21 day organizing challenge prerequisites: check

I am awefully excited to be joining the 21 day organizing challenge at A Bowl Full of Lemons, couldnt wait for the new year and day 1 to come.

Toni listed a quick checklist for prepping for the challenge.


Checklist (copy/pasted directly from the above link)

1. "Round up as many bins, boxes, crates, baskets & containers that you possibly can. These can either be something you already have in your home or you can go to Walmart or Target and purchase some new ones, if you wish. Either way will be fine. Now put them aside in a spare room or corner. You will utilize these during our 3 week challenge."


I had already been collecting and saving boxes and bins baskets and containers since I started organzinging a few months ago. All I really did was gather them all into one place.

I have even added some to the pile since this picture was taken. I am opting NOT to buy any new containers for now. I will use what I have and make it work. Although i found it hard to resist during a recent trip to Tuesday Morning. I KNOW I can be creative with what I already have.

2. "Make a donation box. You can use a large cardboard box, a large rubbermaid container, or even a trash bag (whatever you have). This is where you are going to be placing all of the things you no longer use or need (that isn't trash). At the end of each week, you can take this box to Goodwill, etc... As long as its out of the house!"

I had made an OUT box when I started my Craft Room Overhaul, its purpose for awhile was to hold anything that didnt belong in the loft. I have since almost emptied it, giving people what is theres at Christmas really helped.


I Purged, A LOT when I packed before we moved in to the loft a few months ago, so I havent found much that isnt used, but I WILL be getting rid of things throughout this challenge.



3. "Get a LABELER! My challenge isn't about going and buying new stuff to bring into the home, but I really think this is an important step. If you just can't afford one now, thats fine... At least get some label stickers (the long narrow ones that you can write on). Walmart has them for a couple of bucks. You will be labeling boxes & bins. I got my labeler at Target for less than $17.00. It's not necessary for the challenge, but you will be much more organized if you use one. It was instant love after the first time I used mine. Now Im a labeler maniac."



I am also a LABELER MANIAC, and I am not ashamed. I got my toy quite a while ago and labeled all the cords to my old computer, all the cords to the video game systems and other media, ive labeled containers in my bathroom, and even impressed our electrician with the labeler when he was marking our fuse box. amongst other things. I LOVE IT. mine was, I think, $20 at walmart.
Since I got my new printer, i have also been printer label happy, so for any labeling I need to do that isnt appropriate for the little printouts from my toy, I can use those, either printed, or just written on. Check out a tuturial on using Avery.com for printing lables here.

I also found when packing my old apartment and when working on my Craft room overhaul that its nice to label temporary bins/boxes when sorting things so that you dont have to run to each different room in the house with a handfull of items as you come across them. I have used just post-its / sharpie for this, but I had a bunch of scraps of bright orange paper left from wedding crafts that I have been using with tape/sharpie for temporary labels.
4. "If you are REALLY serious about organizing your house, purchase some shoe boxes at the store. I think just about every store carries them for around a dollar each. The more stuff you have to organize, the more boxes you will need. You do NOT have to go out and get these, but they will DEFINITELY come in handy if you have them. If you have a lot of bins/boxes at home, this step isn't needed. I use them for every room in my house"

I have quite a few hard plasitc shoe boxes we had purchased for packing when I moved out of my apartment a few of them have since been emptied, they are in my stack of boxes bins and baskets.

5. "Make sure you have trash bags in stock. You will be purging a lot of stuff during our 21 day challenge, and I would hate for you to run out of trash bags."

I do have plenty of trash bags, in various sizes as well as small shopping bags I prefer to use when Im organizing since theyre smaller, they just go in the larger trash can outside.

Thats it! You are now ready to begin the 21 days To Getting Organized Challenge!

I sure feel ready! LETS DO IT!