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The Organised Housewife

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GeneralGuest PostLaundryWardrobe

Decluttering the big hall cupboard

by Katrina - The Organised Housewife August 7, 2011May 27, 2014
August 7, 2011May 27, 2014

This is a guest post by Fiona, from the blog My Paperless PHD.

We moved into this house nearly four years ago. One of the things I loved was this massive storage cupboard in the main hallway (in addition to a separate linen cupboard!) I shouldn’t be surprised at what happened really. I am a hoarder, and it wasn’t long (under 2 years, in fact) before it was filled to brimming with stuff, from craft items to envelopes and a kids’ present box. There are also a couple of boxes of breakables and keepsakes not yet unpacked from our move here.

I have been telling my Wonderful Husband (WH) that I will clean it out and organise it soon (and I have hoarded stuff for organising too, like 13 magazine boxes to organize my food magazines, which were stacked at the back of this cupboard and no longer accessible). So I had been ‘planning’ this for a while. In addition to the cupboard, my back room with it’s spare bed had become a no go zone (piles of stuff on and around the bed), and when one of my sisters needed the spare bed at her place I relished this opportunity to finally clear out the back room and then be able to unpack and sort the cupboard.

The back room took an hour (yes only an hour, after months of procrastination) to clear out and once the bed was gone and the floor vacuumed I began to unpack and declutter the cupboard. Here is a before photo (I had started to clear off the far left hand shelf before I thought to take a picture…but you get the idea)

 You can see I prefer a stacking system 🙂

 My aims were to:

  • Get rid of rubbish and recycling
  • Sort what could go back into the cupboard and what could go on E-Bay or find new homes
  • File away LT’s (Little Tacker) pictures and craft from kindy and home projects
  • Have easy access to my cooking magazines and craft things
  • To organize my Christmas decorations, (they were in plastic supermarket bags and crammed in anywhere). I wanted plastic suitcase type containers as these would fit in the bottom of the cupboard easily
  • To make a list of the types and sizes of containers I needed to take shopping with me
  • To do this task once and properly!

I did this slowly over 2-3 weeks, each time I got a new container I packed and decluttered and stowed back into the cupboard again. A trip to Vinnies (why I need 3 spare doonas is beyond me) many novelty mugs later and the EBay box, here is my organised cupboard…

The above photo (taken yesterday, approx 2 months after finishing this clean out) shows:

  • The Christmas decorations in the suitcase type containers,
  • A special box that holds suspension files for those statements, warranties, receipts and other things that usually clutter my kitchen bench,
  • Kiddy craft things are where LT can reach them,
  • Games sorted for quick access,
  • My craft things are in separate boxes,
  • Food magazines are easy to see and access, and are organized by publication year. (It is making it so much easier to find the recipes I have used in my meal planner.)

Oh, the EBay box ended up at Vinnies too, I realized I had had it for over a month and I just didn’t have the time to take photos etc, so I packed it up with the doonas and took the lot.   And that back room, well that is now my craft room, with a new sewing cabinet! My birthday present and reward  🙂

____________________________________________________________________________________

About Guest Blogger

I am a wife, mother and teacher. I work part time and study part time too. I am about to begin a PhD and my blog centres around organising my home and life using ICT resources in a ‘financially neutral’ way, oh, and using less paper!

Find our guest: Blog

____________________________________________________________________________________

This post was written by a guest contributor. If you are interested in ‘being my guest’ please visit Be my Guest page for more details.

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12 comments

Shae August 7, 2011 - 1:05 AM

What a lovely post. So motivating I love the reward idea. Well deserved!

Reply
Jas August 7, 2011 - 6:33 AM

i am loving this site Katrina……getting me so motivated with my decluttering and organising….i have a hallway closet to get to soon too…thanks for your tips Fiona. Where did you find the suitcase storage containers? love them!!!!

Reply
T T August 8, 2011 - 6:28 AM

I love plastic containers just need a better way of labeling them so I can find what I’m stacked and packed away. Great job.

Reply
astonmel August 11, 2011 - 4:25 AM

Oh how I miss my big hall cupboard! I must admit, it is a breeding ground for hoarding, but properly arranged… it looks great, good job! I now have just one linen/hall/everything that doesn’t have a home cupboard. 🙁

Reply
Maria Rider February 6, 2012 - 7:09 AM

have just read this post,lucky for me i have a head cold and can now catch up on all the blogs you miss having 5 kids! Im more than a little envious about the storage let me tell you! i have a 5 bedroom home with NO storage,its ridiculous! any how ie decided to sort the christmas decs and would love to know where you have purchased the suitcase storage containers from ? thanks in advance!

Reply
Maggie March 13, 2012 - 4:06 PM

Wow, love the pictures. You’ve come a long way! keep up the good work I will be watching your progress.

Reply
Katrina March 13, 2012 - 8:20 PM

It looks fantastic, she did a wonderful job!

Reply
Judy March 1, 2016 - 1:58 PM

Katrina, great job. I noticed a pile of phone books on the shelf. Using the internet to look up telephone numbers, there really is no need for them.The recycling bin for those guys.

Reply
Katrina - The Organised Housewife March 2, 2016 - 7:12 AM

Hi Judy, this is Fiona’s hall cupboard, she was kind enough to share the process with us. But I do agree, I don’t use phone books either these days, so much easier to google the numbers.

Reply

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Katrina Springer, The Organised Housewife. Gold Coast, QLD

Global Inspiration, Social Influencer, Author, Celebrity Ambassador, Winner 2019 Gold Coast Women of the Year People Choice Award & Finalist Gold Coast Women Entrepreneur Of The Year.

I share a daily dose of domestic advice to make life simpler and tidier. If you are struggling, you can gain back the control, to have a home you enjoy spending time in and create calm to replace the chaos. Read more.

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DAY 14 - 14 Day April Home Refresh ✨ BAKING DAY⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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School/work mornings can end up chaotic, but with a little routine and planning, you can make the lunch packing madness a simple and easy process. During the school holidays, I spend a few hours doing a big bake up- making snacks and lunches to put in the freezer to have on hand to place into the kid’s lunchboxes.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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✨ Always have something available to pack into lunchboxes⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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✨ If you have unexpected guests, not to worry! You have something that will defrost within 30 minutes in the freezer ready to serve.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
✨ Can control ingredients your family is eating. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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✨ Task: Wardrobe Declutter
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In our new year refresh series, we turned around our coat hangers to see at the beginning of the next season what we haven’t worn (my hanger method). I forgot to take a photo but you will see the number of clothes I haven’t worn between then and now in my stories. There were quite a few. 
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I have since gone through and purged them and because I have to be honest with you, I have put on weight in this past year and choosing clothes to wear in the mornings has been a little depressing as there are quite a few that don’t fit me. It has only been 24 hours since I tidied up my wardrobe but waking up this morning and picking my clothes was already a brighter and easier start to my day 💛
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Don't forget to share your accomplishment, share a photo of your nice and tidy wardrobe, tag @theorganisedhousewife and #2021homerefresh or share in today's task thread over on Facebook - and you'll go into the draw to win a $100 @organisedhq voucher.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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✨ Task: Create A Meal Plan
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Each week I plan my meals for the upcoming week- what most people call meal or menu planning. I have been doing this for a good 18 years and I can't recommend it enough! 
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It really is a simple task that takes 5-10 minutes to plan one week of meals. The money and time that these five minutes save me throughout my week, makes it well worth the effort. Plus, I’m not a huge fan of visiting the grocery store more than once a week 🛒
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I have been online grocery shopping for nearly 2 years now. I love it, I rarely see the inside the grocery store these days. I do a local pick up and use my laundry basket with legs instead of bags. Makes unpacking when in the kitchen so much easier 😊
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Do you meal plan? If not will you give it a try? If you do, why do you love it?
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