please feel free to do so. He is busy with work and school and lots of stuff going on in his life but hey, that's what weekends are for. The prospect of having nearly another 1000 ft of living space is attractive, not to mention it would greatly de-stress my future life to be able to send children and their friends downstairs and not have to worry about what they might be getting into down there, not to mention the entertainment potential and storage options (oooh the storage options are secretly thrilling me.).

So - Fridays will be my posting day. with pictures.
I figure if I can clear 50+ trouble zones from my house in a year, it might start looking pretty darn good.

HELP ME.......