It’s no secret that I am an obsessive compulsive with respects to cleaning and/or organizing. I’ve written about it before. Words like chemical solutions, industrial disinfectants, sanitization, deodorizing, and neutralizing are just a few adjectives that can make my heart skip a beat. Seriously ya’ll. It’s a sickness. I know. And, I am pretty sure most people do not share my undying love for all things, all the time, sparkly.
If there is ever a monumental cleaning/organizing task at hand?
I’m ‘The Girl’ you want to call upon.
And here’s why.
In our house we have this one particular closet, which we call ‘The Medicine Closet’. Whenever anyone is sick, that closet gets pilfered and raided. And not everyone puts things back where they belong. In fact, as of late, the closet has become such a disaster it’s impossible to find what you’re looking for.
I finally decided to take matters into my own hands. I was determined to tackle the ‘Situation’. To be perfectly honest, I did NOT simply do this out of the kindness of my heart, or to be a good daughter. Nope. I ONLY decided to do this – because this level of messiness literally made me twitchy. I broke out in cold-sweats any time I had to go in that closet to grab something I needed.
Lets take a look.
Shall we?
I mean really, ya’ll.
How are you supposed to find anything in here?
WTF.
Yep.
Total. Nightmare.
And…
This crime-scene-of-a-closet would most likely explain why my father had such a hard time trying to locate a band-aid, that day a few years back, when he practically bled to death.
So you see, I really had no choice but to roll up my sleeves, blast my iPod, and dive in.
* First, I took EVERYTHING out of the closet.
* Then, I separated all of the items by type of product, until there were massive piles of crap all over my mother’s bedroom floor.
* Next, I disposed of all expired products and half-used, or leaky, damaged products.
And then, my OCD kicked into overdrive.
I had to put everything back in the closet, labeled neatly, and in boxes/containers. Therefore when are you looking for something, it’s no longer a scavenger hunt.
The whole process probably took at least three hours from start to finish.
And it was TOTALLY worth my time and effort!
Here is the end result…
Amazing right?
Let’s take a closer look.
Yes?
Ah yes.
Success.
And that my friends, is precisely why – you put the person with OCD – in charge of organizing a closet.
* So tell me people, do you have a crazy closet? And how bad do you let it get before taking corrective action?
Any chance you wanna come to my house and clean up for me? LOL!
Love it! I know it is silly but tackling a project like this makes me happy. It is an opportunity to dive in, get something done and look at beautiful results. There is no way anything can go horrible wrong on this type of project. I recently did the same with under our sink. I do always have a junk drawer. One drawer where I throw all misc. items that I don’t know where to put them. Once or twice a year I go thru it and organize it. I hardly use it and I’m not sure how it gets so messy and multiples in my negligence. Yeah for a clean closet!!!
Uh oh — I must have OCD too then !!! Because I am the exact same way !! I could not stand to open that closet and look at that mess – it would totally interfere with my sleep until I took corrective action !!
Nice job Meleah !! You are an organizing queen and you should be proud !!
I’d love to. But you live way TOO far away!
This kind of thing makes my heart go zing! You know I love a good re-organize. It makes me feel accomplished. If you lived closer, I’d suggest we go into business together.
Ah yes, The Junk Drawer. I might take on the one in our kitchen next!
And you’re right, projects like this make me feel good!
Ah yes, The Junk Drawer. I might take on the one in our kitchen next!
And you’re right, projects like this make me feel good!
I am proud! And I’m happy I’m not alone in my craziness!
I am proud! And I’m happy I’m not alone in my craziness!
I have my bathroom supplies, which are legion (hey, beauty takes WORK, yo) to organize this weekend. New place is awesometastic but lacking in bathroom storage. I dropped mad cash at Tarjhay on bins and racks and baskets this week to help. You inspired me to use Kirk’s label maker in the project also!!
Oh, Lisa! Now you’re talking my language!
Label Makers rule!! And good luck with your Bathroom Project!
I can’t wait to see the new place In Real Life. Seriously.
Send me your schedule so we can make plans to get together.
xoxoxox
Hell yes! I’m going to see you SO MUCH this year. I LOVE THAT. And any weekend other than 4/15 – 4/16 I am WIDE OPEN to see my Monkee 🙂
HELL YES!
I actually heard a giant TAAADAAAAAAA!!!!! Chime in my head at the after picture.
BRAVA, Meleah!
Awesome job in reorganizing this closet – you GO, girl!
I was laughing as I was reading this, because I couldn’t help but see (once again) how similar you and I are in our OCD tendencies.
LIBRA, perhaps?
Stuff like this drives me CRAZY. I actually have to make sure my apartment is all tidy before I go to bed at night because I don’t like looking at anything messy or displaced when I wake up in the morning.
Yup….I sound like Joan Crawford, I know – HA!
X
P.S. I think you and I should start our own cleaning service!
Holy shit i’ll NEVER be able to find anything in there NOW?
p.s. What’s private feminine care? Is that where you keep your collection of Harlequin romance novels?
You’re scaring me. Have you ever seen the movie, “Sleeping with the Enemy?”?
I am not over the top OCD, but definitely have an OCD personality and I love, love, L.O.V.E. having everything sparkly, neat & orderly. My dream day: my husband takes the toddler and dog somewhere *for hours* so I can be alone in the house to CLEAN, wash my floors and then I relish how clean the house is with no one else in it 🙂 Honestly though, my closets, drawers and cabinets are atrocious on the inside, but hey the door closes and it LOOKS just fine – LOL.
I have a closet that looks very similar to your before photo. Any chance you would want to come and work your magic here in the Small Town :).
I like keeping things organized; my wife is the opposite. She has a hard time doing anything unless she is immersed in complete chaos.
As an EMT I thank you on behalf of your local organization for arranging it so no one has to go DIGGING FOR AN EPI-PEN. I’ve done the ‘we-have-one-but-we-can’t-find-it-omg-omg-now-he-can’t-breathe’ dance with a patient’s family before and its NO FUN.
I confess that under my bathroom sink is a mini-version of your ‘before’ closet and I needs ta get to it.
Wow you do really good work. I wonder how long before the after becomes the before again??? I also wonder how much money all the stuff you shot out from being expired? You girls tend to over do the buying of bathroom products. Uh Oh am I in trouble now???
I would have a closet (cupboard) neat and tidy at all times. I am one for putting things back exactly where I got it from, and everything would be as organized and tidy as your ‘after’ photo. Mo, on the other hand is the opposite! In no time at all it would be completely messed up. In fact stuff doesn’t always go back in the same cupboard. She is just as likely to put it in the nearest drawer or cupboard to her at the time, then wonder why she can’t find it the next time she needs it.
Isn’t it lovely when it’s all organized and tidy? 🙂
dis.in.fec.tants
dis.in.fec.tants
dis.in.fec.tants
de.odo.rizer
de.odo.rizer
de.odo.rizer
(Has your heart skipped a beat yet ?)
Oh that closet is messy even for me ! And I work the same as you do… piling up everything in one mess and sorting it out !
Except that I don’t do labels very often ! And I am usually in short supply of empty shoe boxes
(Tell her to bring the house to you !)
You are a wonder. Nothing fills me with more joy than seeing a beautifully arranged closet. I would have been opening and closing that closet door all day just to have a look and go ‘That’s what I’m talking about.’ You are a credit to organised people everywhere. You rule!!!!
I have always said, if anyone can do OCD, it’s Mel.
Nice job. I like the organization, the set up is organized, good job of purging all the old/expired stuff, the labels are a nice touch, but I’m gonna to have to have to knock off a couple of points because you didn’t organize each bin ALPHABETICALLY. Definitely an outstanding effort.
I am soooo impressed. I have two cabinets, both under sinks, that I need to do the same thing with. I finally got my office closet cleaned out and organized and it really does feel like a substantial accomplishment. And then, of course, you get to blog about it. Another accomplishment. Well done!
Um, Meleah? Can you come over to my house for a couple of hours (days)? No reason, just for fun.
Oh my god, will you marry me? Seriously. We are two peas in a pod when it comes to OCD organization and cleanliness issues. I grew up in a house of clutter. I know this is where it all began. I will go nuts if I sit down to relax and I see fingerprints on the TV screen or if the candle sticks are not aligned perfectly. So how have I spent my spring break, you ask? Doing the very same things: cleaning, clearing and reorganizing. It’s a sickness, I know.
I guess I could use a little “cleaning OCD” myself. Or maybe just more cleaning time, less computer time. 🙁
I guess I could use a little “cleaning OCD” myself. Or maybe just more cleaning time, less computer time. 🙁
Your are the quicker picker upper! Nice work! I only have one closet and this reminds me I need to clean it!
Your are the quicker picker upper! Nice work! I only have one closet and this reminds me I need to clean it!
HA!
Dang, your driven! I wish I had OCD – well, temporarily of course.
😉
Enjoy your conference!
I’ve largely given up on the societal standard of “organization.” I always end up with plenty of stuff that is not easily categorized. And, so there is always a “Miscellaneous” section. Sometimes, I end up with different categories of Miscellaneous.
Frequently, it is when I try to conform to the societal standard of “organization” that I lose things. I knew exactly where they were before I got things “organized” but their current whereabouts are unknown.
That’s very frustrating.
I figure that, if a little “disorganization” was good enough for Einstein, it’s good enough for me.
I imagine you would die of a heart attack if you spent more than five minutes here.
hahaha but it’s not alphabetical!
Oh, PLEASE come spend some time at my house. There’s a walk-in closet here. And let’s just say, it is NOT possible to walk IN it any longer. I have given up everything inside for lost and would prefer just to pretend that closet doesn’t even exist.
Oh, PLEASE come spend some time at my house. There’s a walk-in closet here. And let’s just say, it is NOT possible to walk IN it any longer. I have given up everything inside for lost and would prefer just to pretend that closet doesn’t even exist.
Good work! And now you don’t have to twitch!! 🙂
I like things in good order, but not as much as Princess Gail. She may not quite measure up to OCD, but almost. I still can’t find shit, though. She organizes, then I know where stuff is. Then she RE-organizes, and for a while I can’t find stuff. Then I find it. Then she RE-RE-organizes. And so on. — No complaint, though. Our house always looks nice!
I’m totally OCD, too, and your “after” pic seriously made my day.
YOU ARE MY HERO
It must be a Libra thing!
Ahahahahahha. Yes.
Yes!!! And, I am NOT abusive like that guy – but the TOWLES better be EVEN!!
See…That’s a THE PERECT day for me too!
Sure thing!
My mom is the one that makes the biggest messes in this house!