It’s a sad fact that my husband and I, for the last TEN years, have slept in a full size bed. We live in a tiny, 1,100 square foot house and we kept thinking “when we get a larger house, we’ll get a larger bed.” Then, the real estate crisis hit and we landed squarely underwater. An ice age will happen before we can sell our house at a gain. (Insert silent weeping here.)
So, we decided to make a rare “quality of life” purchase: a new, ridiculously, absurdly large California King size bed. That meant we needed to do some shifting around, including giving our old full size bed to our 10-year-old son.
This is, in short, a hassle. Or…with the right mind set, an opportunity. When you shift the beds around, it means you need to find places for all the stuff you’ve (stupidly) put under said beds. Which gives you a fantastic opportunity to reorganize your linen closet.
This is what I did today. I gotta say, I secretly love having a reason to reorganize. But, I also have to say, it’s surprising how often you have to do this to keep a small house uncluttered. I’d last gone through these areas not more than 6 months ago and they needed more thinning out today.
This game of musical beds was also a great chance to vacuum under the beds, along the walls, all the places you don’t normally get to in weekly cleaning. This is why I think this totally inconvenient project is really an opportunity. The same thing can be said for the next time your toilet overflows (great chance to really, super deeply clean that bathroom floor) or you find ants in your kitchen cabinets (take the opportunity to thin out your dishes and dust the shelves). It’s all about attitude, really. This is what I tell myself to keep some vestige of sanity.
I’m all done with this project now: bed delivered, new bedding washed and installed on the behemoth sleeping platform (it looks great, actually).
Now my big worry is: how am I ever going to find my husband in this huge bed? I’m seriously concerned about this.
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{ 11 comments… read them below or add one }
Thanks for the post. Next step after wrapping presents is the linen closet. We, too, have a small home. I really work towards keeping the clutter out. Most days, I win, but it is particularly hard this time of year. I guess it is out with the old and in with the new time!
Too true, Kimberly. The holidays are a tough time to keep things straightened up. But, the same thing applies: when we put up our tree this year, it was a great chance for me to clean the wood floor back in that corner really well.
Ah, anything to get through the day, right?
I am going to attack my linen closet this rainy Saturday. Thanks for the inspiration! My next project is going to have to be the pantry in the kitcen. Any advice for organizing all of your cooking supplies?
I am going to attack my linen closet this rainy Saturday. Thanks for the inspiration! My next project is going to have to be the pantry in the kitchen. Any advice for organizing all of your cooking supplies?
I love the challenge that a new purchase creates! I recently got, on super-sale, a large George Foreman grill I have always wanted. As I said, it’s large–no room to leave it permanently on the counter. But if it wasn’t kept handy, it wouldn’t be used. So I had to reorganize my pots & pans. What joy to toss all those lids from pots that I had accidentally cremated! And that old juicer we haven’t used in 10 years? Into storage. Now there’s not only room for my new grill, but the rest of my cooking stuff is smartly edited and neatly stacked. This made me very happy.
*Am I a geek, or what?*
Jolene, you’re not a geek, you’re a PENELOPE! No geeks here. Great job on that project. You took perfect advantage of that situation.
My husband (and others) often tease me for our perfect, labeled linen closet. I have many other areas of near chaos, but there is something about the linen closet that makes me love organizing it. Maybe because it is easier to purge things from a linen closet than say a bedroom closet.
And Full to Cal King – wowza – you skipped two steps! We are in 1000 sqft with the same past and current mentality as you. We went from Full to Queen. It was amazing how initially we kept feeling like we had SO much room… and now we are already dreaming of a King!!
I am so glad I found your website; I’m really enjoying a relaxing day on the sofa reading about a fellow list maker! Happy New Year.
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