Oh, the joys of decluttering one’s house! We pack it in over the Christmas holiday, then in the New Year, while we are still bursting at the seams, it just feels natural to want to purge. I guess after the hustle and bustle, it’s time to exercise our tidying muscle.

No matter how much of a clean freak we are, most of us have at least one area in our home that tends to get cluttered up. Is it an entry way side table that gets the brunt of things coming in the door? Perhaps the hall closet, or bathroom cabinet where things get stashed away and forgotten? Do you have one of those kitchen cupboards that you feel the need to open and shut at lightning speed, so something doesn’t come tumbling out? I know I do! (In fact, I might just have two.) How long we take to tackle it may depend on our neat-freak-radar tolerance. Let’s just say that it sometimes gets so bad I even pay one of my young budding entrepreneurs to organize that cupboard for me!

But when I noticed that one of the weekly tasks on our January ‘Do-It’ list is organizing a single drawer or cabinet, I was inspired. Really, one per week? Even this busy homeschool mama can handle that!

Today I’m going to give you a sneak peak into my “pencil drawer.” I can’t recall how this drawer got it’s name; it holds much more than pencils. But I can tell you that it tends to get full of who-knows-what, to the point I can hardly get it shut (or open, for that matter).

No judging, now…

Seriously, this drawer was so packed it took me several minutes of sustained effort to fully open it. I had been meaning to clean it out … sigh … life just tends to get in the way.

But I reminded myself: One. Per. Week.

So, once you’ve identified your target area, how do you tackle the monstrosity?

• Eliminate trash
• Donate
• Sort what’s left
• Organize

I know it sounds crazy to think there would be trash in my pencil drawer, but alas, I always find things to toss. We’ll blame that on the kiddos; surely I wouldn’t leave a gum wrapper in there.

I did find two rolls of 35mm camera film, though! Guilty! Those were mine, and I’ve only used digital for, oh, a dozen years or so. (In my defense, I do still have a working 35mm SLR camera, so perhaps the film would be better stashed in the back of the closet with that dinosaur.)

Do we really need to hang on to those pencils that are 2 inches long?

What about something else you’ve been keeping? Maybe it was grandma’s … but do you use it often? Have you ever used it? If not, perhaps it’s time to donate it. If it’s been sitting there for the last 5-10 years, eating up space in your house: liberate yourself, and pass it on. You never know, someone else might use it daily. (Unless it’s a book—that’s my particular weakness—after all, there is no such thing as too many books.)

Once you’ve parted with everything you are willing to get rid of, it’s time to sort out what’s left. I tend to make a grand mess when I’m decluttering, because I sort similar things into separate little piles before I can actually begin organizing.

Now for the organizing. Before you go out and buy a fancy new organizer system, look around the house at what you already have: maybe a basket, box, or Tupperware container will do the trick. I decided to use little Mason half-pint jars, and a silverware divider to organize my drawer today. The silverware caddy was an extra, just taking up room in the … um … cupboard I mentioned earlier; it has several little dividers that worked nicely to organize my space.

I filled the jars with extra staples, tacks, paper clips, and dice. Yes, a whole jar of dice. Please don’t ask me why I have 20 different styles, but I do. I labeled the tops for future reference. I also added a little ceramic bowl to hold odds and ends. I don’t mind a little contained chaos.

Ta-da! My drawer now opens, and I can find what I need effortlessly.

Just 50 or so more cupboards and drawers to go, give or take a few. And now I’m so excited I might actually manage more than one a week! Spring cleaning, here we come!